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Commercial Solar » Cost and Benefits |
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The bottom line in business is keeping costs down, and solar power is an investment that will lower your fixed costs for 30 years or more. The government took major steps toward insuring that Solar was financially viable for businesses by passing the Business Energy Tax Credit, which delivers a 30% tax credit with an additional MACRS rapid depreciation. Combined with California's Solar Initiative, which mandates rebates from the utilities, and existing Time of Use electric rates, businesses can pay less than a quarter of the installed costs of their systems. This brings the payback time down to 5 years, after which it's free electricity for decades. In San Francisco, the Go Solar program provides an additional $10,000 to boot, which raises the rate of return on systems of 10kW or less up to 35%!!!
Everyone wants to know just what solar will cost, and truth is, it varies. The main control factor is the size of your roof, or available area. The way you use energy on a daily basis and the total usage also come into play. To fully understand our ballpark estimate, you'll want to schedule a presentation or watch an on-line video, but in either case, you can see how valuable solar can be for your business or building. You can also download a detailed 10kW proposal, or run the numbers yourself with the Clean Power Estimator.
Of course, generating power you don't really need is an expensive proposition, and installing solar without optimizing efficiency can be a major mistake. Sun's Free Solar offers Investment Grade Energy Audits that give you the understanding you need to cut your bills by 25-50%, using equipment that pays off in the first year, rather than the five solar usually takes. Jump to our Efficiency page for more details/
The bottom line in business is keeping costs down, and solar power is an investment that will lower your fixed costs for 30 years or more. The government took major steps toward insuring that Solar was financially viable for businesses by passing the Business Energy Tax Credit, which delivers a 30% tax credit with an additional MACRS rapid depreciation. Combined with California's Solar Initiative, which mandates rebates from the utilities, and existing Time of Use electric rates, businesses can pay less than a quarter of the installed costs of their systems. This brings the payback time down to 5 years, after which it's free electricity for decades. In San Francisco, the Go Solar program provides an additional $10,000 to boot, which raises the rate of return on systems of 10kW or less up to 35%!!!
Everyone wants to know just what solar will cost, and truth is, it varies. The main control factor is the size of your roof, or available area. The way you use energy on a daily basis and the total usage also come into play. To fully understand our ballpark estimate, you'll want to schedule a presentation or watch an on-line video, but in either case, you can see how valuable solar can be for your business or building. You can also download a detailed 10kW proposal, or run the numbers yourself with the Clean Power Estimator.
Of course, generating power you don't really need is an expensive proposition, and installing solar without optimizing efficiency can be a major mistake. Sun's Free Solar offers Investment Grade Energy Audits that give you the understanding you need to cut your bills by 25-50%, using equipment that pays off in the first year, rather than the five solar usually takes. Jump to our Efficiency page for more details/
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This graph is based on a 3000 kWh usage, $480 a month billed at PG&E's A-1 rate. An 11 kW PV system (roughly $100,000 investment) pays off in 8 years, with an IRR of 12.4%.
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Alameda is a somewhat different beast, as the rates are lower than PG&E, there is no Time of Use rate to switch to, and the solar rebate program is not fully funded. There are, however, solid benefits to be accrued.
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This example shows you the 25-year curve of your electric costs in orange (based on a 3000 kWh monthly usage, currently billed at $480 a month), with the 6% annual increase that rates have undergone for 20 years.
The blue section is the amount you'll pay after installing an 10 kW solar array (~$100,000), with a ten year loan. The array will pay for itself in 6 years, with an IRR of 13.6%. Switching to A-6 Time of Use rates, your PG&E bill will be about $75 a month (or less, depending on your usage), graduating slightly over the decades. This curve stops at the 25 year warranty period of the panels, but it's expected that another 10 years or more of free electric production will be yours.
Read the Proposal
This example shows you the 25-year curve of your electric costs in orange (based on a 3000 kWh monthly usage, currently billed at $480 a month), with the 6% annual increase that rates have undergone for 20 years.
The blue section is the amount you'll pay after installing an 10 kW solar array (~$100,000), with a ten year loan. The array will pay for itself in 6 years, with an IRR of 13.6%. Switching to A-6 Time of Use rates, your PG&E bill will be about $75 a month (or less, depending on your usage), graduating slightly over the decades. This curve stops at the 25 year warranty period of the panels, but it's expected that another 10 years or more of free electric production will be yours.
Read the Proposal
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This is the same example (3000 kWh
usage) adjusted for AP&T's lower priced A-1 rate (currently billed at $420 a month). While the rebate is higher than PG&E's, it's payment is delayed until 2012, leaving more up front cost with a large drop. There are no Time of Use rates to switch to either, which would make solar more profitable. With more green power on tap for AP&T's portfolio, it's unlikely that there will be a switch in the near future.This 11 kW solar array will be paid off in eight
years, and your AP&T bill will be
about $211 a month, graduating slightly over the decades.
Read the Proposal
This is the same example (3000 kWh
usage) adjusted for AP&T's lower priced A-1 rate (currently billed at $420 a month). While the rebate is higher than PG&E's, it's payment is delayed until 2012, leaving more up front cost with a large drop. There are no Time of Use rates to switch to either, which would make solar more profitable. With more green power on tap for AP&T's portfolio, it's unlikely that there will be a switch in the near future.This 11 kW solar array will be paid off in eight
years, and your AP&T bill will be
about $211 a month, graduating slightly over the decades.
Read the Proposal
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Special Cases - San Francisco and Berkeley
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Leading the nation in promoting local power production, San Francisco and Berkeley have initiated major rebate and financing programs for their residents.
Go Solar SF rebates $6,000 for using qualified contractors (like us), which gives the example above an IRR of 20%!!! There is also a $5,000 additional incentive for low-income users (and low-income in San Francisco is more than you might think). Read the program FAQs for complete details.
Meanwhile, across the bay, Berkeley's FIRST program is developing the first community based financing program for solar. Residents can use city financing to add their solar system cost to their property tax bill, shifting financing away from the individual and on to the house itself.
Leading the nation in promoting local power production, San Francisco and Berkeley have initiated major rebate and financing programs for their residents.
Go Solar SF rebates $6,000 for using qualified contractors (like us), which gives the example above an IRR of 20%!!! There is also a $5,000 additional incentive for low-income users (and low-income in San Francisco is more than you might think). Read the program FAQs for complete details.
Meanwhile, across the bay, Berkeley's FIRST program is developing the first community based financing program for solar. Residents can use city financing to add their solar system cost to their property tax bill, shifting financing away from the individual and on to the house itself.
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