Cities That Help You Buy Solar Energy

Commentary: As you may know, it isn’t enough to purchase solar panels without cutting your energy use. In fact, if you do not cut your energy use first, your home solar system will in fact be more expensive. The way to cut your energy use is through energy efficiency and conservation practices, and that’s where Green Irene is ready to help. A Green Home Makeover will help you implement specific steps to begin saving energy and go green. Not only will you save money on reduced energy costs, but you it will also lead to a cheaper solar system in case you will be purchasing one. It will also help you Go GREEN in other ways by reducing waste, improving indoor air quality, and making better use of water. Find your Local Eco-Consultant today to get a Green Home Makeover!

Despite advances in technology, falling prices for raw materials and an ever-growing number of installations, solar PV panels are still not affordable for most families. Typical setups for even mid-sized homes can come in at well over $20,000 before rebates and incentives.

Fortunately, local, state and federal government agencies are continually adding programs that bring solar PV panels ever closer to affordability. Net metering programs allow you to sell excess electricty back to your utility. Many agencies offer rebates that cut from 30-50% off of the total cost of a system. The Obama Administration recently announced changes to the federal tax code that remove a cap on renewable energy tax credits. And, private companies have stepped into the fray offering a variety of innovative financing and group purchasing programs.

What’s next? Well, new loan programs are springing up (now in California, and hopefully elsewhere soon) that allow you to finance the full price of your solar installation and then pay it back (with interest) via your annual property tax payments.

Several cities are already out of the gate and running:

• Berkeley launched a pilot program in November with funding of $1.5M. The program sold out in NINE minutes, and 39 homeowners signed up. A bit of pent-up demand, perhaps?
• Palm Desert launched its program in August 2008 and has already funded over $7.5M in projects. The Palm Desert program is also open to energy efficiency projects and upgrades.
• San Diego and other California cities and counties in the planning phases.

How expensive are these loan programs? Interest rates for the programs launched so far are in the 7% range, which compares favorably with current home equity loan rates (if you can even get one).

The crazy oversubscription rates demonstrated by the Berkeley and Palm Desert programs clearly show that there’s huge demand out there, so we hope that more governments and companies step in to fill this need!

Excerpted from Low Impact Living.