Green Me Now

Homeowners in California and elsewhere are being forced to fight for their solar energy installations. Their main foe appears to be homeowner associations that prize aesthetics (or at least consistency of look) over environmental issues.

Some associations remain undaunted in the face of government incentives for the adoption of alternative energy systems. And the battles are likely to occur more often as solar power continues its noteworthy price decline.

Some in the industry are projecting a 50% drop in the cost of solar power compared with a year ago. Market researcher New Energy Finance explains in an announcement that the figure refers to so-called levelized cost--the lifetime cost per kilowatt-hour before subsidies.

And Forbes magazine reports that a Houston solar installation company is buying solar panels for $1.90 per watt, down from $4 earlier this year. With that drop, the installer is now able to complete a residential system installation for the same $4/watt that the panels alone cost in early 2009. Many residential system installations cost in the neighborhood of $14,000.

Given average sunshine, government incentives, and including the installation cost and interest for financing over 20 years, such residential systems can yield electricity rates of 13 cents per kilowatt-hour in New York, 11 cents in Dallas, and 9 cents in Las Vegas. The nationwide average is 12 cents, the article says, which excludes the government subsidies.

The payback period on residential solar energy systems remains long--often more than 20 years. Undaunted, solar energy advocates push forward, despite both financial and non-financial obstacles. Marc Weinberg of Camarillo, CA, locked horns with his homeowners association over his solar energy installation. He prevailed in a lawsuit against the association, citing the state’s Solar Rights Act. The association was ordered to allow such installations, and it had to pick up Weinberg’s legal fees.

But not all such conflicts end in the solar advocate’s favor, according to a Los Angeles Times article. One homeowner, who installed panels despite an association’s rejection of his application, was sued by the association. He was forced to relocate the panels elsewhere on his property--a move that could change the solar-energy proposition to a financial bust from a win.

Legal wrangling aside, now is a good time to go solar, thanks to the price drops, the continuing incentives available, and the growing availability of palatable financing options.

In New Jersey, for example, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. will provide $143 million in loans for residential-scale solar energy systems. The company will lend about half the cost of a system, according to a local press report. Borrowers will repay the debt with funds received from selling renewable energy credits earned by the energy generators.

The San Jose Mercury News provides a checklist that can help you decide whether solar is a fit for your home. Though the checklist was developed for California homeowners, most of its items are applicable across the country and substitution of your own state’s incentives helps complete the picture.

Many New York homeowners have seen the light. Demand there has been so great that the state was forced to reduce the amount of subsidies offered so it could preserve some funds through the end of the year. The state’s 174 registered installers await with anticipation news of 2010 funding, according to a press report.