Conservatives, let’s talk about energy. And why so many conservatives are so wrong — so liberal, even — on wind and solar energy. Let’s start with a recent editorial from the home of ‘free markets and free people,” the Wall Street Journal. Photovoltaic solar energy, quoth the mavens, is a “speculative and immature technology that costs far more than ordinary power.” So few words, so many misconceptions. It pains me to say that because, like many business leaders, I grew up on the Wall Street Journal and still depend on it. But I cannot figure out why people who call themselves “conservatives” would say solar or wind power is “speculative.” Conservatives know that word is usually reserved to criticize free-market activity that is not approved by well, you know who.

Today, around the world, more than a million people work in the wind and solar business. Many more receive their power from solar. Solar is not a cause, it is a business with real benefits for its customers. Just ask anyone who installed their solar systems five years ago. Today, many of their systems are paid off and they are getting free energy. Better still, ask the owners of one of the oldest and most respected companies in America who recently announced plans to build one of the largest solar facilities in the country.

That would be Dow Jones, owners of the Wall Street Journal.

Now we come to “immature.” Again, the meaning is fuzzy. But in Germany, a country 1/3 our size in area and population, they have more solar than the United States. This year, Germans will build enough solar to equal the output of three nuclear power plants. What they call immaturity our clients call profit-making leadership. But let’s get to the real boogie man: The one that “costs far more than ordinary power.”

I’ve been working in energy infrastructure for 25 years and I have no idea what the WSJ means by the words “ordinary power.” But, after spending some time with Milton Friedman whom I met on many occasions while studying for an MBA at the University of Chicago, I did learn about costs. And here is what every freshman at the University of Chicago knows: There is a difference between cost and price. Solar relies on price supports from the government. Fair enough — though its price is falling even faster than fossil fuels are rising. But if Friedman were going to compare the costs of competing forms of energy, he also would have wanted to know the cost of “ordinary energy.” Figured on the same basis. This is something the self-proclaimed conservative opponents of solar refuse to do.

But huge companies including Wall Mart, IBM, Target and Los Gatos Tomatoes figured it out. And last year so did the National Academy of Sciences. It produced a report on the Hidden Costs of Energy that documented how coal was making people sick to the tune of $63 billion a year. And that oil and natural gas had so many tax breaks and subsidies that were so interwoven for so long, it was hard to say exactly how many tens of billions these energy producers received courtesy of the U.S. Taxpayer. Just a few weeks ago, the International Energy Agency said worldwide, fossil fuels receive $550 billion in subsidies a year — 12 times what alternatives such as wind and solar get. Neither report factored in Global Warming or the cost of sending our best and bravest into harm’s way to protect our energy supply lines.

Whatever that costs, you know it starts with a T.

All this without hockey stick graphs, purloined emails or junk science. When you compare the real costs of solar with the fully loaded real costs of coal and oil and natural gas and nuclear power, apples to apples, solar is cheaper. That’s not conservative. Or liberal. That comes from an ideology older and more reliable than both of those put together: Arithmetic.

Please don’t miss the Change.org petitions over on the right hand side of the site. Topics like offshore oil drilling and the Climate Bill are awaiting your support!

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I wonder how shiny the moon would be at night – would it keep us up all night, as though the sun was now shining 24 hours a day?

Please don’t miss the Change.org petitions over on the right hand side of the site. Topics like offshore oil drilling and the Climate Bill are awaiting your support!

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2. Is Solar Right For Me? – Part 1.
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5. Greenwash Of The Week: Chevron’s Solar Project Bulls#%t!

I wonder how shiny the moon would be at night – would it keep us up all night, as though the sun was now shining 24 hours a day?

Please don’t miss the Change.org petitions over on the right hand side of the site. Topics like offshore oil drilling and the Climate Bill are awaiting your support!

You may also enjoy:

1. Buying Green Power From Your Utility Vs. Going It Alone.
2. Is Solar Right For Me? – Part 1.
3. Is Solar Right For Me? – Part 2.
4. Heat Your Home For Free With These Solar Heaters.
5. Greenwash Of The Week: Chevron’s Solar Project Bulls#%t!

Until December 31, 2010, you can get a tax credit of up to 30% of cost up to $1,500 on the following items.

The work must be done on an existing home and this home must be your principal residence. Rentals and new construction do not qualify.

• Biomass stoves – Biomass includes wood, wood waste and residues (including wood pellets), plants , grasses, residues, and fibers.
• Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan – A fan which blows the air that your furnace heats up through the duct system.
• Air Source Heat Pumps – During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house; during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors.
• Central Air Conditioning – I think we all know what these are!
• Gas, Propane, or Oil Hot Water Boiler – Heating units that use water circulated throughout the home in a system of baseboard heating units, radiators, and/or in-floor radiant tubing.
• Natural Gas or Propane Furnace – Uses the combustion of fuel and air to create heat.
• Insulation – Just what you think it is. The credit applies to weather stripping, spray foam, and house wrap.
• New Roofs – Metal roofs and asphalt roofs that reflect some of the sun’s rays.
• Gas, Oil, Propane Water Heater – Heats up the water for your home.
• Electric Heat Pump Water Heater – Heats up the water for your home.
• Storm Windows & Doors – These can enhance efficiency by creating another barrier from the weather outside.

Until December 31, 2016, you can get a tax credit of up to 30% of cost with no upper limit on the following items.

Existing homes & new construction qualify, as do both principal residences and second homes. Rentals do not qualify.

