Thought of the Day- Going “Green”

Seriously Considering Solar

So recently, I’ve been bs-ing around with the idea of doing solar at my house. Now this is just a consideration but I’ve found some of the reasons to be compelling though there are some drawbacks.

As I see it, there are the pros and cons. And I’m not really sold on it yet but I figured writing out what I’m thinking may clarify some things.

Pros

The way I see it, solar has some upside with the right circumstances. 

First, electric bills being reduced would be nice. Maybe take that savings and do some work with it like renovations or something to that effect.

Second, if we reduce our energy consumption enough and the local utility has a way to do it, selling electricity wholesale to the grid could bring with it some additional income. Income producing assets are a really attractive offer to me. I like the flexibility having recurring income brings and its part of my investment objectives long term. These 2, provided of course our provider does have a buyback program for electricity, would really help accelerate that objective.

Third, it’s kind of the responsible thing to do. I’m young, in my mid-20s. I should, theoretically, live long enough to see the impact of my parent’s decisions with the environment and some of my own in the coming years and decades. I may not have children now but I feel I should be responsible for my actions today to try to make a small difference tomorrow. A selfish point to make, so as not to be chest-thumping and touting my moral superiority, a cleaner environment also should lead to healthier people. Unhealthy people make terrible workers and a worse society. Esentially, if we pollute the crap out of something, someone pays for it and I don’t want to pay the long term price. I’m too cheap for that.

Cons

Now there are some cons I have come up with  that are worth mentioning.

First, the upfront cost. If there is significant upfront cost, I probably can’t actually afford to green light this project in the near future. I have other bills and expenses that can’t be ignored and solar don’t put food on the table right away. If there are low or no government incentives or programs, it could be a non-starter.

Second, will the utility even buy excess power? That’s an open question currently as I’m relatively early in the process but if they don’t or do at a certain capacity with restrictions, that really pulls some of the financial benefits off the table. They may and they may not or it could be a hassle. It’s one bit currently in the air and I have to keep it in mind when looking at the dollars and cents(sense).

Lastly, will I live here long enough to take advantage of the savings? Again, I’m young and early in my career. I’m not committed enough yet to a solid company that I feel the time I live at my current residence will give me a good return on my investment. Solar/renewable energy is a long game. I need to really take a hard look and see if there’s enough opportunity to settle in this area for at least 8-10 years to really get the benefits of the solar energy before selling it off to someone else.