Solar panels can now pay for themselves in as little as five years, depending where you live. I will link you to an article of mine that helps you figure out if you live in a good location for solar panels. If you do, you won’t need much, if any, power from your electric utility. And, in fact, that mammoth utility might even buy power from little old you!
First question to ask: Does my state have net metering? This is government speak for any state where if you generate more electricity than you need, the power company will buy it back from you. This can be a nice little money maker for you. And fortunately, it’s pretty common. 38 states and the District of Columbia offer net metering. I will give you the link to Look up whether yours is one of them.
Second key question: is my state a SREC state? SREC stands for Solar Renewable Energy Certificate. About 30 states plus the District of Columbia mandate that electric utilities must generate part of their power from renewable sources like —bingo— solar. And yes, power companies will pay you to help them do this. For every 1000 kilowatt hours of solar power you generate, you earn one SREC. Your utility will buy that credit from you —for as much as $480 in some areas. The value of these SRECs varies dramatically from one state to another, and DC where I live, is one of the most generous, but I can tell you that my neighbor Mark makes about $2500 a year by selling these solar credits back to our local power company. Nice!
I promised you SEVERAL links as part of this “make more” segment and I will have those for you at EasyMoneyShow.com/53.
Good locations for Solar panels: www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/considering-getting-solar-panels-here-are-the-right-questions-to-ask/2018/03/09/3190c71a-20c0-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f0b735ccd311
Net metering policies in your state: www.ncsl.org/research/energy/net-metering-policy-overview-and-state-legislative-updates.aspx
Solar renewable energy certificates: www.energysage.com/solar/cost-benefit/srecs-solar-renewable-energy-certificates/
