Municipal Solar Financing

If you have been watching and eye on solar energy, you have heard about the 30 percent tax incentives provided for solar purchases via a recent economic bailout packages.

Although I consider myself a fairly intelligent, literate person, I confess I cannot always follow the labyrinthine paths of government money.

I suspect this is purposeful. One cannot question what one does not understand.

Here’s another twist in solar funding: Municipal Solar Financing

What’s that, you say? Municipal Solar Financing?

Dan Hahn gives as simple and uncomplicated a definition as I’ve found. Thanks, Dan.

Frankly, the more I read the more inclined I am to think each of us should be creating our own stimulus package. The less entangled you are in governmental mazes, the freer you are.

I’m creating my own energy stimulus package via personal home energy conservation and efficiency. I’m thinking this will reduce the cost of my home solar system long before the government will.

You’re invited to begin the Home Energy Conservation Challenge.

Home Solar Energy Myths — Part 1

Going solar steadily grows in popularity. Myths about using solar energy for the home persist. Learning the facts frees you to embrace a clean, abundant, and efficient energy source.

Let’s deal with the three myths one at a time. Today we’ll address the first one.

1. Residential solar power systems are too expensive. Let’s address the expense of a home solar power system. The truth is a home solar energy system could be expensive. Without doing your homework first, buying and installing a photovoltaic (PV) system to replace current home energy consumption stretches the budget of the average American.

However, you have complete control of the initial cost of a solar energy system. You have no control over the rapidly increasing cost of oil and natural gas.

The good news is there are ways to make solar energy available to every budget. A few simple steps can bring solar energy in line with your budget.
• Reduce energy consumption,
• Improve home energy efficiency,
• Take advantage of renewable energy tax incentives and rebates that apply in your area.

Thoughtless energy consumption habits are a thing of the past. It is neither environmentally safe nor economical feasible to continue our caviler attitude of energy consumption. It benefits all of us to acquire and practice new energy consumption habits.

Begin with some easy habits. Turn your thermostat up in summer and down in winter. Switch to compact fluorescent light blubs (CFLs). Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees. Take short showers instead of baths. Wash clothes in cold water.

Increasing your home’s energy efficiency is an extremely cost effective step to going solar. Get a professional home energy audit. An energy professional can tell you where you home loses energy and what efficiency improvements you can make. Depending on your home, improvements could mean more insulation, upgrading to energy efficient windows, or sealing air leaks around doors and soffits.

Next, investigate the renewable energy tax incentives and rebates. Congress just passed into law Incentives Tax Credits (ITC) for residential and business solar systems. The price of a solar energy system could be reduced by as much as 30 percent. Each state has its own rebate plans as well.

Remember: the least expensive steps make the biggest impact on the final cost of a solar system.

Renewable Energy Politics

What governments do affect us. It’s true.

The Incentive Tax Credits (ITC) recently passed can reduce your cost for home solar energy up to 30 percent. This is a better deal than the expiring tax credits which limited tax credits to $2000.

But we – the folks concerned about the environment and our energy bills – cannot sit and wait for the government to take care of the world’s energy ills.

Today’s article in the New York Times gives evidence of just how slowly the government machine works.

So far Mr. Obama has outlined a number of broad policies but provided few specifics or a timetable for implementing his ideas. He could propose a climate bill, but the kind of cap-and-trade system preferred by Mr. Obama for greenhouse gases would, by many estimates, take at least a year or two to hash out even with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
The fear is this could become a Clinton health plan, trying to do too much too soon, and ending up with nothing,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House staff member who is now with the National Commission on Energy Policy.

And Energy Business Daily shines light on OPEC’s part in this little energy party.

“There is total confusion”among OPEC’s 13 members,” said Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. “These people … really have no business model. They basically thrive when oil prices go up, and now they are crying uncle when prices go down.

This article from the Associated Press says more about OPEC and oil prices. Some predict oil prices are about as low as they will get.

Oil prices have fallen 70 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July. After hitting $40.50 a barrel last week, some oil traders believe that if the market has not bottomed out, it is close to doing so.
“While we maintain our bearish bias, we are of the opinion the market has found a range in between the low $40s on the bottom and the mid $50s on the high end,” said The Schork Report edited by oil trader and analyst Stephen Schork.

The upshot of this little post is that governments cannot save us.

We cannot wait for Mr. Obama, our congressmen and senators, or OPEC to take action to save our planet or make reasonable energy decisions.

It is up to you and me.