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Long Islanders enjoy plenty of advantages—miles of beaches, cultural events, abundant shopping—but cheap electricity sure isn’t one of them. Rates are among the highest in the nation, and the Island’s growing population is putting more strain on the power grid, which could translate into power outages or even blackouts.
To address these issues, in May 1999 the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) authorized its Clean Energy Initiative (CEI), a $355 million commitment to foster energy conservation and efficiency, develop clean alternative-energy technologies, and reduce energy use during periods of peak usage.
The solar component of the initiative, known as Solar Pioneers, offers homeowners the opportunity to supplement their energy needs with solar electricity. According to Michael Deering, vice president of environmental affairs for LIPA, as of December 2007, 62 commercial and 1,064 residential customers have received rebates under the program.
Solar energy is nothing new. For years, forward-thinking homeowners have used solar to supply additional power to their homes, and hardcore acolytes have even used solar exclusively. What has changed is that home-grown solar electricity can now be fed back to the power grid in a process termed “net metering.”
Here’s how net metering works: Usually your electric meter moves inexorably forward as electricity flows from LIPA to your home. Now, when your solar energy system produces more electricity than your home requires, the excess electricity generated flows back to LIPA’s electric grid system, which turns your electric meter backward. At the end of the month, you are billed only for net consumption—the amount of electricity consumed less the amount of electricity distributed back to LIPA’s grid.
Professor Yelleshpur Dathatri, distinguished service professor and director of the Solar Energy Center at Farmingdale State University of New York, says, “Without a backup battery, you can’t store solar electricity. But with net metering, even if you’re not home using electricity on a sunny day, that power isn’t going to waste. It’s going back to the grid, and you get credited on your electric bill.”
Skeptics may wonder if solar energy only makes sense for such ultra-sunny climes as California and the Southwest. Experts say this is not the case. “Based on the National Renewable Energy Lab’s 30-year data, Long Island receives about 70 percent of the sun hours of Phoenix, Arizona, which is the best solar location in the country,” says Dathatri.
“Long Island is one of the best candidates for solar energy,” says Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI), a Bridgehampton-based nonprofit organization that promotes clean, sustainable energy use and generation. “We do get a relatively high amount of sunshine, and our electric rates are very high. In addition, the peak demand for electricity is during summer afternoons, when people have their air conditioners on and power plants are cranking out the maximum amount of electricity. This is when solar panels can generate electricity and help LIPA meet peak demand.”
Investigating Solar Systems
A solar system, or solar array, is a relatively simple set-up. Panels containing photovoltaic (PV) cells are installed on your roof. The PV cells gather solar energy in the form of sunlight and convert it into direct-current (DC) electricity. The more sunlight they receive, the more electricity they produce. A device called an inverter is used to convert DC to alternate-current (AC) power, the type of electricity used in your home. Inverters may be mounted right on the back of a panel or wall-mounted separately from the PV system, for example, in a basement, attic, or garage.
The size of your system determines the amount of power you’ll generate. Some customers size their PV system to generate enough electricity to meet all their home’s needs, but even a smaller system that generates a portion of your electricity can go a long way toward reducing your bill. “For the average home using 9,000 kWh, a 3kW-sized system would produce approximately 40 percent of the home’s load,” says Deering, adding that the average Solar Pioneer uses a 5.76 kW system. Additional options include separate meters for PV output, computer interfaces for PV monitoring analysis, and battery back-up systems.
Dathatri says that solar panels will work on any type of roof (except north-facing), but an unshaded south-facing roof at a latitude pitch of 42 degrees is ideal. The panels will not damage your roof and are impervious to snow and rain. If you’re replacing your roof, in lieu of panels you can use photovoltaic shingles that serve as conventional shingles while also generating solar electricity.
As far as appearance is concerned, PV panels resemble obsidian flecked with lapis and are less obtrusive than satellite dishes. Nonetheless, a few community building departments have opposed them on aesthetic grounds. Deering says customers can check building-code requirements for their municipality on LIPA’s website (lipower.org/cei/solar.search.html).
Money Matters
PV systems range in price (which includes installation) from 600-watt systems that cost about $4,800 to 10kW systems for $75,000. Although installing PV panels is an investment, there are financial incentives that significantly sweeten the deal. For starters, LIPA will pay $3.50 per watt towards the installation of a PV system up to 10kW, or a maximum rebate of $35,000 (beginning January 1, 2008). Then you can take advantage of the Federal 30 percent tax credit, with a maximum credit of $2,000, and New York State’s 25 percent tax credit toward the total cost of a PV system, with a maximum credit of $5,000. New York State also offers a 15-year property tax exemption through its Real Property Tax Law. Therefore, LIPA estimates that after adding up the credits and rebates, a $37,500 5kW system would actually cost $13,000.
Deering points out that this 5kW system would generate about $1,145 of energy per year and thus pay for itself in about 11.35 years—and that’s if electrical rates remain flat. Since odds are that they will continue to climb, you’ll find your PV system paying for itself even sooner. In addition, solar panels increase your property value by roughly $15,000.
Of course, as more people purchase PV systems, economies of scale kick in, making solar more affordable. Lazlow Jones, a writer and producer for the Grand Theft Auto videogame series and a Long Beach resident with a solar array, says, “The biggest question I get is: ‘When does it pay for itself?’ For me, it paid for itself the second we flipped the switch and my meter started running backwards. Neighbors come over to watch. It’s hours of entertainment, especially when I point out that they’re using the extra electricity I’m generating and I’m getting paid for it.”
A Powerful Incentive
Most solar proponents agree that the potential financial savings are just one part of the picture. “Ten to 15 years from now we want to be less dependent on polluting, exhaustible forms of electricity like oil or coal,” says Dathatri, adding that over 25 years a typical solar system will keep 65 tons of greenhouse gas emissions out of the air.
“I hope more people look into this,” says Jones. “The demand on the electric grid only grows as the population does, and I think we’d all rather have homes that generate their own electricity than put more fossil-fuel-burning power plants in our backyards.” This should be incentive enough for more people to consider solar power for their home.
Solar on the Web
LIPA Solar Pioneers: 1-800-490-0025, 631-755-6000
www.lipower.org/cei/solar.html
This site explains how the program and photovoltaic systems work. Visitors can find out the regulations and building-code information for towns and villages on Long Island, download forms and applications, find a solar contractor and read the testimonials of Solar Pioneers.
Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI): 631-537-8282
www.RenewableEnergyLongIsland.org
RELI is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization promoting clean, sustainable energy use and generation for Long Island. RELI runs two seminars each month, one in Nassau and one in Suffolk. Interested homeowners can go to the website for dates and also sign up for their e-newsletter.
Farmingdale Solar Energy Center:631-420-2450
www.info.lu.farmingdale.edu/depts/met/solar/
The Center has been holding annual day-long solar/alternative energy conferences for the past six years. Check the site for updates on the 2008 Energy Conference, to be held in partnership with the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook. Visitors to the Farmingdale campus can also see PV panels in action—roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems are located throughout
the campus.
