Some people think they should wait to go solar until the cost of solar panels drops significantly. But there are a number of reasons why waiting to go solar will ultimately diminish your savings on energy instead of increasing them.

Rising Energy Costs

California has some of the nation’s highest energy costs, with homeowners paying an average of sixteen and a half cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity. Prices have risen around six percent annually since 1971. Pacific Gas & Electric recently announced that its rates could rise another 4.4 percent in October, and they could possibly go up 11 percent in January.

But soaring residential utility bills don’t yet reflect the true, high cost of today’s power. The price of wholesale electricity – which utilities like PG&E buy to deliver to your home – has gone up on average 10 percent annually over the last 7 years. PG&E’s recent warnings reflect a larger statewide trend. Southern California Edison recently asked the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to raise residential rates 16 percent next year and warned they could jump a whopping 25 percent. The utilities are asking for and getting these dramatic hikes approved because the fuels we use to make electricity – natural gas and coal for the most part – are getting more expensive. With these price increases, taking advantage of solar power makes economic sense for the majority of Californians right now.

Falling Solar Incentives

The federal and California government offer incentives to go solar. But these subsidies won’t last much longer. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) defrays a significant portion of solar’s cost for homeowners and businesses, but this is set to expire at the end of 2008. Without clear leadership on energy policy in Washington, recent efforts in Congress to extend the solar ITC have failed. Hence, going solar before the end of the year is the only way to guarantee this advantage.

Here in California, homeowners can also benefit from the state’s solar rebate program – the California Solar Initiative. But the rebate amount in PG&E territory recently went down 15 percent, and will go down again this year. Making the switch to solar now ensures you’ll get the maximum remaining state rebate. The longer you wait the less money you’ll save.

The Time to Go Solar is Now

Waiting to go solar simply doesn’t make sense – not with rising electricity prices, declining subsidies, and new services that make solar affordable and hassle-free. By next summer you might just breathe easier as you watch the meter spin backwards when the temperature rises and the thermostat falls.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Solar Homeowners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.