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Electric rates have increased and will continue to increase. Have
you
considered switching to solar energy, but thought it might be too expensive? It is affordable, and at affordable rates
from a local company, Catalina Solar &Wind.
A local solar contractor, Catalina Solar & Wind,
offers solar solutions for generating electricity from a PV solar system installed on your roof or other sun-exposed location.
With your PV solar system, you could not only generate most, or all, of your electricity needs, but put any unused electricity
back into SCE’s system and sell it back to SCE at the same rate they sell electricity to you. Doesn’t that sound
good?
Catalina Solar & Wind is a local company that was
started by Ofer Salter, a
general construction company owner who recently moved to Avalon from
Manhattan Beach and Dave
Brown, of Island Builders, Inc., a local general
contractor who has been operating on the island for the last 10 years
and
was involved in a large number of local construction projects. Both live
aboard their boats and use solar
panels to generate electricity for their boats
(that must make the boaters moored close by happy, not to have to hear a
loud
generator running).
Two years ago while listening to the radio, Ofer heard
about 3.3 billion
dollars in the California State Budget for California Solar Initiative Program,
which gives rebates
to people and businesses who install renewable energy
generating systems. The state rebates would share up to 50 percent
of the
cost of the system, and additionally, by California State law, the consumer’s
local power company had to
purchase back excess power produced by the
solar system at the same rate the power company charges its customers.
“I
couldn’t believe what I had heard,” said Ofer. “I remember being so excited
for a couple of days that
I couldn’t sleep at night. I knew right then and there
that that’s what I would like to do from now on: help
change the way power
is generated and delivered to homes and businesses. It makes so much sense,
even without the incentives
from the government, but especially with the
incentives.”
Now is the time to purchase a solar power system for
your home or business
if you want to take advantage of both federal and state rebates.
The federal government is offering
a $2,000 tax credit for systems installed
on residential homes, and 30 percent tax credit for commercial systems
purchased
through the end of 2008. This credit can be carried over for 10
years.
The California Solar Initiative, in order to encourage
people to buy into solar
power as soon as possible, was based on a 10-step program, with the dollar
amount of the rebate
declining as more and more solar systems are installed
throughout the state. The state rebates consumers for the number
of PTC
(practical test conditions) watts their system is rated to produce. Presently,
the rebate is on its second step
for residential installations, and gives back to
the consumer $2.50 per watt, and at its fourth step for commercial
installations,
with a rebate rate of $1.90 per watt. An average house in
Avalon would use a 3 kilowatt system. Catalina Solar & Wind
is offering a 3
kilowatt system consisting of 16 x 190 watt Evergreen solar panels. Each
panel has a PTC rating of 168.8
watts. The state rebate would be $6,752 (16
panels, times 168.8 watts, times $2.50). That $2.50 per watt rebate won’t
be
around long. If you checked on-line recently on the California solar initiative
trigger point tracker (http://www.sgip-ca.com/), you’d learn that the rebate
program
is about to reach a total of 70 megawatts for residential
installations, with a remainder of 2.64 megawatts before
entering the third
step, reducing the rebate down to $2.20 per watt, which would drop the
California Solar Initiative
rebate down to $5,941.76 (on the Evergreen 3 kW
system). That’s $810.24 decrease!
The rebate program for commercial installations is about
to enter its fifth
step, with a remainder of 1.46 megawatts, reducing the commercial rebate
down to $1.55 per watt (step
1 offered $2.80 per watt).
At the March 4, 2008 City Council Meeting, a presentation
was made by
SolarCity on the Community Solar Program, offering consumers savings by
joining a group purchasing
with the idea of buying panels in bulk and then
performing a group installation for the cost of $21,450 per system instead
of
the average market price of $24,000 for an installed 3 kilowatt system. But to
work this program, there needs to
be a large enough group (about 30
systems) and while waiting for the group to form, the second step rebate
could possibly
end.
With Catalina Solar & Wind’s special introductory
offer, solar electricity is
available for only $19,986 for an installed 3 kilo-watt system, a lower price
than that
offered by SolarCity, and without having to wait for a large group to
form.
This price is for a standard installation and consist
of the best parts available
in the solar market such as the Evergreen Solar’s panels. Evergreen Solar
fabricates
everything under one roof: the wafers (a unique string ribbon
wafer technology), cells and panels, which gives them ultimate
quality
control, so it is not surprising that their solar panels are among the highest
quality products in the industry.
Additionally, because of the unique way
they’re made, their panels are the most environmentally-friendly solar panels
in
the business AND they’re made in the USA and come with a 25-year
warranty (www.evergreensolar.com).
As part of the 3 kilowatt system, Catalina Solar &
Wind is offering a Fronius IG
3,000 inverter (the part that converts the electricity generated by the panels
from DC
to AC) made by Fronius, who has been in business for over 60 years
and offers a large amount of system-monitoring options
and comes with a
10-year premium warranty (www.fronius-usa.com).
The panels are mounted using American-made Unirac solar-mounts
and
considered the best in the industry (www.unirac.com).
The offer is good for 30 days. When asked how can they offer such
a low
price for such a high quality system, Ofer had replied that Catalina Solar &
Wind had recently partnered with
a renewable energy products distributor in
northern California who had been in business for over 28 years and is
backing-up
the local company in the effort to solarize the island, with a large
inventory, extensive experience, and direct relations
with solar product
manufacturers around the world.
The offer includes a 10-year performance and workmanship warranty
and,
after all rebates, should bring the cost of the system down to only $11,234
(about $2,000 less than the one offered
by SolarCity).
Catalina Solar & Wind is a local business that employees local
workers.
Working with Island Builders, it is easy to install the panels and to make any
modifications to roofs as necessary
before installation.
If lowering your electricity bill while using clean energy, which
helps the
environment, sounds wonderful, but the price seems out of reach, you could
consider getting a loan to purchase
a solar system. Solar energy is a long-
term solution, and in the short-term, the money you save from not
purchasing
all your electricity from SCE could be used to help pay for the
loan.
Another way to lower your electricity cost with solar energy, and
not spend a
penny on the solar system, is to team up with a private partner – a company
that pays for the solar
panel system, and provides a long-term contract to
sell you the electricity you use at a lower rate than SCE charges. Catalina
Solar
and Wind can help you get into contact with a solar private partner.
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