• Geothermal Heat Pumps – Similar to ordinary heat pumps but they use the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases, hot water. VERY efficient.
• Residential Wind Turbines – Yep, turning the wind into energy to power your home.
• Solar Energy Systems – This includes both solar panels and/or solar water heaters.

Until December 31, 2016, you can get a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity on the following item.

Existing homes & new construction qualify, and the home must be your principal residence. Rentals and second homes do not qualify.

• Fuel Cells – Not too common, especially in the U.S., a fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts a source fuel (usually hydrogen) into an electrical current.

So, how would you go about applying for these Federal tax credits and rebates? Well, after you have done your homework and purchased the appropriate products/had correct items installed, head on over to the Energy Star website, which provides information on the necessary tax forms and other information.

However, don’t stop there – there may be State credits and rebates available as well!

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, or DSIRE, provides a full list of state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Created by the U.S. Department of Energy, it is an amazing reference to all things related to your home state, so be sure to remember to use it in addition to any Federal information you may find. You don’t want to leave any tax credits or rebates on the table while they are still available!

A major key to our communal survival on this planet is by using energy in a much more efficient manner. We cannot continue to destroy the planet in order to continue living the exact same way we did 25 years ago, so we have to make changes in the way we both harvest energy and use energy at home. Upgrading your home to be more energy efficient is a huge component of this, so please – when remodeling, building, or when just wanting to “go green” at home, take advantage of these tax rebates and credits whenever possible. They will save you some money and save us all some energy.

Photo from Shutterstock

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5. Is Solar Right For Me? – Part 1.

Climate

The next step is to look at your climate. Are you in the sunbelt, or are you in a fog-bound sea port? If you are in fog it does not mean that you cannot use solar, it just means that you will need a lot more solar modules than a sunny location and the system will likely not be cost-effective. For a map of the solar resource (called insolation) across the United States, see http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html(See Figure 1) Zoom in on your location and then compare that color to the scale to find your insolation. For instance, for Phoenix, Arizona, the average annual insolation is about 6.5 W/m2/d (Watts per square meter per day). If the insolation is low in your area, the financial assistance will have to be high to make your system cost-effective.

Figure 1, Map of Annual Solar Resource for the United States

Orientation

Notice that the insolation values on Figure 1 are for “Fixed Plate Tilted at Latitude.” This brings up the topic of orientation. In general, the most output for stationary solar modules are when they are tilted approximately equal to your latitude. Most residential solar systems are mounted on the roof. Look at your roof. Do you have a large roof surface that is pointed south (in the northern hemisphere) and tilted about equal to your local latitude? If you do, great. If the roof is oriented towards the north, your system will not produce very much electricity. East and west orientations are not as good as south orientation, but not as bad as north orientation. To accurately determine the effect of orientation, you will need a computer program. Such programs are available on the internet. Search for “Solar Calculator” or similar (one is at http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html/, click on “PVWATTS Version 2”). Solar contractors also have such calculators. In general, roof orientation may be a determining factor, with south-facing roofs the best, and north-facing roofs the worst.

You can build a mounting frame on your roof to re orient the solar modules. This adds concentrated stress to your house and may not meet the aesthetics factor. You will need a structural engineer to help with the design. Of course, if you have room to mount the solar system on the ground, you can orient and tilt the solar modules to produce the most power.

Shadowing

Shadowing is an often overlooked factor in solar installations. Is your house surrounded by a forest, located in a canyon, or surrounded by tall buildings. If only one cell on a solar module is shadowed, the entire module will produce very little power. Ideally, your roof should have full sun all day long. If not, the more sun the better. If the shadows do not leave until mid morning and return early in the afternoon, you will need a great deal of financial assistance to offset the poor performance. You can see what the shadowing will be like throughout the year by using an instrument like the Solar Pathfinder, see http://www.solarpathfinder.com/. Sometimes you can eliminate the shadows, such as cutting down or trimming a tree, or moving a TV satellite dish. Other times you can move the solar array. If you have shadows throughout the day, a solar system may not be for you.

Aesthetics

The beauty of solar is in the eye of the beholder. Most solar modules are mounted a few inches above the roof to provide air circulation underneath. Some people consider this a visual nuisance. Others want the world to know that they have a solar system and consider this a badge of honor. If you are one who doesn’t want modules to ruin your roof line, you can do one of several things. You may be able to mount the solar modules on a portion of the roof that is not visible. You can also buy special modules that are designed to blend into the roof (usually not as efficient, so you will need more). If none of the available solutions suits your situation, solar may not be for you.

Adding It All Up

The bottom line is something called the payback period, in years. This is the time at which the savings equal the cost. The payback period is fairly straight forward to calculate. First add up all the initial cost, such as materials and labor, subtracting any rebates. Then, for each year, add in any recurring cost, such as maintenance (usually minuscule), insurance and interest payments. Then subtract anything like tax breaks. Now calculate the savings by multiplying the actual annual electricity generated in KWh by the cost you would normally have to pay for the KWh of electricity. Subtract the savings. Continue to do this for subsequent years until the number becomes negative. This is the payback period. If you have a payback period of 8 years, great. The solar system should last for 30, so you will have 22 years of saving money on your electricity bill.

You may be committed to renewable energy even if the solar system is not profitable. If this is the case, you still want to be efficient with your solar system, because it makes the best use of the resources.

Next Step

If you are serious about installing a solar system on your house, start by reading. There are lots of good books on the market. Also subscribe to a good solar magazine. Then, when you are ready, start to work with a solar professional: an installer or solar contractor. Do yourself and the planet a favor, check it out.

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