BEST BUY IN NEW ENERGY

Earth Talk: Compare costs of alternative energy; Is it better to go with your utility's renewable power option or install your own solar or wind power?
Editors of E Magazine, September 8, 2009 (Christian Science Monitor)

[Randy Wilson, Flagstaff, AZ:] "I’d like to know the relative electricity cost of utility-scale solar and wind plants versus rooftop residential solar. In other words, how can I know whether to subsidize my utility’s alternative energy plant or renovate my own home?"

[Editors of E Magazine:] "…[S]tart with In My Backyard, a new online tool by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory…[With] your electricity usage…what size solar photovoltaic (PV) system or wind turbine you could install…[and] Google Earth maps and data…the tool will estimate the electricity you could get…[Costs for] renewable energy systems vary greatly by location…And kilowatt-hour costs vary by utility, as do state and local financial incentives…[But the] federal investment tax credit allows for 30 percent of the cost of your system to be deducted from your federal tax bill…through 2016."

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"Comparing [that] cost…with that of buying green power through your utility isn’t a simple equation. You can support your utility’s renewable power infrastructure by paying a premium on your electric bill, or you can buy renewable energy certificates – also known as green tags – even if your utility doesn’t offer green power (green tags inject renewable energies into the grid even if they don’t come back to you via your own utility).

"Compare the costs of those programs over the same time period with the cost of building and maintaining your own system (minus any installation credits and/or revenues from selling your excess electricity back to the utility). That gives you the relative costs and return on investment."

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"Another question is whether your home system can continue to produce energy more cost-effectively than your utility, as it brings more green energy sources into its mix…A February 2009 [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab] report summarizing the costs of PV from 1998 to 2007 concluded that larger systems averaged a 25 percent lower cost than the smallest ones…[The American Wind Energy Association] February 2005 report calculates that a large wind farm can deliver electricity at nearly 40 percent less than a small one.

"The bottom line: Today, with renewable energy sources coming online or about to do so in quantum-leap measures – and at much greater efficiencies than can be achieved privately – the best way may well be to forgo the go-it-alone path and support your utility’s efforts to generate green power not just for your own household but for everyone."