California Solar Power Gets More and More Affordable
There once was a time when solar power was such a new energy form that it was prohibitively expensive. Times have changed. Group purchases of solar power in Los Angeles have brought the price of this energy close to the cost of grid power, meaning that solar power is increasingly affordable. As time goes on, it may even cost less than grid electricity.
The low cost of solar power in Los Angeles comes thanks to an organization called Open Neighborhoods. This is a community solar power organization. It brings the power of a group together to do a multi-family solar power installation in a neighborhood in Los Angeles County. By switching to solar power as a group, costs can be reduced for each family.
The group price can make a big difference in comparison to buying solar power as an individual or single-family residence. For example, the most recent Open Neighborhoods group purchase was about $2 cheaper per watt than it would have been if a single individual had made this switch to solar. This translates to approximately six cents per kilowatt-hour savings over the course of twenty five years of using solar power.
It's important to understand that solar power will keep growing in the amount of money that it saves over time. This price for Open Neighborhoods brings the solar price close to the price of grid power. It is expected that by 2015 these same people will have cheaper CA electricity from their solar panels than the price of the average grid electricity at that time.
It is really the perfect time to get solar power. It's not so new that it's cost prohibitive; in fact, it's getting quite affordable. And yet, it's still new enough that it's possible to take advantage of money-saving tax credits and energy rebates when you make the switch to solar. It's a win-win as far as cost goes, especially in California!
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/01/358628/group-purchasing-solar-grid-parity-los-angeles/
Publish Date: 2011-11-22 09:33:06
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