Solar energy proposal, what do ya think?

[aczlan]

Aaron,
Excuse my ignorance, but what is ETF? And the tax issue has been resolved. See my previous post.

Sorry, Early Termination Fee.

Aaron Z

 

[RickB]

They had a solar engineer come to the house. He went up on the roof and took readings and dimensions. They then have a historical graph of the average sunlight, angle, strength etc. They are not offering this to all customers. Only those that meet the requirements because it doesn't make any sense for them to set up a system that doesn't produce enough solar power. They are in the business of selling the power back to you. They want to sell me 100% of my power but the agreement they have with LIPA is that they still get to sell me 20% of my power. The solar power produced during the peak months gets banked and used during the off peak months of production.

The tax liability has been answered by the town and county. Since it is not a capitol improvement done by me, the homeowner, there is no tax increase because the company owns the equipment and it can be removed by them.

Rolling banked production to months with lesser production wasn't mentioned, and certainly is different than zeroing everything out monthly.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Woody,

As in everything in life the devil is in the details. 2011 of NEC or pass on the offer. Ask them if the panels get damaged because it was your fault such as a fire inside of your home and the FD had to break the panel or the fire below damages or destroys the panel who pays? Ask your insurance company too in particular if it is determined you are at fault. Get it in writing and save it!

 

[MotorSeven]

Is this a 20 year .15 cent lock? Geeze, we pay .08 cents a KW here, so this sounds high. I think I would try and negotiate that rate down a bit...can't hurt to ask.

Before you do this get a quote to put your own grid tied system in, then compare your KW price over the same 20 years. Solar has come way down recently, so the price might surprise you in a good way.

 

[Woody65]

Is this a 20 year .15 cent lock? Geeze, we pay .08 cents a KW here, so this sounds high. I think I would try and negotiate that rate down a bit...can't hurt to ask.

Before you do this get a quote to put your own grid tied system in, then compare your KW price over the same 20 years. Solar has come way down recently, so the price might surprise you in a good way.

Motors even,

I know .15 cents a kilowatt sounds high but our electric rates are the highest in the country at .21 cents a kilowatt for residential use.

I never looked into getting my own solar because I see almost no homes in my area with them. The ratio might be 1 in 1000. And you would think, with the highest rates in the country, people would be installing solar systems if it made financial sense.

 

[Woody65]

Rolling banked production to months with lesser production wasn't mentioned, and certainly is different than zeroing everything out monthly.

See post 13 on page 1.

 

[EddieWalker]

If it sounds too good to be true, then I get very nervous. The 20 year contract scares me more then any other part of it. Solar technology is changing quickly and anything you get today is outdated tomorrow. It's just like computers and most electronics. Unfortunately, solar has the government behind it for political reasons, so it's forcing bad technology on us with government subsidiaries to make up for the fact that it loses money. My thinking is that this is a government program that will disappear in a short amount of time. Probably in a few years. What happens then?

A good example would be the windmill farms in CA where I grew up. They came in and put up some windmills that would create electricity with money from the government. A private company ran it and sold the power to the utilities. Once the government funding ended, they went bankrupt because it costs more to maintain a windmill then it earns by generating electricity.

Those windmill farms are falling apart and have been for decades. They are still putting new ones up, but the pattern keeps repeating itself. There are thousands of windmills there, hundreds of millions spent and it's all a game for the politicians to say that they are saving the planet.

Be very cautious.

Eddie

 

[MotorSeven]

Motors even,

I know .15 cents a kilowatt sounds high but our electric rates are the highest in the country at .21 cents a kilowatt for residential use.

I never looked into getting my own solar because I see almost no homes in my area with them. The ratio might be 1 in 1000. And you would think, with the highest rates in the country, people would be installing solar systems if it made financial sense.

Actually folks are not installing solar because they don't know enough about it, or have heard a bunch of negative rumors. Prices 3 years ago for my house were close to $30K, same system today is about $12K...huge difference. Anyway, I think it worth getting a quote or two from a reputable solar company in your area so you can then make an informed decision.

 

[Woody65]

If it sounds too good to be true, then I get very nervous. The 20 year contract scares me more then any other part of it. Solar technology is changing quickly and anything you get today is outdated tomorrow. It's just like computers and most electronics. Unfortunately, solar has the government behind it for political reasons, so it's forcing bad technology on us with government subsidiaries to make up for the fact that it loses money. My thinking is that this is a government program that will disappear in a short amount of time. Probably in a few years. What happens then?

A good example would be the windmill farms in CA where I grew up. They came in and put up some windmills that would create electricity with money from the government. A private company ran it and sold the power to the utilities. Once the government funding ended, they went bankrupt because it costs more to maintain a windmill then it earns by generating electricity.

Those windmill farms are falling apart and have been for decades. They are still putting new ones up, but the pattern keeps repeating itself. There are thousands of windmills there, hundreds of millions spent and it's all a game for the politicians to say that they are saving the planet.

Be very cautious.

Eddie

Eddie,

I agree with too good to be true. The government is not behind it, but has issued a mandate of 30% renewable energy requirement. So that is why the offer to set me up with a solar system free of charge is being made. They are in the business of producing power and selling it back to you. So, it's in their best interest to maintain and update the system to operate at its highest efficiency. This push by PSE&G And Vivant to install solar in my area is due to the mandate, not a government funded experiment. They have been operating the same program in NJ for the past few years. It is actually called a power purchase agreement or PPA. It's not uncommon, I have learned, and gets solar into homes without you incurring any start up, installation and maintenance costs.

Again, I am not a big proponent of solar, but this offer dropped in my lap and I am trying to get opinions and see as many pitfalls as possible.

 

[Woody65]

Actually folks are not installing solar because they don't know enough about it, or have heard a bunch of negative rumors. Prices 3 years ago for my house were close to $30K, same system today is about $12K...huge difference. Anyway, I think it worth getting a quote or two from a reputable solar company in your area so you can then make an informed decision.

Good idea motorseven, I think I will call a local company and get a price. They might even have some insight into this area wide offer by a competitor.