Save Money and the Environment

Some people have asked us why they should invest in solar now rather than waiting 2, 3, 5, 10 years down the road. While it is possible that systems in the future will cost less than they do today, several things add up to make investing in solar now an incredibly smart move:

1. Solar panels are already at record lows, so much so that there is not much room for their pricing to decrease further.  This factor means that much of the system cost is now based on labor expenses, travel expenses, and ‘hard’ system components such as aluminum rail, copper wire, inverters, etc. which are more likely to increase in cost over time.
2. Rebates and Tax Credits- this is the big one. Today’s 30% federal tax credit (signed into law through 2016) also benefits from rebates ranging from a maximum of $2,000 in Maine to $3,750 in New Hampshire. If you are in a position to invest in solar today, it makes sense to take advantage of these incentives while they’re available.If you installed a 4.9kw solar array this year you would save about $990 in electricity. If you wait one year, the system would have to drop in price by that much to be worth waiting. If you wait two years, twice that much. In three years…

While no one relishes seeing the cost of electricity go up, price increases are just part of reality as our grid infrastructure ages and costs of fossil energy increases. The good news is that when grid electricity rates go up, the return on your solar investment increases proportionally.

The Environmental Cost

An oil tanker enters Casco Bay. Over 70% of Maine’s homes use oil for heating.

In tandem with ‘no brainer’ economics, the reality is that the stakes have never been higher for the environment.  Scientists agree that there is currently enough C02 embedded in known fossil fuel reserves that if it is all burned, we will push the planet beyond the edge of catastrophic climate change.

There is no greater challenge that humanity will face in the next 50 years than confronting the coming environmental calamity.  Each photovoltaic array equals one step towards a more sustainable, healthier planet.

While Northern New England may feel far away from the parts of the world that will feel the worst of global warming’s effects, consider that picturesque Maine is the most oil dependent state in New England, and the 4th most dependent in the United States.  Each year $4 billion of money leaves our state so that we can import dirty fossil fuels.

When ReVision’s crew leaves the site of a photovoltaic installation, we know that the system is going to produce electricity with no pollution right where it is needed for up to 50 years.

Each solar installation means something – a single solar installation in a neighborhood inspires questions from neighbors, and soon there are 2, 3, 4 installations in a neighborhood.  Soon entire communities are talking about group-buying their systems and local government and nonprofit buildings investigate the economic and environmental return on investment offered by solar.

Each solar energy system is one more step towards an energy revolution.  And don’t you want to come along?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Solar Power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.