Snow Still on Panels!

Well, we had a big snowstorm Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. The snow slid off the main roof by midday Wednesday. Here's a picture of the front sidewalk after one of those avalanches:



And here's the main roof after that avalanche:



Unfortunately, three days later the garage roof has but a single exposed panel:



I realize that this post isn't consistent with my last post, in which I said the snow was sliding off the panels quickly. I swear, when I made that post it looked like it was all coming off real fast. I guess it stopped right after I posted...

Snow Sliding Right Off This Time

This time the snow is sliding off the panels rather quickly. Maybe it's because the temperature is higher.


The dog is freaking out. She can hear it and thinks it's thunder, which she's always been afraid of...

Reached Ten Grand in SREC Income

One December SREC sold at auction last week, for $ 640.00.

That brings our SREC total to $ 10,410.09. That's a significant chunk of change to help offset the installation cost...

This Snow is Costing me Money!

This is our second straight day of sunshine but we're not generating any energy. We've had lots of snow since the system was installed, and each time the snow slid off the panels within hours. This time it's hanging tough. There's not an inch of exposed panel.

I'd like to get the avalanche (and post-avalanche shoveling) over with so we can get back to making energy...

Wrecker!

Pardon the interruption, but my new book is out!


Wrecker at Amazon

Wrecker at Barnes&Noble

Other Energies get Subsidized Too

Here is a great reminder from DougS that other types of energy receive subsidies, boosts and preferential treatment from the government too -- also at taxpayer expense. It originated in the comment thread from this recent blog post but it's so thoughtful that it deserves to be on the front page.

This was a reply to my expression of angst about the requirement that power companies buy SRECs (or generate green energy themselves).



Dave,

It if makes you feel any better coal gets billions in subsidies every year. Unfortunately, our system is setup such that those with the money can lobby congress and get tax breaks, etc. This means that the ratepayer/taxpayer is the stuck with the bill.

The SREC is a subsidy as well, but it is hard to compete when one form of energy is subsidized and other is not. So, solar, coal, corn and the rest of them enjoy breaks at the expense of the ratepayer. It is up to you to pick your poison/weapon, and I'm glad to choose solar over the others.

Here is an article on some of the coal subsidies.


DougS

The Down Side of SRECs

Whoa, check this article out. I've said before that I sometimes wonder if it's good public policy to force solar energy into the pipeline with this artificial SREC mechanism (although on a personal level, I like getting money). Requiring power companies to buy SRECs owned by solar power generators like me drives everybody's power costs up, because the utilities must accrue the money to buy them. is that good? This article, which happens to be about my county here in New Jersey, sums it up well at the end. I sometimes crow about high SREC prices while this article speaks of a longing for low ones...


Gloucester County Becoming Solar Powerhouse

Greg Reinert, spokesman for the Board of Public Utilities, said the Garden State is attractive to solar developers for a couple of reasons.

One, state law mandates how many gigawatts of solar power must be generated in the state on an annual basis Ð and the number climbs a bit each year Ð but that number has yet to be met.

Second, because the state hasn't met the number, it drives up the price of the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC), which are federal tax credits that owners of solar arrays receive for generating solar power. For every megawatt of solar power generated, the owner gets an SREC.

Unfortunately, solar power is a costly enterprise at the moment, Reinert said, and ultimately that cost falls back on the ratepayer. So, the more solar power, the lower the price of the SREC, and the lower the SREC price, the less that ratepayers will pay.

"The goal is to drive the SREC down," he said.