This CNN/Business 2.0 story about residential solar PV as a home improvement project is interesting not so much as news, but perhaps as entertainment. Maybe it's late, or maybe my brain is fried from two hours of alphabetical name calling at my sister's Temple commencement ceremony tonight; but in 400 words I found myself asking "huh?" no fewer than three times.
What's starting to be good for contractors is looking sweet for homeowners too. HUH?
In California and New Jersey... homeowners are credited for electricity they generate beyond their own use... OK so this isn't a HUH, but I think it's a misleading, or at least an incomplete, description of net-metering - that giant asterisk that says a homeowner does not get reimbursed for excess generation beyond the reconcilliation period.
Half the gross cost can be recouped in the home sales price as soon as it is installed... And solar's ability to lower energy costs also adds value. HUH?! So, the crux of the article: installed solar PV systems add value and they also ADD VALUE!?
Oh, well, at least it's not another "news" story about solar powered Wal-Mart.
del.icio.usThe early promises of a solar energy revolution largely flamed out in the 80s when Ronald Reagan shelved the tax incentives for solar energy that were estabished by Jimmy Carter. In an op-ed from Colorado, Andrew Korfhage does some good ole fashioned cheerleading for solar energy, but with a point: call your elected representatives. Securing America's Energy Independence Act of 2007 (HR 550 and S 590) is sitting in front of the House and Senate, waiting to be adopted. It is critial to sustain the recent surge in solar energy adoption, but since it was introduced in January, it appears to be going nowhere fast.
In Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm is on board, calling for state incentives for renewable energy technology. Sure, it can start to sound a little like Mad Libs: "We want to re-brand [insert state/city/municipality here] as the alternative energy capital of the world!", but who's to fault them for trying. Of course, there are critics, such as Diane Katz from the "so-called" group Mackinack Center, who appears either to be in love with the status quo or to misunderstand the role of net-metering in distributed energy production.
In Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm is on board, calling for state incentives for renewable energy technology. Sure, it can start to sound a little like Mad Libs: "We want to re-brand [insert state/city/municipality here] as the alternative energy capital of the world!", but who's to fault them for trying. Of course, there are critics, such as Diane Katz from the "so-called" group Mackinack Center, who appears either to be in love with the status quo or to misunderstand the role of net-metering in distributed energy production.
If there's one thing that so-called Big Box Stores have in abundance, it's roof space. So it's fitting slash appropriate that more of these "big box" retailers are looking placing solar PV generation systems on their robust roofts. There was last week's Kohl's Department Stores accouncement with SunEdison. Wal-Mart is ever so secretly evaluating solar energy generation. Now Target has begun to roll solar PV onto several of its California stores. A store in Stockton, CA, is used as an example; it's not made explicit the power output of the system, but one can estimate from the description that this store has a 300-350kW installation. Interestingly, it also mentions that only 40% of the roof is used. There're a number of reasons that they didn't build a bigger system - perhaps 300-350kW completely zeros out electricity costs for that store. That case would highlight the limitations of net-metering; why can't Target build a 700kW system on a store in sunny Stockton and use the excess generation to offset electricity usage at other locations? Feed-in tarrifts would allow them to do just that, using dollars from generation at one store to pay for usage at other stores.
Target has a good history of social responsibility - known for giving back to their communities in a more significant way than some other big box giants - so it's a bit more believable to hear them say " "Part of Target's DNA is our commitment to the community, and certainly that ties into the environment as well..."; but there is clearly an economic component that Target, Wal-Mart, Kohl's and others are beginning to catch on to.