Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Solar picks up after 2017 dip
Despite SDG&E move of peak window from day to evening
Solar customers will get highest credits when sun not at strongest.
After a decline in new solar system installations in 2017, numbers are back on the rise in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released by industry data firm OhmHome.
California, which accounts for almost half of the nation's solar capacity, saw a 14 percent year-over-year growth in new residential system installations, despite changes in utility rates that make it more difficult for ratepayers to recoup the cost of their systems by reselling excess power generated during daylight hours back into the grid.
OhmHome credits rising real estate values and the emergence of on-site power storage as reasons customers are turning back to storage. Reaching out to local installers for comment it's the latter, along with the long-term downward trend in the cost of solar panels, that's driving growth.
According to stats from Go Solar California a project backed by the state's Energy and Public Utilities Commissions, the cost per watt of new solar generation stands at $4.31, down from $5.24 in 2015 and as much as $10 circa 2010.
"The average system size in San Diego is about 5,000 watts (5kW), meaning the typical cost would be $21,400 before any incentives," explained Daniel Sullivan, owner of Sullivan Solar Power. A 30 percent federal tax credit available through the end of next year, he adds, drops the net cost to under $15,000.
Battery backup, which can add another $6000 to the cost of the installation, is likely a necessary complement to new installations. Most buyers finance their system using notes ranging in length from 8-20 years, issued by specialty finance companies and some local credit unions.
"On December 1, 2017, SDG&E moved their 'on peak' window from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. to 4-9 p.m., meaning the time of day when solar customers get credited at the highest rates moved to later in the evening, when solar power isn’t shining," Sullivan continued. The change affects new solar customers dating back to mid-2016, when a "net metering 2.0" plan was implemented allowing the utility to pay different rates for excess power fed back into the grid based on the time of day it was supplied – older customers are eligible for a flat rate compensation structure.
Despite the changes to the detriment of solar, Sullivan says a system should pay for itself in three to six years.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Solar picks up after 2017 dip
Despite SDG&E move of peak window from day to evening
Solar picks up after 2017 dip
Despite SDG&E move of peak window from day to evening
Solar customers will get highest credits when sun not at strongest.
After a decline in new solar system installations in 2017, numbers are back on the rise in the first quarter of 2018, according to data released by industry data firm OhmHome.
California, which accounts for almost half of the nation's solar capacity, saw a 14 percent year-over-year growth in new residential system installations, despite changes in utility rates that make it more difficult for ratepayers to recoup the cost of their systems by reselling excess power generated during daylight hours back into the grid.
OhmHome credits rising real estate values and the emergence of on-site power storage as reasons customers are turning back to storage. Reaching out to local installers for comment it's the latter, along with the long-term downward trend in the cost of solar panels, that's driving growth.
According to stats from Go Solar California a project backed by the state's Energy and Public Utilities Commissions, the cost per watt of new solar generation stands at $4.31, down from $5.24 in 2015 and as much as $10 circa 2010.
"The average system size in San Diego is about 5,000 watts (5kW), meaning the typical cost would be $21,400 before any incentives," explained Daniel Sullivan, owner of Sullivan Solar Power. A 30 percent federal tax credit available through the end of next year, he adds, drops the net cost to under $15,000.
Battery backup, which can add another $6000 to the cost of the installation, is likely a necessary complement to new installations. Most buyers finance their system using notes ranging in length from 8-20 years, issued by specialty finance companies and some local credit unions.
"On December 1, 2017, SDG&E moved their 'on peak' window from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. to 4-9 p.m., meaning the time of day when solar customers get credited at the highest rates moved to later in the evening, when solar power isn’t shining," Sullivan continued. The change affects new solar customers dating back to mid-2016, when a "net metering 2.0" plan was implemented allowing the utility to pay different rates for excess power fed back into the grid based on the time of day it was supplied – older customers are eligible for a flat rate compensation structure.
Despite the changes to the detriment of solar, Sullivan says a system should pay for itself in three to six years.
Comments