Category Archives: rebates

Advantages of Solar Power Photovoltaic (PV) Arrays on Apartment Complex Rooftops

Investing in a solar photovoltaic (PV) system can be the single best investment that an Apartment Complex owner will ever make. Solar will provide the apartment complex owner with a serious competitive advantage over other apartment complex competitors that do not invest in solar. All apartment complex owners that do not invest in solar today will be forced pay higher and higher prices for electricity as the electric utility companies continue to increase their electricity rates as the cost for coal and gas increase and carbon taxes are implemented by the federal government.

Solar PV on Apartment Complex

Top 10 Reasons to Install Solar Panels on Apartment Complex Rooftops:

    Solar provides apartment complex owners with a competitive edge:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops provides building owners with a competitive edge
    There are many advantages of installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops, but the #1 reason that an apartment complex owner should install solar is because it will give their apartment complex a huge competitive advantage as utility electricity rate hikes continue to drive monthly electricity bills higher and higher. In 15 year’s time, the apartment complex owner that installs solar will be paying the same amount for electricity every year. But the apartment complex owner across the street will probably see their electricity costs double or triple in less than 15 years. Most apartment complex owners can either pass this savings onto their tenants or significantly increase their profit margins compared to the competition.

    Solar provides apartment complex owners with free electricity:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops produces free electricity
    Using an apartment complex rooftop to produce your own free electricity is hard to beat. Imagine how much money you would save each month if you did not have to pay your apartment complex’s electricity bill. And most apartment complex owners have large parking lots too. Why not install solar in the parking lots and provide your customers with shaded parking covers?

    Solar protects apartment complex owners against electricity rate hikes:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops protects against electricity rate hikes for 25 years
    Typical electricity rates increase an average of 6% a year. A solar power panel is guaranteed to produce free electricity for 25 years, but many solar panels last 30-40 years. To see why free electricity is important, build an excel spreadsheet that multiplies your current electricity bill by 6% each year for the next 25 years. At a 6% increase per year, a $1,000 monthly electric will increase to more than $3,820 per month in 25 years. Why not protect your apartment complex against future electric rate hikes?

    Solar allows apartment complex owners to sell electricity for a profit:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops allows owners to sell electricity to their tenants
    If your apartment complex has tenants, then you can sell your clean green electricity for a profit. Your tenants would be happy to buy electricity from you instead of the utility company if you give them a 10% discount. Installing solar power on the apartment complex rooftop is similar to installing ATM machines that significantly improve your monthly cash flow. If the apartment complex has no tenants, the apartment complex owner has the option sell the electricity back to the utility through Arizona’s Net Metering policy.

    Solar provides apartment complex owners with MACRS depreciation and huge tax write-offs:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops provides MACRS depreciation and huge tax write-offs
    If your apartment complex has a tax liability problem and is looking for a great tax write-off, solar is a great way to take advantage of a 30% federal tax credit and any state tax credit that might be available. MACRS depreciation allows apartment complex owners to depreciate a large percentage of the system cost in the first year of operation. You may not understand the math, but when your accountant reviews the numbers, they may wonder why you had not made this investment sooner.

    Solar protects apartment complex owners against power outages:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops provides protection against power outages
    Like diesel backup generators, solar power array can provide electricity when the regular grid has an outage. Electricity can be stored in batteries, large capacitors, flywheels and other types of devices that store energy until it is needed during an emergency or when the sun goes down. The first thing that is usually flown to a tornado, hurricane or earthquake disaster scene is a solar power telecommunications and water purification trailer. If safety is a concern, solar power can provide a fantastic source of emergency power, communications and water purifications for your tenants and employees.

    Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) can be sold by apartment complex owners for a profit:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops allows owners to sell their solar RECs for a profit
    As the world becomes more and more concerned with air pollution and water usage, utility companies are facing regulations that mandate producing a percentage of their electric power from renewable energy sources. Many utilities will not be able to meet their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and will be forced to buy RECs from independent power producers. Investing in RECs now can provide a very lucrative return on investment as energy consumption continues to increase and taxing carbon-based power production moves into mainstream regulatory public policy. See this link for more information on SREC trading: www.srectrade.com

    Solar saves the utility companies billions of dollars in reduced fuel and power purchase costs:

