Once I heard that Congress passed the 30% Solar Tax Credit I started seriously thinking about going solar. For years I had dreamed of producing enough clean renewable energy to power my home and vehicle. Finally it looks like this dream is affordable and within my reach.
I'm starting with my home. We own a 1950 Pueblo Style Home in Albuquerque, NM. Its about 1900 sq. feet and we (JimmyMac, Johnny, and Skylar the Coonhound) use about 450 kWh of electricity on average per month.
I contacted a few Solar companies in Albuquerque for an estimate. This is what I'm going with:
I'm getting a 2.9 kW roof mounted Solar Photo Voltaic System installed for $20,738. This system will be grid tied.
* Solar Panels 11,347.00
* Inverter 1,999.00
* Roof Rack 1,182.00
* Installation -Labor 6,000.00
* City permit 60.00
* Utility Interconnection/App Fee 150.00
* New Mex. Sales tax (Solar is exempt) 0.00
So, I'll have to pay this $20,738 up front and then I'll see the tax credits next May -2010. Or I could start reducing my tax witholdings now.
Here is what the tax credits will look like based on the $20,738 cost of the system:
Federal Tax Credit: 30% $6,221
New Mexico Tax Credit: 10% $2,073
Cost of system after tax credits: $12,444
But wait! It gets even better. PNM, my electric company provides a .13 cent renewable energy credit for every kWh I produce -whether I use the energy or sell it back to the company. So, with that in mind look at these numbers:
The average monthlyPNM bill -that will now
be AVOIDED because I have solar. $46.00
The projected monthly Renewable
Energy Credit that PNM will pay me. $60.00
TOTAL $106.00 a monthly benefit.
So .... you might be wondering how long before the system pays for itself? Here are the calculations.
$12,444 (cost of system) / $106 (monthly benefit) = 117.4 months to pay for itself.
117.4 months = 9.78 years and the system pays for itself!
If the PV system lasts 25 years thats roughly 15 years of free clean renewable electricity which will pay me $60 a month. Over 15 years thats $10, 800 dollars in my pocket.
Who says solar isn't affordable?
Stay tuned for more updates on Jimmy goes SOLAR!
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Fantastic info, Jimmy! Thanks for sharing and letting me know about it. Keep up the blogging and how it goes, the good and the bad. Be transparent. This is good info for NM residents--and everyone in general to see how affordable solar can be. Thank you again for having the courage and patience to go through the numbers and see if it was right for you.
ReplyDeleteTor aka "Solar Fred"
Very cool of you to put this down, step by step and dollar by dollar.
ReplyDelete