Keller Econ 545 Project

Big idea: Solar energy is great for the environment because of no pollution, it gets a lot of energy, and it is a great investment. However, solar panels can come at a high cost to buy and to get installed.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association should choose our proposal because solar panels are expensive but they will last up to twenty-five years. Solar panels are important to our society because photovoltaic and solar-thermal panels generate free electricity by converting sunlight into electricity or transferring the sun's heat to heating and ventilation systems. Also, the use of solar panels generate to where energy provides many benefits, which include reductions in the costs associated with generating

The proposed system is a 20 kW solar array that will cost $82,000 and last an expected 40 years. Jordan Weisman, owner of Sunbridge Solar, stated in an email that the proposed solar array will require 800 to 1000 square feet of land for installation. The solar array will come with a 20 year warranty and require minimal maintenance. Within this report I will show that the benefits of this project will outweigh the cost. My recommendation is based on the conclusion that this project will pay for itself within five years of installation. I will evaluate the net cost of this project based on energy saving, tax credits received, available tax write offs, rebates, and payments on the loan proposed. I will also examine the environmental and public relation benefits of installing solar panels.

Julio Cano-Vargas Comm 150-29 Prof. Parente 10/24/13 1) Introduction a) Attention Getter: Who here wants to help the environment? Who here loves to save money? Who here wants to get paid for doing nothing? Well you can do all that with solar panels, and I’ll tell you how.

This project is to identify the feasibility of residential solar power applications for the end-user, and any pros/cons and cost analysis of any such undertaking. We will compile existing data to identify how much grid electricity the average US household uses, how much they pay per kilowatthour (kWh), and compare it to the cost of installing solar power system. Taking into consideration environmental effects, government incentives, and pure electricity cost savings over time, we will demonstrate that every American would benefit by moving from grid electricity to solar power, even if opting for a partial-grid or grid tie-in solar system.

For once, going solar means saving money. Paying the electric bill every month can be very expensive. According to One Block off the Grid,” the addition of solar panels to a home can bring in regular savings of well above $100. In two decades you can save up about, and this translates to over $30,000. ("Top 10 Benefits of Going Solar - Energy Informative’’). “ Who doesn’t want to save up a little money? Another benefit of going solar is that solar energy doesn’t hurt the environment as much. Solar energy doesn’t produce as much carbon dioxide as the burning of fossils does. The official energy site argues that,” solar panels counterbalance about 100,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide in 20 years – the equivalent of driving a car for 100,000 miles("Top 10 Benefits of Going Solar - Energy Informative’’).” If more people started going solar Earth will definitely benefit from it. As times in the environment are bad it wouldn’t hurt to go for more of a natural lifestyle choice. Furthermore, not only do solar panels help save money, save the environment they can also help the price of your house to increase. In fact adding solar panels do help save money, and in the retail business that is a very good factor. When deciding to buy a home buyers are looking for what’s best for their needs and their pockets. Saving a little extra money every month wouldn’t hurt. A study conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory,” concluded that homes with solar panels sell 20% faster and for 17% more money ("Top 10 Benefits of Going Solar - Energy Informative’’).” This means that sale prices of average homes increase about $17,000 with solar

One of the major setbacks of using solar energy is the cost. It is expensive to

Since solar agreements have a fixed electricity rate and utility rates increase over time, businesses who implement 24.1 MWdc (megawatts) solar panels can expect to save

Saving money is not a concept easily grasped when it comes to bleeding millions every year in efforts to maintain growing energy concerns. One of the major advantages of solar panels is that they can potentially become the country’s smart grid, providing energy to homes and businesses along their path.

The estimated cost to build a 10 megawatt solar power plant is $13 million 221 thousand that stretches 75,000 square metres. Since there is no fuel costs involved in a solar power plant, it makes it one of the cheapest available. These plant expenses are only $11.40 per megawatt hour and just 1.14 cents per unit. Solar power plants don’t require variable expenses whereas coal-fired power plants can cost over 4 cents a unit, but this cost fully depends on the fuel prices. plants over 5 cents a unit, nuclear power plants over 2 cents a unit, and wind, $1.30 a unit. Of course, these costs change depending on fuel

It is one of the cleanest sources without any emission of harmful gases and is in a great demand today. When these are converted to electricity for commercial as well as residential uses, there are no effects on the environment, no air pollution, noise pollution or any wastes. These can play a very important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by replacing coal-powered energy sources with clean, renewable solar technologies which improve air quality and lessen the harmful impacts that contribute to climate change. Residential solar gives the advantage of energy independence, fuel diversity, improved power reliability, increased price stability and reduced need to build more expensive and polluting electric power generation plants. The benefits of this are energy independence, protection against rising electrical rates, sound financial investment, reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil. These benefits extend well and eliminate exposure to increasing energy costs and Solar power provides energy security. Photovoltaic (PV) power systems convert sunlight directly into electricity and enables homeowner to generate some or all of their daily electrical energy demand on their own roof, exchanging daytime excess power for future energy needs. It can plan an important role in providing an alternative source of electricity, energy, and back-up power for homes, offices, commercial and industrial buildings. Those who are putting solar on their homes, businesses or other buildings are making a

install and owns solar energy systems to households in 15 states with long term contracts, therefore seems to be one of SolarCity’s main competitor along with Sungevity.

While it is immediately more expensive to incorporate solar design techniques in building a home, once a solar structure is in place it essentially pays for itself. After the initial cost of building and supply, all solar energy sequestered is free of charge, with the exception of periodic maintenance. This seems far more appealing than the ever present and increasing costs associated with fossil fuel dependency.

As the demand for solar power has grown, legislatures across the country have responded in different ways. The North Carolina legislature passed legislation in 2007 that successfully incentivized solar energy development in the state. By 2015, North Carolina ranked only behind California in solar installations. South Carolinians often compare themselves to North Carolinians and this is no different when it comes to renewable energy. The South Carolina legislature passed extremely different legislation in 2014 from that passed earlier in North Carolina. Both houses of the legislature in South Carolina unanimously passed the Distributed Energy Resource Program Act (Act 236) with the full support of investor-owned utilities, municipalities, the electric cooperatives, the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff and most of the region’s environmental conservation groups that work throughout the state . It is too early to determine, but the South Carolina legislation may or may not see similar success as that seen in North Carolina to incentivize solar power generation throughout the state. The South Carolina legislation requires the state’s three investor owned utilities to subsidize and socialize the additional cost of solar energy to incentivize solar energy’s development across the South Carolina. However, the distributed energy law does not require the 20-member owned electric cooperatives of South Carolina to subsidize or socialize any additional cost of solar energy. Instead the cooperatives are left to determine individually if adoption of solar is prudent for their membership.

In addition, solar energy operational costs are manageable. It is free from monthly charges compared to conventional sources of energy. Solar energy does not require raw materials such as oil and coal, and once the panels are built, there will be no monthly charges. In addition, the prices of fossil fuels are increasing day by day, and this means conventional energy will be very expensive. Solar energy will remain the most capable world’s future power supply because, it is cost effective once the plants are built, and there will be no transport costs like for conventional energy sources. Therefore, solar energy is cost-effective, and will help in future energy supply, as the maintenance cost is affordable, as long as they are installed properly, and are working efficiently ( Hans, 2012). Furthermore, with the improvement and advancement of technology, it will increase its efficiency, and cost of production thus, making it more cost effective and the world’s best