December 11, 2013
Falmouth Energy offers Pain relief: a Solar Array!
We’re all feeling the pain here on Cape Cod. Not traffic congestion or crowds at our favorite restaurants, we’re all feeling the pain of high energy prices. In fact, here on Cape Cod in the heart of New England, we currently have the second highest electrical utility rates in the country. Ouch!
You’d have to go to Hawaii to find a higher electricity rate, and while that’s a nice trip…the rates we pay for electricity erode our discretionary budgets for things like travel, dining out or saving for the future.
How Expensive are Cape Cod Utilities?
How much IS it?
On Cape Cod, NStar customers are currently paying 21 cents per kilowatt hour(kWh). Itemized on a bill that’s so intentionally convoluted that you have no idea HOW much you’re paying…delivery charges, line charges, fuel charges, even a renewable energy charge. In fact, most customers who request a free Solar Site Survey have no idea how much Cape Cod power costs or how much they use. Understanding how much power you use, and how much it costs you is obviously critical to controlling costs and determining the feasibility of installing solar.
“Wait, is 21 cents per kWh HIGH?”
YES, but do you know HOW high? Just off cape, over in Plymouth, our neighbors are paying .15 cents per kWh…drive over to Attleboro and it’s as low as 11 cents! We all know that driving over the bridges makes everything more expensive, but why is power traveling on a cable across the canal worth 40%-80% more than that purchased by our fellow Commonweath residents? Nstar doesn’t feel the need to explain, or upgrade the infrastructure, or look for ways to save Cape Customers money. NStar gave you a gift this year, a credit for last winters storm blackout, about $3.50. NStar then raised your utility rate from .20/kWh to .21/kWh, 5%! Thanks for the gift NStar, it only ends up costing customers another $80 a year.
The average home on the cape uses about 8,000kWh of electricity, and it costs you $1680 annually. Over the next 25 years those rates are predicted to DOUBLE. At the end of 25 year you will have spent over $60,000 just in electrical utility charges(assuming a conservative 3% inflation in utility rates), THAT is PAINFUL.
There is relief, A Solar array from Falmouth Energy!
As high as our rates are, there IS good news. Massachusetts also has among the best renewable energy incentives in the country. The combination of high rates and great incentives create a “perfect storm” for Solar affordability. Mass incentives are so attractive that we’ve already reached our 2020 goal of 400Megawatts of installed solar capacity, in just four years! The explosion of popularity in solar is proof that solar works, solar is economical, and your neighbors are installing solar at a rate higher than virtually the entire country(except Hawaii!).
Current incentives available to Mass homeowners include:
- a 30% Federal Tax Credit
- a $2000 to $4000 state of Mass Rebate
- a $1000 State Tax Credit
- A state supported Solar Renewable Energy(SREC) market
- No sales tax on equipment
- No Local tax assessment
All combined these incentives can reduce the cost of an array to a homeowner by 40%! With a Return on Investment “break even” point of six years! For that six years, instead of paying NStar, you are paying yourself and realizing the savings of having clean, green solar energy! Once your array has paid for itself, you are generating clean, FREE renewable energy for twenty years and beyond!
A solar array on your home can:
Save you $60,000 or more in utility expense
Generate an additional $14,000 in SREC income
Increase the resale value of your home , with no increase in assessed value
Cut your carbon footprint by 8,000lbs of CO2 per year!
And it pays for itself in under SIX YEARS!
What about these Leases I’m hearing about?
If you don’t have tax liability (common for retirees on the Cape) or enough home equity, Let us show you how to realize significant savings with a Solar Array Power Purchase Agreement(PPA). A PPA puts an array on your roof for as low as $1,000 and you then buy the electricity produced by the array at savings of up to 40% less than our current NStar rates! PPA customers recover the cost of their investment in year one, and enjoy the environmental and financial benefits of an array.
Falmouth Energy has partnered with Clean Power Finance to make sure that Clean economical Solar energy is available to as many of our customers as possible.
We feel your pain, neighbors, and with your electricity usage estimated to cost you over $60,000, Falmouth Energy has the pain relief you need….Solar Energy!
To Schedule a Free Solar Survey for your home, contact Falmouth Energy Today at
(508)548-3200
or email Tim@falmouthenergy.com