6 replies to this topic

[still learning]

As rooftop PV electricity gets more common new complications are emerging,

An article at The Motley Fool mentions decreased feed-in tariffs in Germany and the prospect of added fees in the US for those selling electricity back to the utilities through net metering setups.
See http://www.fool.com/...-challenge.aspx

In a way, kind of good that these problems are showing up.  Means that PV is becoming successful.

[iebo]

So the problem is that the Government isn't getting enough of their cut? Or that the utility corporations are paying too much to their residential suppliers? I think the utilities might be scared if solar power catches on to the point where they become obsolete.

[tri-n-b-helpful]

I'm not sure why Germany is doing it, but our government last week axed the pv solar system installation rebate, unannounced. Added to this, every state has either axed or wound right back to insignificant levels, the feed-in tariff rebate, meaning those who already have the systems will not be able to reach "break-even" before the system "breaks down". The reasons given for the axings are that the subsidies are unsustainable, even with our three trillion dollar economy and highest tax rates on earth. Solar in our country is now officially dead. People seem to think that feeding "solar power" into the grid will make coal-fired power stations do less work. This has been shown to be a misconception. Power stations are doing less work because people are using less energy because it has become phenomenally expensive. There is no way pv solar can replace base-load coal fired power stations even if the entire country were covered in solar panels.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

I would think that Germany is cutting subsides back because they're working (as well as other countries)
to save Greece and Italy from going under. The dollar (or Euro) only stretches so far.

[Phil]

Ineresting read.  Our PUD has been trying to get hydro reclassified as green to aviod being forced to buy wind and solar.

I think the opposite of what the Fool says could happen.  As solar becomes even more common, pro solar voters could win the day and force legislation that protects net metering and other incentives.  This may be happening in WA now, as the last attempt to reclassify hydro failed miserably.  Hopefully we can keep up the pressure.

I should have my first negagive month now so it will be interesting how our PUD handles that.

[irenen1]

Having checked some of the alternate energy price packages being offered at our town's annual fair, there hasn't been one that is financially feasible. Most are based on 20-30 year usage to break even but the equipment is waranteed to only last a maximum of 20 years.

None of the available methods are designed to provide 100% of a home's electrical needs. Is this possibly done on purpose? It's bad enough that as it stands, there is too much maintenance for the homeowner to perform on a system for maximum output.

[Phil]

Do you have state incentives where you live?  Definitely check into doing the job yourself.  You will save a bundle.  Pretty much everything is straight forward if you are at all mechanically minded.  The electrical  is pretty easy also.

I think you should be able to get pricing down to $1.33/watt complete which is likely half to a third of what you've been quoted.  My payback is 7.5 years and prices have fallen by 40 cents/watt since I bought.  My electric rate is 6.5 cents/KWH so if your rate is higher it should pay back even sooner.

If you do decicde to go ahead, I'll be more than happy to walk you through the entire process step by step.  If you don't know electricity, It's likely you have a neighbor who does.