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The greatest ideal that America is known for is freedom. The American Dream has been, and still is the idea that any citizen has the freedom to strive for economic prosperity.

A significant part of the American Dream has been home ownership. That millions of people who have achieved middle class status can afford home ownership has been one of the things that has been a cornerstone of this great nation.

Solar power is now starting to play its role in the American Dream. Residential solar power represents one of the largest economic opportunities in history. For the first time ever, the average homeowner now has the ability to be a producer of energy, instead of a renter.

The implications of this fact are truly staggering. Besides a mortgage payment, electricity costs have been the largest ongoing expense for homeowners. With the arrival of affordable solar panel systems, homeowners can now choose to make payments on a solar panel system loan, much like they do with their mortgages. Of course, some homeowners can pay cash for their systems, saving even more.

A traditional home loan spreads the cost of a home over 30 years. On the other hand, many homeowners can have their solar systems paid off in only 7 years or less. Adding energy ownership to home ownership can substantially add to the average person’s prosperity and overall lifestyle.

However, the same freedoms that make this possible for the average homeowner, are the same freedoms that allow for all sorts of different solar power companies to take shape. Many of these companies wish to become the next major power companies, ultimately taking away the economic boon that is now available to homeowners. Traditionally – over the last 5 years or so – these new power companies have used solar to provide 20 year leasing schemes. Many thousands of homeowners have chosen to do business with these companies and forfeit any of the economic bounty that solar power now represents.

There are now other, utility style companies that are also pushing solar programs. The results are the same. Homeowners do not ultimately own the solar panel systems in these programs and therefore will not stand to gain the most from what solar technology has to offer now.

Unfortunately with solar, as with anything else, “buyer beware” is a good attitude to have. For every company that is trying to do the “right thing” for people, there are plenty of others that would rather try to make as much money as possible.

Solar power is too important for it to be held back by greed. Thankfully, this is not always the case. There are many affordable solar panel installers that want to do right by their neighbors. Low prices for solar ownership means that even more people can afford to make this switch.

As there is a new solar installation completed in the United States every 3 minutes, an increasing number of people are benefiting from low and locked-in energy prices due to solar power.

Clean, renewable sources of energy like solar power will continue to become an increasingly larger part of what is known as the American Dream.

One of the first questions that many who are considering solar power ask is – how much do solar panels cost?

The rest of this post will go into detail concerning the costs of a solar panel system.

First of all, the price for a solar panel system can vary widely based primarily on how much energy a homeowner uses. Parts for a solar panel systems can cost just a few thousand to as much as $20,000 or more for really large systems. All of the following numbers are for grid-tied systems.

Let’s take a closer look at the costs involved.

The costs for a solar panel system can be broken down into three main categories – panels, inverter, and balance of system (BOS).

#1. Solar Panels
Wholesale pricing for individual solar panels is now less than a dollar per watt. A typical solar panel can produce about 260 watts. Most American homes will need anywhere from a 3,000 watt system to a 10,000 watt system, on average. The number of panels would then be between 10 and 30 approximately. A 20 panel system is very common – leading to a price of about $5,000 – just for the panels.

#2. Inverter
The inverter is a very important part of a solar panel system. This device takes the direct current (DC) electricity from your solar panels and converts it to alternating current (AC) electricity that your home uses. Prices for inverters vary depending on the size of the solar panel system and the brand name of the inverter. The typical price range for inverters is between $1,000 and $3,000 based on the two factors just mentioned.

#2. Balance Of System
While the panels and inverter are two of the primary components of a solar power system, there are other vital items needed. Everything else that goes into making residential solar power work is called the balance of system. The BOS includes cables, wiring, mc connectors, charge controllers, and racking mounts. The costs for the BOS is about 50 cents per watt, or about $2,500 for an average sized system.

Adding these three costs together yields a price of about $10,000 for a typical sized solar panel system. It needs to be stressed that this is just for materials, alone. The total cost of solar is a few thousand more due to installation costs and inspection, permitting, and utility connection fees.

The good news is that homeowners that do not have the many thousands needed to go solar can still make it happen. The industry has matured to the point where there is plenty of financing available for those who need green energy lending. Many financial institutions offer low rates which brings payments close to or even less than what homeowners currently pay for traditional energy.

