Interesting facts about solar power

[MildlyEccentric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter solar salesperson came by yesterday to set up a meeting - about how much does a 40 panel system cost to install?

We purchased our system as part of one of the "solarize" programs. A community organizes what amounts to a group purchase of the panels along with a vetted contractor to handle the installations. In our case they quoted $3.35 per Watt (complete cost including panels, racks inverter, installation and connection to the grid). Using our numbers, a 40 panel system would supply 11 KW and cost approximately $37,000 complete. This is a "net metered" system without batteries.

One caveat on the federal subsidy (investment tax credit). It is a 30% credit against your federal taxes, however, it is only credited against your owed taxes. If you owe no federal taxes, there is no federal credit. There is a carry forward provision for any unused credit, but I'm not sure of the details.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem Maybe 1.3 mWh per month? 1.3 kWh would yield a monthly bill of about a dime. But, my nit-picking aside, what do you find attractive about the Seattle solar program? It's about a wash from a financial standpoint.

we pay about 10 cents an hour so my bill is about $130 per month on average

after doing a bit more research, I'm going to cancel the appt - with lack of state (Idaho) subsidies and such cheap electricity (we have several hydro electric dams nearby) it would take forever for me to break even on an install

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 A recent large installation was $3.57/watt. All flat roof (two large school buildings at different locations in the same town), lots of economy of scale. Far more cost efficient than sighting a single home. 896 Total kW $3,200,000 Installed $ -ERD50

Residential install in my part of FL is less than $2.7 per watt now.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimnjana Residential install in my part of FL is less than $2.7 per watt now.

Is that the un-subsidized cost? I used the actual total cost in my calculation.

-ERD50

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Is that the un-subsidized cost? I used the actual total cost in my calculation. -ERD50

unsubsidized cost. In 2012 our cost before subsidy was $3.4 per watt installed on a 9.6k pv system.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimnjana unsubsidized cost. In 2012 our cost before subsidy was $3.4 per watt installed on a 9.6k pv system.

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure why the installation I followed would have been so much higher - two big buildings, flat roofs? Should have really gained some economy of scale.

One explanation - it was all taxpayer money (a school district, plus grants). I wonder if any of the people who signed off on it would have paid that much if it was coming out of their own pocket and on to their own home?

I'll try to see if numbers are available for any other commercial scale installations around here. It's usually hard to find the unsubsidized costs, and businesses don't always want to make that public. For the most part, I think they want the PR.

-ERD50

[Totoro]

New MIT Study just out:
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/MI...compressed.pdf

Didn't read it yet, bound to be interesting though.