Not New Orleans: Solar Panel Installation

For solar shoppers these days, the price is right. Panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year, driven down partly by an increase in the supply of a crucial ingredient for panels, according to analysts at the investment bank Piper Jaffray. (NY Times)

Many have expressed concern over the price of a retrofit solar installation. Even with tax subsidies the price for a Solar Power installation is out of reach for many in New Orleans.

When considering solar it’s important to remembner the importance of other energy saving measures as well.

Another critical step toward an efficient New Orleans

Obviously efficiency and Solar go hand in hand. New Orleans’ Solar aspirations need to be measured against the age, quality and methods of construction.

Many experts expect panel prices to fall further, though not by another 40 percent.

Manufacturers are already reeling from the price slump. For example, Evergreen Solar, which is based in Massachusetts, recently reported a second-quarter loss that was more than double its loss from a year earlier.

Image credits:

• Solar Panel Installation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
• Compact Fluorescent Bulb: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sfllaw/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

From the Times Picayune:

The Department of Energy recently announced that the 30 percent federal solar tax credit, which is available to residents and businesses, has been renewed for eight more years, effective through Dec. 31, 2016. The department also removed the $2,000 cap that was placed on the 2008 credit.

“That’s wonderful news for those wanting to install a larger system,” said South Coast Solar CEO Tucker Crawford, speaking this week at a Global Green panel discussion on energy-efficiency financial incentives. Crawford, whose company installs solar systems, added that to receive the cap-free credit, one must wait to install the system in 2009.

The expanded federal tax credit falls on top of an existing 50 percent state tax credit for solar panel systems. That tax incentive, which is available only for homeowners, condo owners and owners of apartment buildings, has no sunset clause, so consumers can look forward to saving up to $12,000 on a solar panel system in 2009 and beyond.

This is a great opportunity for New Orleans to take the lead in solar initiatives.

All deference to Brad and his Lower 9th ward initiatives, this is the sort of inertia buster we really need.