Check out the cost savings of solar page to see how much you can save by making the switch to solar power.

An early April announcement from The White House (www.whitehouse.gov) details a push for further solar deployment while providing jobs to many of the country’s out of work veterans.

The Department of Energy will be responsible for training 75,000 people to enter the solar industry, “some of whom will be veterans”.

A primary program that will be launched is called the “Solar Ready Vets” program. This is a program that partners with the Department of Defense at 10 military bases across the U.S. Along with help from the Sunshot’s Solar Instructor Training Network, the program will focus on training veterans to learn about all aspects of solar panel installation. This hands-on training will have veterans very qualified for solar power jobs in the growing solar industry.

A major part of the present and future funding of the Solar Ready Vets program will be provided by the GI Bill. The Department of Veteran Affairs is a key point of support for developing the GI Bill for solar workforce training by reaching out to community colleges for further solar industry training.

The Department of Labor is also doing its part by making sure that veterans are aware of the Solar Ready Vets program in the last few months of their military service. This will provide a much smoother transition to the general workforce and help lower veteran unemployment.

This new veteran focused solar announcement by the President is further proof that the time for solar power has arrived. Solar power is simply a sound investment. Environmental reasons are no longer the only considerations for clean, renewable energy sources like solar and wind. These are now economically justified sources of energy that will provide the country with job growth and energy independence.

The President knows that he must do his part to help curb carbon emissions. He knows that we now have the affordable technology and the workforce to get the job done. Of course, it is easy to argue that more can be done. As prices for clean energy continue to fall, its presence in the private market will continue to explode, and much of the workforce will be veterans proudly joining the clean energy revolution.

A recent article from theguardian.com brings news about a city in Texas that has decided to get all of its energy from renewable sources.

The city is Georgetown. While the city is close to the more “left” leaning Austin, the interim city manager – Jim Briggs – claims to be “..the furthest thing from an Al Gore clone you could find”. Mr. Briggs was a key player in the decision to transition Georgetown’s power sources to solar and wind.

So why a switch to renewable energy? In Jim’s words – “We didn’t do this to save the world – we did this to get a competitive rate and reduce the risk for our consumers.” In fact, electricity consumers can expect to pay about 9 cents per kilowatt hour with this new renewable energy deal. What’s just as attractive as the low rate is the fact that the price will stay the same for decades, unlike typical pricing increases for fossil fuels.

The deal was signed with SunEdison, an international solar power company. SunEdison will provide 150 megawatts of solar power to Georgetown through 2041. The plan also consists of wind power that that helps provide power after the sun has set.

Another significant benefit of this deal is to protect the region’s dwindling water supplies. Renewable energy can have a significant impact with water conservation as it uses much less water than fracking and other fossil fuels.

This story obviously bodes well for the future of solar and wind power. If a traditionally conservative and oil-rich place like Texas can embrace renewable energy, then every state in America can do the same.

The main point of this story is not about different energy sources, its about basic economics. The leaders of Georgetown were simply trying to provide the cheapest form of power for their residents.

Solar power and wind power will continue to be adopted at increasing rates. This is because their pricing rates are decreasing. The prices for solar power are now cheaper than conventional energy over the life of a solar panel system.

For many people, environmental concerns are secondary. This is completely understandable as we all have our bills to pay. As much as we would like to “do the right thing”, if we can’t afford it financially, it won’t happen. This is what is exciting about the Georgetown story. We can finally afford to be environmentally responsible.

Renewable energy simply makes good financial sense now.

In a new report from environmentamerica.org, 20 American cities have distinguished themselves by becoming the most solar power friendly cities in the country.

These cities have contributed to the impressive fact that there is now 20,500 megawatts of total solar electric capacity in the U.S. This 20 gigawatts of energy is enough to power 4 million homes. It’s also notable to mention that these 20 top solar cities accounted for 6.5 percent of total solar energy capacity in the U.S. While 6.5 percent might not sound like much, it’s important to realize that many of these solar installations were smaller, residential and commercial projects.





