|
Net
Metering Economics
Will you
be spending $10,000 to $15,000 each year for power in twenty five
years? If you live in a 2,000 square foot home with a five ton air
conditioner, have natural gas for your heating system, water heater,
dryer, range and oven, you're most likely using 50 Kwh per day (inspect
your Power bill to exactly determine your average daily use).
Since the
minimum expected life of the solar components is twenty five years,
you should attempt to calculate your electricity cost for that same
period.
A 2,000
square foot home with a gas range, oven, water heater, dryer and
heating system uses about 50 kWh per day. An average month consumes
1,500 kWh, an average year 18,000 kWh and over the next 25 years,
approximately 500,000 kWh
30 years
ago the cost was less than one cent, last year in Las Vegas you
could buy with one kWh for $0.065... today, that same kWh costs
$0.095 and by April of 2002 the cost is expected to reach $0.13.
That's a doubling in just two years. We think it's a good bet that
over the next twenty five years, the average cost will be $0.50.
That means that you could pay, incredible as it now seems, $250,000
just for electricity by 2027, believe it or not.
A 10 KW
system would provide all the power your home requires and the $100,000
investment includes a solar water heating system too.
Net
Metering Incentives
Net
Metering
Eligible Technologies: Solar, Photovoltaic
Applicable Sectors: Commercial, Residential
Incentive:
Net Metering
This law allows net metering for those customers with solar 10 kW
or less. Utilities are required to supply a two-way meter to measure
flow in both directions, and utilities are prohibited from adding
any additional charges to the bills of those customers participating
in net metering. Furthermore, utilities cannot place any additional
standards on customer-generators.
Incentive:
Federal Loan Program
The Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) can be used by homeowners
to pay for energy efficiency measures for new and existing homes.
EEMs are federally recognized. Both government insured (e.g., FHA,
VA) and conventional (e.g., Fannie Mae) EEMs are available. Lower
your utility bills by 10 to 50 percent.
Incentive:
Property Tax Exemption
This Statute states that any value added by a qualified renewable
energy source shall be subtracted from the assessed value of any
residential, commercial or industrial building for property tax
purposes. Qualified equipment includes solar. This exemption applies
for all years following installation.
Nevada
Now:
Net Metering means customers of Nevada power can tie in to the power
grid and receive credit for the power the solar system generates,
thus eliminating the high cost of a battery bank which constitutes
at least one-third the cost of a solar power system. This makes
solar power systems more cost effective and affordable. So in the
daytime when you're generating power you're getting credit to your
account, then at night when you turn on the lights you're using
the power that was credited. It's like having a storage tank for
electricity.
|
