The valuable sun

Solar power has been on the slowly but surely plan to become a powerful force in energy generation.

People at least think they know its benefits, both environmental and financial, but still worry about its effectiveness.

California is planning to take a major step into bringing solar energy into light starting next decade.

Realty Times columnist, Broderick Perkins, explains how this is prospected to be accomplished in his August 28, 2006 article, “ Californians To Mine Golden Sunshine For Energy.”

“Nearly 80 percent of Americans would like a solar power option when they shop for a new home. More, 84 percent of Americans aged 25 to 49, support the solar option, according to a Roper survey for Sharp USA.”

Besides the enormous financial benefit of solar energy (basically wiping out your energy utility costs), it can help slow or eventually stop the time bomb that is global warming, reduce fossil-fueled pollutants, provide tax benefits for homeowners and increase home values by tens of thousands of dollars.

This will be more easily possible by the beginning of the next decade in California.

“California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law Senate Bill 1, known as the governor's ‘Million Solar Roofs Initiative’ which, in part, will make solar power a standard option on all new single-family homes in developments of 50 or more units beginning January 1, 2011.”

“In the Golden State, where 1 of ever 8 Americans live, California's Public Utilities Commission earlier this year approved a landmark $3.2 billion 'California Solar Initiative’ which included subsidies to cover a third of the cost of residential solar systems large enough to supply all of a home's electricity needs and fund solar systems on 1 million buildings statewide -- commercial, public and residential -- by 2017.”

This initiative is expected to generate 300,000 megawatts of energy. This is more than seven times the current 400-megawatt level of solar power available in all 50 states.

Other provisions of the new initiative include: “More energy savings dollars returned to the people. The first initiative required all electric providers, upon request, to make available to eligible customer generators, contracts for net energy metering on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer generators exceeds 0.5 percent of the electric service provider's aggregate customer peak demand. The new initiative raises that level to 2.5 percent, which will allow more customers credit for solar generated but unused power.”

Some critics are already skeptic of the initiative suggesting the new home option may force buyers to choose hardwood floors, spas and other already existing options over energy efficiency.

But most home owners with solar energy have both. Through this initiative it is possible to have your cake and eat it too.

There is one more way that California is going to be pushing the solar power option.

“New home buyers who forgo traditional new home options for a solar system, will be rewarded with a near zero energy bill (A service hook up fee will be charged to meter excess electricity and electricity used during rare times when there's not enough solar power), which, over time, can pay for those new home options originally rejected.”

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