Massachusetts is a state with many incentives designed to encourage homeowners to switch to renewable energy sources, including solar power.  Concord, a city in Massachusetts and home of famed Walden Pond, is going the extra mile to offer even more reasons for homeowners to make an investment in clean energy.

 

The Concord Solar Challenge runs through July 31^st and seeks to make “going solar” affordable for homeowners as well as nonprofits and businesses.

The Concord Solar Challenge

Several entities worked together to make the Concord Solar Challenge possible, including:

• The Town of Concord Comprehensive Sustainable Energy Committee (CSEC),
• Concord-Carlisle High School’s Environmental Field Studies Group, and
• Concord Climate Action Network (ConcordCAN).

 

It’s so fitting that Concord is a town working collaboratively toward helping the environment by encouraging homeowners and businesses to switch to a clean energy source.  After all, one of the most impactful pieces of literature in American history is Walden, based on Henry David Thoreau’s two year, two month, and two-day experience of bonding with pure nature on Walden Pond in Concord.

 

The goal of this localized solar challenge is to get 100 more solar PV installations for residences as well as a sizeable increase in solar installations among local nonprofits and businesses.  The first five participants in the program will receive Concord gift certificates worth $250, and a bonus of $100 is given for each referral made.

How does the new incentive work?  The more new installations there are, the better the rates will be for everyone. Concord has chosen a contractor to work with that will offer lower costs as more total capacity is reached. The initial pricing will be $3.90 per watt and when the challenge achieves 150 kilowatt (kW) hours, the price for everyone involved in the challenge will drop to $3.80.  If the challenge reaches 250 kW, the price will drop to $3.70.

Additional Solar Incentives:

Besides this local incentive, homeowners can take advantage of the following:

• A 30% federal investment tax credit
• Concord Light rebate of up to $3,125
• A $1,000 Massachusetts state tax credit
• Accelerated depreciation
• Bonus depreciation in the first year
• 100 percent Massachusetts corporate excise tax reduction
• Eligibility to participate in Massachusetts’ Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) system, which can be a source of ongoing revenue

This may be the best time ever for homeowners to switch to solar power.  The solar PV systems typically last 25 years or more, and payback periods for the cost of the system plus installation should be in the range of four or five years, as long as the solar panels have access to plenty of sunlight.

Many homeowners can expect to save approximately $1,000 per year on energy costs, in addition to monies earned on SRECs.

Involvement of Students from Concord-Carlisle High School

Students in the Environmental Field Studies Group from Concord-Carlisle High School have been diligent in the search for homes in Concord which are ideal for solar panels.  Students have spent several months on the project.

The Town Clerk provided the students with a complete list of streets, and using that information along with the town’s Geographic Information System (GIS), the students identified 1,700 homes which have roofs that face south and are suitable for the installation of solar PV panels.  The next step is that the students plan to hang door flyers on each of the homes which have clear potential for being viable locations for the production of solar power.

Contact Higgins Energy Solar Store in Massachusetts if you are interested in learning more about solar energy systems and installation.

Why should residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey switch to solar? To answer this question, we simply need to take a look at a new study released by the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association (MSEIA) and the Pennsylvania Solar Energy Industries Association (PASEIA). According to the findings solar power, in both PA and NJ, delivers far more value to the electric grid than it costs consumers to harvest it, making solar energy systems a great bargain for residents.

The new study, performed by Clean Power Research consulting company, shows the value that solar energy delivers actually exceeds its cost by 50% to 100+%, which is a relief to both homeowners’ wallets and their ecofriendly consciences.

Due to both state’s initiatives for greener living, energy providers in PA and NJ are required to purchase a certain amount of solar power each year. When homeowners and local businesses use a solar energy system, they harvest the sun’s power and push extra energy that they’ve created back into the electric grid. For this power they receive credit on account from the utility company and in some cases they’ll receive Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) as well. Residents and business owners can then sell these SRECs to energy providers, which can offset their energy bills to almost nothing.

According to Dennis Wilson, President of MSEIA, this means that electric ratepayers are actually seeing a 2-to-1 return on their investment into solar power systems. Essentially, these systems begin to pay for themselves almost immediately, and that’s a good thing for budget conscious individuals.

Even more good news abounds for Pennsylvania and New Jersey in clean energy ideals. Both states have begun considering to expand their solar energy initiatives and investments. The results of the study have shown that investing in solar energy is great for both the economy and job creation as solar energy can generate more in-state jobs than other types of energy plants.

For the past few years, Pennsylvania officials have struggled to enhance their solar share programs but thanks to this study, the findings have proven that solar energy is not simply a cost to ratepayers but instead a bargain compared to other energy options. New Jersey, on the other hand, is the nation’s second largest solar market and has now become the very first state to generate 1+% of its annual electricity from solar power. By increasing its solar commitment and adding more legislation to increase the importance of solar energy, PA could easily get its solar growth back on track to match that of NJ in no time.

Another good reason residents should consider switching to solar: solar power is not sensitive to the fluctuating prices of natural gas or other fuel prices. That means the price of solar electricity is steady and predictable, and as more people go solar the price may even decrease in years to come. Not to mention that solar power reduces the amount of load on the utility systems and energy grid, which in turn reduces the amount of energy purchased on the wholesale market.

What does that mean for residents? Well, if they choose to invest in a solar energy system and are able to realize savings by selling back to the utility that will help them for sure. But if traditional utility demand is lowered, that traditionally raises prices on a service that has fixed overhead costs. Even when utilities invest in green projects the infrastructure and construction costs may offset any potential lower energy costs. Lower prices of energy would be a great goal for everyone, however that will only happen if the utility is able to reduce their overhead and expenses.

For many residents in PA and NJ, the choice is clear. It can actually pay to go green. We can hope that as more importance is put on solar energy harvesting, more states will follow suit and create green initiatives that will benefit their residents’ energy choices as well.

 

Contact Bowden’s Solar Store in NJ or Tall Pines Farm Solar Store in PA to find out about custom solar energy system design and installation for your home.