As you can see from the list, solar power is really taking off all across America. It is no longer a California phenomenon. In fact, we should be seeing massive solar installations continue to take shape in great candidates like Texas and Florida. Both states have tremendous solar potential. As soon as the politics are dealt with we will see progress in those states as well as many others.

The report also detailed why solar power really does make perfect sense for implementation in cities. Here are some of the key points –

• Solar power helps local economies to grow. The growth of any industry can bring jobs and opportunities to any community, solar is no exception. In fact, many solar jobs are high paying. The types of jobs available are quite diverse as well. There are now almost 200,000 jobs in the solar industry nationwide.
• Cities can use solar power to reduce air pollution. Conventional electricity production creates a tremendous amount of air pollution. This air pollution is directly linked to the premature death of many thousands of people every year. Solar power will continue to be a solution to this problem.
• Solar power can help cities mitigate global warming. Energy produced from solar panels has an extremely small carbon footprint. The more solar power that is installed, the less global warming pollution will be created. Global warming has been linked to storms which have caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
• Electric grids are actually strengthened by solar. Eventually more homeowners will have solar panel systems that are tied to battery storage systems. Blackouts can be avoided during heat waves when solar homes lessen the load on the grid by going off the grid for a short period of time.

The main takeaway from this report should be that there is still plenty of potential for solar power to expand across America’s cities. However, the city story is just one part of the overall solar picture. We need solar installed at every level for it to finally become a major source of energy.

The flexibility in its potential applications makes solar power a great choice for our future energy needs. From very large utility-scale applications, to a small residential solar panel system, solar power can be installed virtually anywhere.

Our solar powered future looks bright from cities all across America.

In an executive order signed by President Obama on March 19, 2015, The United States government must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent over the next 10 years. This will be achievable by the other part of the plan which entails growing the government’s renewable energy production by 30 percent over the same period.

This article, by way of The Washington Post, also details pressure that the President is putting on large corporations and electric utilities to follow suit. Some of these include General Electric, IBM, and Honeywell. Combining all of the carbon cuts together would amount to 26 million tons of CO2 removed from the atmosphere by 2025.

The President has also reached out to Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. The meeting addressed what the two countries can do to further promote renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.

More details of Obama’s plan calls for federal agencies to obtain 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources. The federal government’s vehicles must also be greener in the years to come. Zero emission vehicles and hybrids must help reduce the government’s transportation carbon footprint by 30 percent.

On the surface, it might seem like these measures represent some decent goals. On the other hand, myself and many other environmentalists will tell you that we can do much better over a ten year time frame.

The president mentioned that our economy can stay robust while promoting carbon cuts and renewable energy. Well, if this is true, then why are we not pushing for more aggressive numbers?

To be sure, it will take time to completely transform our society to that of one that is clean and sustainable. The fact remains that we can power our whole country with renewables alone. The only final hurdle that must be overcome is adequate energy storage technologies. However, we are well on the way to having cost effective, utility scale battery storage.

As I have shown in a past blog post on energy consumption, the residential and commercial sector of American energy consumption add up to approximately 41 percent. So while we are waiting for the government to do its part, American homeowners and business leaders can install renewable energy and make a big impact at the same time.

The President is absolutely right when he said that our economy can grow while we cut carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy. This is due to the fact that wind and solar power are now very cost effective.

The great thing about solar power, specifically, is that it can be utilized at all scales. From large utility scale installations, to a small residential solar array, we can all do our part.

Don’t wait for the government to do your part. Homeowners can go solar and save money right now. Community solar programs are also being developed for renters or homeowners without a suitable roof or yard space.

While solar power stories are not too difficult to find in the news of late, homeowners are still largely unaware of all of the great benefits of solar panel systems.

The fact is that there are plenty of reasons why a homeowner should consider investing in solar power. In the past, the reasons were mostly centered around environmental motivations. Today, however, there are quite a few financial benefits for someone thinking about purchasing solar. The following is a list of 5 of the most significant reasons that homeowners should consider concerning buying solar panels.

