Green Articles
Solar energy could be answer to rising energy costs
By Susan Edwards : WWL-TV : February 29, 2008
If you feel like your electric bill just keeps rising, then the idea of solar energy might be your answer.
For years, the problem for consumers was the initial cost for the alternative energy source. But New Orleanians now have an opportunity to go green and save money.
Homeowner Mark Holian is one of several residents in the area waiting to see if solar panels at his home will truly pay off.
“I know it's going to cost me less as months go by than if I did not have it,” said Holian, who lives in the 9th ward. “The question is, ‘How much less?’”
If ever there were a time to test the waters on solar heat or electricity, proponents like Forest Bradley-Wright argue the time is now. Bradley-Wright is with the non-profit organization Alliance for Affordable Energy. Their goal is to work towards affordable utility bills, and seek out sound, sustainable energy policies.
“Don't think there's anyone that thinks in five or 10 years, energy will be less expensive than it is now,” Bradley-Wright said.
But, he said, the price of solar energy won’t change after the initial cost.
New Orleans, named a solar city last year, means more public education on solar energy, but there are financial incentives, too.
A 50 percent state tax credit and money from the federal government means more people than ever can afford to go solar.
“The timing is also good for New Orleans especially,” Bradley-Wright said. “Last year, the city council passed rules for net metering which allows you to interconnect your solar panels to the utility grid and to be credited, paid for excess generation that you're producing, and to get it back on next month's bill.”
Bradley-Wright said the real benefits come in time.
“It is an investment because you're putting a chunk of money up front for purchase instead of using it on utility bill month after month after month,” Bradley-Wright said. “The system pays itself off at which point all of the energy is free.”
There are varying options and degrees to which you can offset energy consumption by using solar power, so it’s not an all-or-nothing decision. Experts hope the tax incentives help solar energy go mainstream.