ABOUT ROOFTOP SOLAR

Government incentives give solar energy a boost
Danielle Douglas, July 19, 2010 (Washington Post)

"…Astrum Solar, which is based in Annapolis Junction, [recently] completed the installation of an 11.96 kilowatt system on the [Cohen/Gala] 1,100-square-foot house -- the largest residential system in D.C. The company says the 52 photovoltaic panels should generate 13,754 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, meeting 75 to 85 percent of the home's electricity needs…[It] is one of 500 installations Astrum has slated for completion this year…

"About 72,939 photovoltaic systems have been installed in the United States in the past decade…[There was] a 37 percent increase in installations in 2009. Much of that expansion was attributed to an uptick in residential projects…Since its inception in 2007, Astrum has primarily installed residential and small commercial solar panel systems. To meet demand, Astrum has in the past year doubled its office and warehouse space in Maryland and upped its employee roster to include more than 75 engineers, project managers, sales consultants and installers…"

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"…Astrum walks its customers through every part of the installation process, from pricing estimates to filing permits. One of the company's more notable services is selling homeowners' solar renewable energy credits to utilities, which can use them to comply with municipal mandates on clean power… Trading the value of their credits upfront shaved 25 percent off of Cohen and Gala's installation bill. That deduction, coupled with a 30 percent federal tax credit and a District grant that covered another 35 percent, left the family with just 10 percent of the $65,000 bill."

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"All of the eight mid-Atlantic markets that Astrum operates in offer some form of tax incentives or rebates….[D.C.] has the most generous incentives on the East Coast. With the cost of solar installation averaging $20,000 to $40,000 depending on roof size, inducements are crucial to expanding the domestic solar industry…Stimulus funding, providing more than $271 million for solar energy investment, made it more cost-effective for homeowners to tap into the energy of the sun…[Federal grants increased business] in states like Pennsylvania and Virginia…

"While the United States has become an important player in the global solar industry, it pales in comparison to European countries with markets that have extensive government incentives. Analysts estimate that the United States accounts for about a 15 percent market share, while Germany, the largest consumer of solar technology, averages 50 percent…[The U.S. is expected to gain market share when] the cost of supplies declines and more U.S. state governments adopt programs like the enticement-laden California Solar Initiative…[and word of mouth spreads]…"