I'm thinking about putting solar panels on my house. A friend of a friend puts solar panels on people's houses, so I asked him for an estimate.
According to his estimate, it will cost $13,000 to put solar panels on my house that are supposed to be good for 25 years. There is a 30% federal tax credit, so that amounts to about $10,000. According to his estimate, this will pay for itself through reduced utility bills over 10 years. So, it seems to me, the only reason that somebody who owns a house and wants to reduce their carbon footprint wouldn't do this is that they don't have $10,000 available. Why shouldn't we have a green energy credit union that says to people, you want to put solar panels on your house, we'll lend you the $10,000. You pay us back over the next ten years. So, this will essentially cost you nothing. After your loan is paid off, you have 15 years of cheaper energy for your house. And the whole time you're reducing your carbon footprint. For free. ? Note that in states and cities that give incentives on top of the federal incentive, this should be even easier. My city and state don't do this. But in Los Angeles, a friend of mine who had solar panels put on his house said it didn't cost him a dime, because there are local and state subsidies, and there is a company that does everything for you: installs the panels, collects all the subsidies on your behalf, and sells you the panels on a rent to own basis so that no cash ever leaves your hands, so it's essentially acting as your bank and paying itself back out of your reduced utility bills. Or, looked at another way, it's a power company whose power generators are on top of people's houses. So Los Angeles, apparently, is taken care of. What about everywhere else? -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected]
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