#1 – Solar Power Is A Great Investment
Residential solar power is no longer the expensive technology it once was. It’s 2015 and solar power is more affordable than ever. A homeowner who invests in a solar panel system can now expect a payback of about 5-8 years, on average. In just a few short years, a system will pay for itself. This represents a typical return on investment of as much as 15%. There is now plenty of financing options that can eliminate any worry of a large upfront cost. Considering solar panel systems have been proven to last more than 30 years, this represents decades of energy savings compared to ever increasing electric utility rates.

#2 – Support Your Local Economy And The Solar Power Revolution
Cities and towns across America are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. While job growth has increased recently, wages have not kept pace. The solar industry represents increasing job opportunities and high worker wages. A solar job is, by its very nature, local. These jobs primarily include solar installers and various local office personnel. As the solar industry grows, so will the need to fill solar related positions. The future in this industry is as bright as the sun that powers it!

#3 – Environmental Impacts Of Solar – Important As Ever
Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of air pollution on our ecology. We can no longer live on a fossil fuel rich diet. The good news for homeowners is that they can now do their part to reduce carbon emissions in a big way. A typical solar panel system, over the course of its life, can remove more than 400,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. People everywhere are realizing that they must do their part to be environmental stewards of the only home we have.

#4 – Prices Are Low Now And Starting To Bottom Out
Prices for solar panels have dropped more than 99% in the past 35 years. As I’ve mentioned in my cost of solar page, the price for solar installation isn’t just the cost of the panels. The other costs involved make the total cost something which does not figure to decrease much more in the coming years. The residential solar industry is starting to mature. The savings of going solar right now will outweigh any potential savings of waiting for the prices for solar to decrease any more.

#5 – You Will Be More Prepared For Battery Storage
One day soon, it will be cost effective for the average homeowner to have a solar power battery storage system in place. It won’t be long before the total cost of a solar panel system and battery storage will be less than the cost of electric utility energy over a 20 year period. The power monopoly in America and other countries will cease to exist. The democratization of electricity will be completed.

As you can see, there are plenty of great reasons to go solar right now. Ultimately, we are talking about a stronger local economy, cleaner air, and a more empowered society in general.

Do your part and take a look into solar power.

An emerging, yet familiar story is being played out in the growing residential solar power industry.

There is a very real David versus Goliath battle for residential solar power customers across the U.S. Much like in first part of the biblical story, the smaller and seemingly weaker fighter appears to have little to no chance of defeating his much larger foe. In this metaphor, David is represented by small solar contractors and Goliath is the large solar leasing companies.

As of this post, in early 2015, there is a new solar panel installation completed approximately every 3 minutes. A high majority of these installations are for residential properties and most are also done by the main solar leasing companies. These companies are few and large. Goliath had a huge presence and so do these companies. You’ll find advertisements for them everywhere as they have millions to spend both online and off.

Along with Goliath’s significant power comes with it the ability to control pricing. All he has to do is be slightly cheaper than what the conventional electric utilities charge and he can acquire many customers. Prices have to be kept high because Goliath’s size and power did not come cheap.

The industry and homeowners everywhere need a hero to save them from Goliath’s overpriced services and bad customer relations. That hero is starting to have an impact. Little Davids have been fighting the good fight against Goliath and many more are on the way. In this story, there are a few Goliaths and many hundreds of Davids.

So how can David win in the end? Well, he has quite a few advantages over Goliath. The main one is quickness. David can make changes much more quickly than Goliath. The primary and most important change has to do with pricing. David can quickly reduce his pricing to reflect the current price of solar panels. On the other hand, pricing changes could take years for Goliath, if at all. So the good word-of-mouth that David receives from his fair pricing can be seen as his primary weapon. David can also adopt new technologies more quickly than Goliath.

Another advantage for David concerns customer service. Smaller companies have much more control over a customer’s overall experience. A homeowner does not have to deal with layers of employees to eventually speak with someone who can actually help them when they deal with a smaller solar company. David is also much more reliant on good word-of-mouth from a job well done as he does not have a multi-million dollar advertising budget from which to get more customers from.

The Davids of the solar industry are actually a good representation of what it means to be a green company. Much of what it means to be green, sustainable, and environmentally friendly has to do with the word “local”. Acting as local as possible does much to help mitigate CO2 levels and helps to create a more vibrant local economy. The Davids of the solar industry are not trying to take over the world. That’s the foolish ambition of Goliath.

