MANCHESTER, Conn. (AP) — As Connecticut pushes aggressively
to expand solar energy to homes across the state, few supporters are
more enthusiastic than Eugene DeJoannis.
The retired mechanical engineer from Manchester has
long been a booster of green energy and boasts a keen interest in home
energy issues. He's now serving as a volunteer solar ambassador
promoting a state program that subsidizes home solar projects and urges
homeowners to participate.
"I have a personal fascination with the residential
energy picture," DeJoannis said. "Whenever we go to church, I invariably
take out my literature and display it there." Backed by a $27 million fund supplied by utility
ratepayers, a campaign known as Solarize Connecticut joins as many
homeowners as possible to lower the cost of residential solar
installation. It annually earmarks $9 million of the available funding
to finance residential installation by solar panel businesses
competitively picked.
The intent is to boost nonpolluting energy, reduce
demand on the electric grid relied upon by utilities and cut dependence
on overseas sources of power such as oil.
Bob Wall, director of marketing and outreach at
Connecticut's Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, said the
agency is running solar panel installation campaigns in 22 of the
state's 169 towns and cities and has completed solar energy installation
campaigns in nine towns.
In the past 22 months, 2,160 residential solar systems contracts have been approved. Gary
and Debbie Sweet, looking for information about putting solar panels on
their house, attended a recent meeting in Manchester organized by state
energy officials, bankers and solar installers. Sweet, an architect,
said solar panels could slash his electricity costs.
"It doesn't cost me anything. Why not?" he said.
The cost to homeowners is significantly reduced, and
although it's touted by Connecticut as a "once in a lifetime bargain,"
it's not free. Glenn Cucinell, solar division manager at Encon Solar
Energy Division, which won the contract to install solar panels on homes
in Manchester, said a typical system in Connecticut would cost about
$24,000.
After a state rebate of about $8,000 and a 30 percent
federal tax credit available for the remaining $16,000, a homeowner's
cost for a residential solar system would be cut by more than half, to
$8,000 to $12,000, which can be paid for in long-term financing.
Connecticut's subsidy is not unusual. Virtually every
state offers loans, grants, rebates and other incentives to support
broader use of residential solar panels, according to the U.S.
Department of Energy. "It's an incentive driven industry at this point,"
Cucinell said.
In 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are
available, solar energy received $1.13 billion in federal subsidies in
the form of direct spending, research, tax benefits and loans, according
to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In contrast, wind power
received nearly $5 billion in subsidies, and coal was the beneficiary of
$1.36 billion in subsidies.
Andy Pusateri, a utilities analyst at Edward Jones,
said solar power will not be weaned off federal and state subsidies
anytime soon. Wind power is the fastest growing alternative source of
power, but solar energy has a greater growth potential, he said.
"We're still a ways off from a competitive generation source without subsidies," he said.
Pusateri said politics is a factor behind the push for public subsidies of solar energy.
"Democrats tend to favor renewable energy," he said. "I think that's driving that."
The solar campaign is part of a broader effort by
Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to rework Connecticut's energy policy.
It includes a greater reliance on hydropower from Canada, an increase in
natural gas connections to homes and businesses and a push for
renewable power such as solar.
DeJoannis promises to keep at it with his campaign for home solar projects.
"There's a garden club meeting tonight. Maybe I can break in there," he said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/29/solar-power-connecticut-green-energy_n_4359785.html
No comments:
Post a Comment