Solar Power for Chattanooga

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Permalink Reply by Loop Studios on July 15, 2009 at 7:15pm

I get asked about solar power and who is doing it ALL THE TIME!

Some key topics are how much $$, are there any tax credits, how will it tie into my house, and of course - how much will it save.

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Permalink Reply by Sunny Solar on July 16, 2009 at 9:22am

Thanks for asking! We love to talk solar!

First off, there aren't too many folks in the Chattanooga area doing solar. I recently went to a class in Southern California, and the yellow pages there are teaming with solar install companies. Let's hope there is enough interest in Chattanooga that this will become the norm here, too. For now, there are a few folks who have attended nationally recognized training and have done installations. Sunny Solar is a new, family-run PV solar installation company- a trend which I hope continues.

Money, tax credits -- that sure is important. One of the impediments to wider use of solar photovoltaic has been the costs associated with it. Making the highly purified silicon sheets is expensive. Thankfully, there are now tax credits that help offset the end user cost. The tax credits vary by state, and by whether you are putting the system on a residence or a commercial application. For instance, there is a 30% federal residential tax credit or a 30% federal credit or grant for businesses. Additionally, there is a 35% state tax credit if you live in Georgia for both business and residential. In Tennessee there is a 40% business tax credit, but since there is no Tennessee income tax, there is no Tennessee tax credit for residential. Oh, and there is a federal provision that allows accelerated depreciation for solar equipment for businesses. Phew! Is that confusing enough? Basically, there are enough credits out to start to bring the costs down to the point where putting in a system makes financial sense.

There are also green energy buy-back programs thru the electric utilities that buy the green power you produce for a premium rate. A great subject for later discussion. It would be wonderful to involve someone from EPB on this!

A commercial business in Tennessee could put in a system, get 70% back in tax credits and grants, sell the power back to TVA at a premium, take advantage of accelerated depreciation laws, and be better stewards of the environment. After five years, the system would be fully depreciated, and the company would still have at least 20 years of life on their solar equipment.

The costs seem to be all over the place. We recently read of one firm in town putting in a system at a local visitor's attraction, and the news article placed the cost around $10 to $15 per watt. Other systems we have been involved with have a cost of about $7.50 per watt. These are installed costs, before any of the rebates.

The PV systems usually tie into your electrical breaker box, but if you sell to a utility you have to have a separate meter put in. This gets a bit more complicated, and I will try to follow up on this in another entry. This one has already gotten quite long!

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Tripp on July 23, 2009 at 11:28am

Hello Sunny,
We are happy to see you've started into solar in the area. We supply contractors and government agencies throughout the Southeastern USA and Caribbean basin for over a decade from our Chattanooga warehouses and maintain several million dollars of inventory for use in the region. See us at www.bigfrogmountain.com

We have been training contractors for many years throughout the region and have helped secure federal job training grants for several universities in the region to help train more qualified solar installers. Like TVA we recommend installers that have achieved the NABCEP certification and encourage all solar contractors to work towards this. More info at: www.nabcep.org We will continue offering factory technical training courses periodically.

We also encourage contractors to work with local suppliers in our region to build the infrastructure needed in this growing industry and look forward to working with you and all interested licensed contractors in the region.

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Permalink Reply by Sunny Solar on July 23, 2009 at 4:58pm

Am looking forward to talking with you more, we met briefly at the Chattanooga Eco Expo. Sunny Solar did not exist then. I am a semi-retired Electrical Engineer who decided to be his own boss (though my wife would say she is boss.) I have taken the basic and advanced PV classes from Solar Energy International, and am working toward my NABCEP certification. I would be very happy to attend any training classes you offer, it is impossible to know everything, and it's always fun to learn.

I spoke with Matt a few days ago, and will definitely call you for a price comparison when I sell my next system. At present, the only supplier I have is AEE Solar. I have not pursued any other supplier.

Gerald Grekowicz
Sunny Solar

Thomas Tripp said:

Hello Sunny,
We are happy to see you've started into solar in the area. We supply contractors and government agencies throughout the Southeastern USA and Caribbean basin for over a decade from our Chattanooga warehouses and maintain several million dollars of inventory for use in the region. See us at www.bigfrogmountain.com

We have been training contractors for many years throughout the region and have helped secure federal job training grants for several universities in the region to help train more qualified solar installers. Like TVA we recommend installers that have achieved the NABCEP certification and encourage all solar contractors to work towards this. More info at: www.nabcep.org We will continue offering factory technical training courses periodically.

We also encourage contractors to work with local suppliers in our region to build the infrastructure needed in this growing industry and look forward to working with you and all interested licensed contractors in the region.

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