| Incentives make solar affordable Brendan O'Connor, born in Ireland, says he found a pot of gold on the sunny roof of his West Boylston Street restaurant when he put in place 32 solar panels there four years ago. Whitaker. Another major issue is the availability of solar renewal and energy certificates. SGE installed the system at O'Connor's Restaurant and Bar, along with a small one at the First Unitarian Society church in Franklin, and large ones on the roofs of Dan's Jeep in Westboro and Westborough Mitsubishi. They have partnered up," he said. "It was something we had to do something about. "The payback period usually falls into the four-to-six-year period, and panels have a 30- to 40-year expected lifetime and a 25-year warranty," he said. Similar payback quotations have been made at a 364-panel installation at NorthStar Construction Services, a roofing contractor in Shirley. "Work with an installer and say you want conservative assumptions. "If you have a small building and are an energy intensive industry, there's going to be a small offset. Businesses needing help paying installation costs can seek a loan from a bank or other entity. Applicants must have been in business for at least five years, be able to repay and have qualified for utility rebates or a subsidy. Business-related installations come in many sizes and types. A variety of incentives are available, and, in addition to cheaper, more efficient solar panels and rising competition among installers, they are leading more businesses to put sunlight to work. State officials are backing solar energy and other alternative energies including wind power, setting up the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to spotlight the opportunities. "Solar electricity is really accelerating at a dramatic rate," said Andy Brydges, MassCEC senior director of renewable energy generation. The payback time on solar electricity has dropped recently, as the manufacturing costs for photovoltaic equipment have plummeted worldwide. People who had looked at photovoltaic three or four years ago are now finding it is a very attractive investment. The incentives can conceivably pay about 70 percent of the installation costs of a system. "It drives down the cost of the system right off the top, when you file your next tax return," he said. Businesses thinking of solar should obtain at least three bids and do research to get the best deal, he said. And today, they may get an even better deal than he did. He suggests customers check if prospective installers are certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. "We are a local company, we were founded here, we are based here and everybody that works for us lives here," he said. Mr. O'Connor's large flat south-facing roof) to put the panels, he said. As it turned out, the state and federal incentives dropped his share of the costs to about only $10,000. Today, the solar industry is more sophisticated than it was in 2008, and is offering better products, Mr. "There are far more choices out there than there were at the beginning. 2 will get the electricity at a discount. |
Monday, 4 June 2012
Incentives make solar affordable
