Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Solar Energy

Any of yall ever added solar to your house? Pros, cons, cost, what can it power? I have a huge roof on a detached garage that is begging for some solar panels.

Interested in this also.

I think, do not take this as gospel, but I think you can get a tax credit or tax break for installing solar on your home or business. Check with your CPA on that, but the tax credit may off set some of the installation cost.

Last I checked its about a 15-20 roi and you still won't be 100% self sufficient

One of the major problems with solar in Alabama is that your fine folks at the Public Service Commission and the Legislature
have allowed themselves to be the puppets of Alabama Power Company - which refuses to allow excess power generated by solar to be sold back to APC. Practically every State in the country makes power companies adapt to this except ours. I cannot think of the technical terminology, but it is a MAJOR impediment to solar in Alabama being what it is supposed to be. There was an article about this on Al dot com awhile back. My brother in law who runs a solar company in Texas could not believe it.

Tax break is true last year and maybe this one

I googled and found the article:


http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/12/alabama_residential_solar.html

There are some chicken farms up here that have loads of solar panels on the roof. I was talking with a chicken grower last week, whose neighbor down the road had them on his houses. He said that in December the guys total power bill for his dwelling house and chicken houses was less than $200. He said that in warmer weather the guy produced a surplus of power and that TVA paid the guy the RESIDENTIAL rate for any surplus power generated. There was a scenario in there where after a certain point or amount that they paid him a wholesale price for the power.

I found it interesting that the guy didn't technically use the power he generated. The solar panels fed directly back into the main TVA sourced line and there was a meter on it that showed how much was generated. In other words, all power generated by the solar panels went out. He has a meter going in using TVA power, and a meter going out measuring what "he" made. He paid the difference, or was refunded the difference depending on which meter was ahead.

I think you have been misinformed. APCo is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to purchase any excess energy generated by " cogenerators ". The FERC sets the rate structure. I know because I used to negotiate and administer those contracts.

Turbo Tax thinks so because they asked me about it last night. After the final tally I wished I had been able to answer yes on that question.

Go Flat Tax Prez.

Alabama is one of the worst states for solar power. You really get screwed by APCo. TVA and Georgia Power are much more solar power friendly.

Have a cousin that totally lives off solor and for me NO WAY. Trouble all the time. But I'm a poor black man

I have a customer who's house is complete solar power, with al power backup. He generates more power than he needs most months. He said he bought $3.00 worth of power from AP last year. He pays $17.00 a month(I think), just to stay hooked up to them. If he sells them his excess power each month, it will cost him more, because there is a fee for that too. His house is not like most of ours. It was built to utilize sun heat, and he doesn't use much if any ac. He did install solar power systems for a living, also teaches substanence homesteading. Not for everyone. Have to give up alot of the perks in life most of us have gotten used to.

What's the math equation on that? Surely you could rig up your solar to run at a specified time to use less ApCo supplied power. From my understanding, solar has to have a "bank" to store power. Let the bank charge up and switch off your main(ApCo) and run reserves(solar) to empty and let it recharge.

RSA is about to give a solar company the acreage to install a solar farm, pay for it and pay them to set it up and then buy the power from them. Only the guvment works that way.

Where's that going to be on RSA?

The article I saw showed two potential sites. One is in some cow pastures off Toftoy. The other was in hunting areas off Redstone/Patton Roads. Which one you think it will be Derek?

Gulf Power is building a large solar panel farm on the northwest side of Niceville, Florida. BIG operation.

Lambs

Sometime in the next ~5yrs there will be a solar paint. It may be a 2 part paint, but you will be able to paint what ever you want and get power from it.