This story is far from over. Time will tell what eventually happens between the Davids and Goliaths of the solar power industry. However, if this story plays out anything like the original, it would be wise to bet on David in the end.

A recent study done by a German think tank proposes that solar energy will be the cheapest source of power in the world by 2025.

In a report by Agora Energiewende, solar power is predicted to overtake all other sources of energy as the least expensive option. The study expects energy from utility scale solar to cost between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt hour.

It is worth noting that the German think tank is independent and made its conclusions based on conservative figures.

Many places in the world that get ample sunshine, like Dubai, are already taking advantage of cheap solar prices. A recent power purchase contract was signed in Dubai for 5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Dr. Patrick Graichen, the CEO of Agora Energiewende, has stated that “The technology still has further improvements so we expect that within the next 10 years photovoltaics will become, in many regions of the world, the cheapest source of electricity.” The improvements mentioned are largely due to cost reductions in the production of solar panels.

Graichen and other solar energy advocates in Germany find it difficult to understand why most of the rest of the world have not embraced solar as much as their country has. Australia is a notable example of a country that has yet to adopt solar power, but it is a great candidate as it receives ample sunshine. A total of 6 percent of Germany’s energy comes from solar pv. While not much right now, solar installations are still in the beginning stages.

While Solar-Power-Now.com primarily focuses on the American residential solar industry, it is good to get solar cost comparisons at all scales and locations.

The real news story is even better. We don’t have to wait until 2025 for solar power to be the best option – it already is for American homeowners. As mentioned in the cost of solar page, the price for solar power is already cheaper than conventional energy. Net metering has much to with this. Homeowners can expect to pay no more than 8 cents per kilowatt hour over the life of a solar panel system.

Many of the energy cost comparison studies also do not take into account environmental costs. The full costs and impacts of fossil fuel use makes it vastly more costly than renewable energy.

The final piece of the puzzle for a renewable energy source like solar power to fully replace fossil fuels like coal and natural gas is a mature battery storage technology. The good news is that it is just a matter of time before battery storage technologies are economically viable at the residential and utility scale.

To sum up, we do not have to wait until 2025 to take advantage of the enormous energy bounty that solar power represents. Individuals and corporations alike are already beginning to harness the sun’s energy at cost competitive rates.

The world is changing more quickly than many realize.

We are beginning to witness a major shift towards the democratization of society. This shift is primarily being spurred by continual advancements in technologies of all kinds. Solar power is a shining example.

First, a definition. Democratize:”To make (something) available to all people : to make it possible for all people to understand (something)”.*

The industry term for residential solar power is distributed energy. This is an accurately descriptive term that shows how power is literally shifting all across the country. Solar is continuing to be a game changer in the energy landscape.

In fact, now that residential solar panel systems are less expensive than conventional energy over the long term, homeowners everywhere will start to acquire systems at an increasingly faster pace. While the technology to turn sunlight into usable energy has been around for decades, it has only made financial sense in the past few years.

The democratization of power will entail the shift of power production from the utilities to homeowners and businesses everywhere. This is the literal occurrence of “power to the people”. We will all be energy providers in a more democratic future that is well on its way. This would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars that would go back into the pockets of the people every year.

While distributed solar power figures to have the largest economic impact on the average person, the democratization of society can be seen in other ways as well.

The Internet is a great example. Information on any subject has been readily and easily available to the average American for many years now, thanks to the Internet. How the Internet is accessed might continue to change, but the saying that “knowledge is power” will always be true. A free and open Internet is key for the continual spread of this “power” to the people.

There is a manufacturing revolution that is not far off with the advent of 3d printing. Basic 3d printers can now be purchased for a few hundred dollars. It may not be long before items that are commonly purchased are simply made at home.

It is truly exciting to know that we can all look forward to a future that is more equitable in many ways. Technology that is used to harness the sun’s power, distribute knowledge, and enable all of us to be makers of things is truly amazing.

This is surely just the beginning of the changes we will see in our democratized future.

*Definition from Merriam-webster.com