THE BIG NEW SOLAR OPPORTUNITY

Buying into solar energy

Nathan Bowe, July 12, 2015 (DL-Online)

“…[R]ural electric cooperative and city municipal electric utilities are [beginning to offer] community solar gardens…[that] offer customers the chance to ‘buy into’ solar without having to pay in full up front, and without having to worry about installing and maintaining solar energy units in their homes or businesses…Although there are different models,]solar gardens are generally built by the utility and the panels ‘purchased’ by customers, who get a discount on their electric bill…Buying into a solar garden may or may not save customers money, but it will give them a way to stabilize at least part of their electric bill over the next 20 years…If electrical rates go up over the next 20 years, which seems like a pretty safe bet, those who buy into solar gardens will save money, since they have locked in a rate…Of course, if rates go down, they lose out…If a customer moves out of the area, they can give away their panels or try to sell them to another customer…[Minnesota’s Lake Region Electric Cooperative] charges $1,400 for a full panel, which at current rates would generate about $66 a year for the customer over 20 years…” click here for more

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