Solar Panel Facts

I’ll get back to my series on solar powered water heaters soon, but before I do, I really felt that I needed to post this. I think a lot more of us would get on the solar power bandwagon if it were cheaper. If your utility company made it easier and cheaper to make the change, how many of you would jump at the chance? I know I would.

The government (local and otherwise) is involved in a lot of things they probably shouldn’t be, but this is an area where they could actually be helpful. So, what is your city or state doing to encourage the use of solar energy? What is your power company doing?

Think it’s impossible for your area to have affordable solar? And certainly impossible for the power company to help? Companies like Austin Energy prove it is possible. They offer rebates that pay 40-60% of the cost of installation. I’m not sure whether you can combine that with federal tax credits, but even if you can’t that’s a significant savings. They also offer affordable loans.

Cities and states can get involved in making solar cheaper, as well. When cities start using more solar, the savings will eventually trickle down to the rest of us. Las Vegas has plans to add millions of dollars in solar panels to save the city money on electricity. Ten cities have been recognized for using the highest percentage of solar power.

1. Oakland, CA 17%
2. Sacramento/San Francisco/San Jose, CA 12%
3. Portland, OR 10%
4. Boston, MA 8.6%
5. San Diego, CA 8%
6. Austin, TX 6%
7. Los Angeles, CA 5%
8. Minneapolis, MN 4.5%
9. Seattle, WA 3.5%
10. Chicago, IL 2.5%

So, if you want to find out more about solar supply or solar energy sources in your area, you should talk to a representative from your city council or state representatives to see what their plans are. This will give you the details you need about urban planning in your city or state, and will let you know how much money is being spent on electrical energy and new construction.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Affordable Solar, Solar Power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.