Normally, when I open my electric bill I don't pay much attention to the newsletter that's included every month. Today was different, I saw the words “Community Solar is Coming”. Well, words like this catch my attention, and demand further investigation. Here are the details:
Clark Public Utilities provides electricity in Clark County Washington, which is just across the Columbia River from the Portland, Oregon area in the southwest corner of the state. They launched a project where customers can buy shares in a large solar panel array. While certainly not a new concept, this is a first for this area. Phase One is an approximately 75 kilowatt system, with 272 ground mounted panels. A single share is 1/12th of a panel, with a limit of 100 shares. Each share sells for $100, and there are flexible payment options. Pay-off is estimated at four years, with a system life of 20 years. A little quick math (75kw divided by 272 panels divided by 12 shares/panel) indicated output of about 23 watts per share, putting the cost at $4.35/watt. This is a little high, but considering the ease of buy-in, well worth my investment.
Installed prices continued their precipitous decline in 2013, falling year-over-year by $0.7/W, or 12-15% depending on system size range. Among projects installed in 2013, median installed prices were $4.7/W for systems ≤10 kW, $4.3/W for systems 10-100 kW, and $3.9/W for systems >100 kW.
(from a report on costs of solar in the USA from a
Lawerece Berkeley Lab Report dated September 2014 Caution-PDF)
I responded to this opportunity immediately, with a small buy-in of three shares. Unfortunately, the shares for this had already sold out. However, due to the obvious demand the Utility had decided to move ahead immediately with Phase Two, and shares for that were available.
While my solar footprint is initially very small (only 69 watts), my electric consumption is also pretty minimal. I’m installing led replacements for the fluorescent fixtures in my shop (I work out of my home), which will make a sizeable dent in my daily consumption. My goal is to install a 2kw photo-voltaic system on my roof, but I can’t afford it right now. At least this gets me in the game, and I’m thankful to have a public utility provider who shares some of my philosophies.
If projects like this can be successful in "cloudy, rainy" western Washington State, they can succeed anywhere there is the will.