  • Solar requires no fuel and produces power where it is actually needed
    A recent research study, the RW Beck Distributed Renewable Energy Operating Impact Research Study, sponsored by Arizona’s largest electric utility company shows that a high penetration level of solar can save a lot of money on the cost to produce electricity. The study illustrates how heavy deployments of solar can save APS approximately $3 billion over the next 15 years by reducing fuel costs, reducing power purchases, reducing operations and maintenance, reducing capital expenditures and reducing the amount of power needed to be generated for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

    “Going Solar” is the best way for apartment complex owners to reduce their carbon footprint:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops provides great publicity for reducing pollution
    In addition to saving money, creating jobs, and creating economic development, the best thing about solar power is that it produces zero air pollution. When global warming is a growing problem facing the world installing solar power is one of the best ways for apartment complex owners to reduce their carbon footprint and in the process save a lot of money on future apartment complex electric bills.

    “Going Green” with solar power generates very positive PR publicity:

  • Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops provides great publicity for “Going Green”
    The local newspaper, TV stations and trade publications like to cover companies that are good stewards for the local community they serve. Installing solar power on apartment complex rooftops is a good way to provide leadership and help migrate as many residential and commercial customers to solar power. It also creates a lot of green collar jobs and installation revenue that can be injected back into the local economy as solar installation companies spend money on office space, a fleet of trucks and the supplies they need to install solar power arrays.

information from Arizona Solar Power Society

7 Impressive Solar Energy Facts (+ charts)

7 impressive solar energy facts (+ charts)

by author:Zachary Shahan

How solar power has changed over the last 10 years

Solar power is in a tremendously different place today than it was in 10 years ago. Below are a handful of impressive stats about solar power’s growth, as well as some general stats about solar energy potential that are also quite noteworthy.

1. Even yearly energy potential from sunshine dwarfs total energy potential from any other source.

The annual energy potential from solar energy is 23,000 TWy. Energy potential from total recoverable reserves of coal is 900 TWy. For petroleum, it’s 240 TWy; and for natural gas, it’s 215 TWy. Wind energy’s yearly energy potential is 25–70 TWy.

[Source: A Fundamental Look at Energy Reserves for the Planet]

2. Approximately 66% of installed world solar PV power capacity has been installed in the past 2½ years.

Furthermore, total installed capacity is projected to double in the coming 2½ years.

[Source: GTM Research]

3. Global solar PV power capacity grew from about 2.2 GW in 2002 to 100 GW in 2012.

From 2007 to 2012, it grew 10 times over, from 10 GW to 100 GW.

[Source: Renewables 2013 Global Status Report]

4. There are now about 1.36 million jobs in the global solar PV industry.

There are also about 892,000 in the solar heating & cooling industry.

[Source: Renewables 2013 Global Status Report]

5. Germany accounted for nearly one third of global solar PV capacity at the end of 2012.

Italy (16%) and Germany (32%) combined accounted for nearly half of global solar PV capacity.

[Source: Renewables 2013 Global Status Report]

6. The price of solar PV panels dropped about 100 times over from 1977 to 2012.

Since 2008, the price of solar PV panels has dropped about 80%.

[Data Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance / Chart Source: Cost of Solar/Unknown]

7. The sunshine hitting Texas in one month contains more energy than all the oil and gas ever pumped out of the state.

Nonetheless, New Jersey has about 10 times more solar PV power capacity installed than the entire state of Texas.

[Data Source: SEIA / Image Source: 1Sun4All.com]

Those are some of the most impressive solar energy facts and charts I’ve seen, but please let us know if there are some big ones you think I’m missing.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by Zachary Shahan, editor of CleanTechnica and Planetsave. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of ABB or its employees.

Arizona should take advantage of Utility Company rebates for Solar PV and Thermal Systems before they are gone.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System

Last week Salt River Project (SRP) announced that they lowered their solar rebates for residential solar photovoltaic systems installed within their service area in Arizona.  They decreased the rebate amount offered from $2.15 per watt to $1 per watt.  If you have been paying attention to solar rebates in Arizona then you likely have noticed that they have continued to decrease, at least the offerings from both major utility companies, SRP and APS.  Therefore, it is likely that the solar rebates in Arizona will soon be eliminated altogether for residential customers so if you plan to have a solar photovoltaic or solar thermal system installed on your home then now may be the best time.