One of my goals when I retire to cut my cost of living was to buy my own house, install solar panels and buy an electric car (this assumes electric cars are relatively cheap when I am old). I figure doing that I can cut my fuel, energy and mortgage/rent payments to nothing and decrease my cost of living.
However since I live in a northern state so I was thinking, it would likely be much cheaper to invest in solar facilities in the southwest, and continue to just pay my electric bill but use the proceeds from solar energy generated (ie maybe I invest 10k in solar energy in Arizona, and get money each month for the energy produced, then use this money to pay the electricity bill). I can see a range of benefits to this.
The level of solar irradiation in places like the southwest is much higher. Panels in that area may produce 2-3x more KWH per KW of solar panels per year compared to a solar panel installed on a home in the northern parts of the US where shorter days, winter and shade from trees will cut power produced.
Doing so would mean I wouldn’t need to own my own home, I could buy a condo (most don’t let you install solar panels, you need to own your own home to do that. Plus homeowner associations may not be in favor of that).
Due to economies of scale, building a large solar facility in the southwest will cost less than installing panels on a single home.
So is investing in that kind of investment something that is currently feasible, can a person say ‘I want to invest 5k in solar panels in the southwest’ then collect a few hundred dollars a year in energy produced from doing so?
I know that here in Nevada (as well as in several? most? a few? states), NV Energy used to pay you for power generated that you don’t use, as long as you’re connected to the power grid, since that way “your” power is also fed into the grid for other people to use.
So if you set up a house or a small piece of land with solar panels and then live elsewhere, you will be generating power that you don’t use, and NV Energy will pay you for that power.
I’m not sure if this program/situation still exists in exactly the same form, tho, as I know that our legislature passed new laws about solar energy, incentives, etc. just this past July. I haven’t had time to delve into them, and as I understand it, the PUC is still looking at how to implement the newly revised laws.
What I think you should consider doing is that you should design a solar system for your house, and install it yourself. The website sunelec.com seems to be the “newegg” of solar panels, and the costs have plummeted over the last few years.
The per watt cost for the materials is now about $1.30. This will pay off in about 6 years, although it depends on the local electricity rates.
Of course, it is a complex project. There are numerous economic and technical factors that have to be accounted for before you decide how many panels to purchase and what kind.
In some states, it’s important not to overspec the solar system, because the power company does not have to pay you for the difference at the end of the year.
Another factor is that improved insulation, windows, etc is often more cost effective than solar panels. Geothermal air conditioning and heating also may or may not be better, it probably depends on what the cost difference was. If you use one of the “DIY” kits they sell on ebay for a Geothermal system, it might be cost effective.
Here’s a website that has a forum much like this one, and experts : http://www.windsun.com/ .
I would ask your questions there, they’ll hook you up.
One trouble with the investment idea is that the big companies (generators, networks and retailers ) set a price for electricity every half hour…
The price of electricity will be low while all the solar power panels are generating electricity the most, but demand is not large, eg midday.
Peak demand is late afternoon, when everyone gets home, 6pm -8pm and starts doing stuff - cooking, doing their clothes, turning on lights, heating or cooling.
At these times, solar panels aren’t generating much.
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Another is that the companies along the way take their cut .. they win either way..
so prices will not match for that reason too.
So its quite possible that the price you pay for electricity is far higher than what you get paid for generating electricity.
In Australia the hydroelectricity people take advantage of the price difference between off peak and peak, by pumping water up when electricity is cheap and supplying electricity when the price is high. They use the dam as a battery, and re-charge it by pumping water up to it. Its actually environmentally friendly .. they use more carbon powered electricity than they make.. But it does reduce the need to run carbon powered plants over all . (as hydro plants can spin up within minutes, while coal powered plants take many hours to get ready, and hence can’t be turned on and then off just for the peak each day.)
large solar plants are looking at being solar- thermal -mechanical (not photo voltaic.) Basically collect the heat of the sun at day and then by storing it in molten salts, they can make electricity from the stored heat.. even at night..
Solar City (SCTY) and First Solar (FSLR) being the two big ones.
Also, just since you said in the South West. Solar City is headquartered in California but has branched out quite a bit and First Solar is mainly in California and Arizona.
very hard to tell.. It is huge investment and I am not sure about exact generation of power.. If you want to do that you need to take an expert guidance..
I like what Chronos said up there. Instead of investing $20,000 in a solar energy system you’d have to design and maintain, invest that $20,000 in a company that owns a $20,000,000 solar energy system and gain the benefit of their greater experience and economies of scale. Here’s a list of companies that are in the solar power business. As always, before you invest, do your due diligence.