One interesting development is solar leasing, or solar panel rental packages. These are solar lease companies usually privately owned. They use your roof space to install solar panels. The cost of panels is carried by them. They then sell the solar power to the power companies.
You end up paying slightly less than you would for a power company. Where solar leasers make their money is in the long term. The rising cost of power means that they will be able to sell solar electricity to power companies for more competitive rates. (That is the plan.) This takes advantage of the fact that solar panels are a very stable source of energy - they rely on the sun. The sun is not controlled by external forces. (Such as oil conglomerates, coal mining companies etc.) So it is easier to factor in a long term gradual increase in their electrical profit from solar power.
In this scenario, you get a slightly cheaper power bill, fixed for several years. The solar leasers get the long term speculating profit from rising power costs.
Once you start looking, there are many interesting developments in the field of solar energy. These are found both from the state government, and from the private sector.
One caveat though - if you are investing or growing a business in sustainable technologies, it’s wise not to depend on government incentives. Why? Because they are artificially changing the market and are not guaranteed in the future. For example, the green car incentives of a few years ago in California were cancelled. This left developers who relied on these incentives with a much higher break even point than before.
Best practice in sustainable business is to view incentives as a bonus, and make the most of them, for the time being.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Ron Winton // Nov 9, 2008 at 2:17 am
When you lease a solar system you won’t qualify for the new 30% tax credit or the huge cash rebate or the valuable RECs(renewable energy credits) and all you’d be lucky to save is about $25.00 a month on a typical $250.00 electric bill after going through all the trouble of being locked into a lease for all those years. And after more than 10 to 15 years of lease payments you will own absolutely nothing. You’re far better off to buy a system using traditional financing. Not only will you get all of the financial incentives mentioned above but you’ll also own a system with a 30 to 40 year life expectancy that will put cash into your pocket every month for another 20 to 30 years after you’ve paid the system off. And that’s even considering the replacement of the inverter after 12 to 15 years. Lease a solar system…..I don’t think so ! Buying one makes a lot more sense. Why do you think the leasing companies BUY solar systems, take all of the financial incentives for themselves then turn around and lease systems to homeowners. Sure it’s great to go green, but why not go and put a lot of extra green in your pocket by buying a solar system instead of leasing.
2 naomi // Nov 9, 2008 at 2:55 am
Ron, that’s a good point. It’s certainly better to buy solar energy if you can afford it, and the figures make sense where you live.
However, for some people leasing makes does make sense, as there is less financial input upfront, but still benefit to the environment and more stability for your power bills.
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