A coalition of solar-energy proponents Tuesday launched a campaign to walk 100 La Plata County families through the process of outfitting their homes with a photovoltaic system at reduced cost.
Participants would receive technical assistance and favorable loan rates.
The message was: The sun shines brighter in La Plata County than in Maine, Massachusetts or Minnesota, but those northern states have more installed solar capacity – a situation which doesn’t have to continue.
Members of the Solarize La Plata steering committee laid out the details to more than 100 people at Durango Discovery Museum.
“Colorado should have more photovoltaic because our sun is almost as good as in Arizona or Nevada,” steering committee chairman Robert Lea said. “We’re isolated and have a low-density population, but we’re primed to make better use of photovoltaic.”
The campaign, driven by the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, usually called 4CORE, started last spring. It’s based on one developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the city of Portland, Ore.
The model was so successful that the U.S. Department of Energy adopted it and published a guidebook for other communities.
Among the 15 members of the nonprofit Solarize La Plata steering committee are a builder, a mortgage lender, three contractors, environmental activists and a former electrical utility engineer.
Lea is a retired construction manager.
There is no cost to participants other than the hardware and financing – if required. But interested homeowners must sign up within the next three months.
Three solar-array models of 4, 5 and 6 kW, will be offered. The size would depend on how much power a home requires, which is calculated from La Plata Electric Association bills for the past three years.
Gross price for the three sizes are $16,800, $20,200 and $23,250, respectively. Incentives such as $300 per installed kilowatt rebate from LPEA and a 30 percent federal tax credit make the net prices $10,560, $12,640 and $14,475, respectively.
The price doesn’t include structural or electrical modifications required for installation and functionality.
Solar arrays will be connected to the LPEA grid, so if the panels produce more electricity than the home uses, LPEA buys the excess at its wholesale rate every April.
A brochure available from 4CORE contains basic advice. Homeowners should be planning to remain in their homes for five to seven years, the roof should be sturdy enough to support a solar array and the house ideally should have a southern orientation.
It’s recommended, too, that energy-saving measures be taken before solar installation occurs. Experts recommend adding ceiling insulation, switching to EnergyStar appliances and replacing incandescent light bulbs with low-energy LED lamps.
Byron Kellog, retired from civil engineering, has realized huge savings with solar panels and energy-saving measures.
Kellog, a member of the Solarize La Plata steering committee, installed a 3.78 kW solar system in his Hillcrest neighborhood home in December 2010.
“We were using 700 to 750 kW hours a month,” he said. “In 2011, we averaged 380 kW hours a month and 185 kW hours last year. So far this year, we’re averaging 82 kW hours.”
Other measures he took included replacing an old freezer – a 20 percent saving on his electric bill alone – replacing 23-year-old double-pane windows that were leaking and adding insulation to the attic.
LPEA also has a request.
“We encourage people to come to LPEA first,” agency spokeswoman Indiana Reed said Wednesday. “We find that solar equipment sometimes isn’t compatible with ours. It can be a safety issue.”
daler@durangoherald.com
For more
To learn more about Solarize La Plata’s solar-energy program for homeowners, call the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency at 259-1916.
