New Program Makes Solar Energy More Affordable for Homeowners

The sun shines every day in San Diego (besides last week), why don’t we use solar energy more?

People have been pushing for solar power for years but the big hold up is the cost to use it.  It looks like that might change with a new tax program.

A 60-employee panel installation firm that has been behind some of the SAn Francisco Bay Area’s biggest solar power arrays has gone mainstream, scaled up operations and driven down costs but still only generates less than 1% of the nation’s electricity.

Why?

If you have San Diego real estate, you’ll notice that a typical residential system costs about $25,000.00.  That is a chunk of change for the average homeowner!

There’s a new effort gaining momentum around the country for us: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). 

This means that you can borrow money from municipalities for energy efficiency upgrades and you pay it back in property taxes, helping out the states hard hit by the recession.

Your property taxes?

Well, they estimate that energy prices will only continue to go up, so if you replace your $100 utility bill with a $100 a month payment to your property taxes, it is a breakeven.  Think 5, 10, 15 years from now?

So far 19 states have passed PACE legislation: California, Florida, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.

One Santa Rosa, CA resident gave the program a shot.  He had 32 solar panels installed on his home at a cost of about $5,000, including a discount for being among the program’s first participants.

He estimates that his property taxes rose $100 a month while his electric bill has dropped as much as $300 a month over the last four months.  Think of the savings after 10 years.

After this real estate crash, some are worried that this program could increase debt levels while home prices go sideways.

The fear is that the program could take off and then cause huge losses as people begin not just to stop paying their mortgage but then stop paying their property taxes which includes their “energy bill” in it as well.

What are the qualifications to participate in this program?

Borrowers must have a good credit rating and equity in the home to qualify.  So far that is it.

In conclusion, there are a lot of possibiities here. 

Right now, this could help contractors pick up work while the economy is still slow. 

You don’t have to feel like you’re going to pay for this solar panel upgrade that you’re leaving in the home in fie years, because it stays with the property and the next person picks up the costs in property taxes. 

And last, it may help out our states which have been hit hard with the loss in property taxes from so many walking away from their homes.