I have a massive flat roof on my house that has completely unobstructed access to the big ball of gas in the sky. I'd be mad not to get a solar setup.
Do any of you folks in Seattle know what would be a good/cost-effective solar setup? I got a quote from Puget Sound Solar, both for 8.37kW and 9.99kW systems (different solar panel manufacturers - 27 Silfab 310W vs 27 LG 370W). $30,900 for the "cheaper one" and $39,300 for the more expensive LG. I know there's a federal tax credit of 30%, but I'm not aware of any other credits, as I'm pretty knew to the whole solar shebang.
Those prices seem high to me. I added a 9.8kW array to my roof in 2016, when the WA state production incentives were really good. My incentive plan ended in 2016, the year I got my array. The old incentive plan was structured such that each utility paid up to N% (I don't recall the number, but it was more than 1 and less than 5% of something) and then they could either stop accepting solar customers into the program, or they could lower the rates they paid. My utility (SCL) lowered the per kWh production rate they paid and kept signing up customers.
In 2017 a new production incentives plan with lower rates but longer payments was introduced, and was given a fixed pool of funding by the state. Utilities signed up customers faster than expected and the pool of funding was exhausted in Jan 2019. The WA state incentive payments are based on kWh production and solar owners that got in are paid for every kWh we produce. The funds were structured to pay up to 50% of the cost of the array. The older (2016 and prior) plans did so over 5 years of production payments and the 2017+ plan do so over more years (8 IIRC). Next year I will receive my last production incentive payment and by year end I will have recovered 100% of the costs of my array.
Details.
I tell you all that because a new production incentives plan may appear in a year or two. I'd put the odds at 60%. I'd consider hedging and getting 1/2 as much array as you ultimately want. If the incentives plan comes back, then jump on and expand your array.
As Big-T mentioned, you still get the 30% federal rebate (it drops to 26% next year, then 15% the year after). The sales tax exemption is nothing to sneeze at either.
The final revenue feature a solar array gets you is net metering. The production incentives are paid simply for producing renewable energy. You then get to use the energy in your home, which of course reduces your electric bill. That's net metering. Washington State's net metering is among the best in the country. We have a 1:1 rate for production and consumption. So during the summer when I product a huge excess of energy and feed the grid, all those kWhs get "banked" for the winter when my panels are under-producing and my heat pumps are busy keeping the house warm.
After my current solar array is fully paid for, I'm going to add another 6kW on another roof. I'm considering doing it myself. Just for grins and giggles, here's a real quick bill of materials for a 10kW array:
- (34) Canadian Solar CS6K-300MS panels $6,528
- (34) SolarEdge P370 Power Optimizer $2,890
- (1) SolarEdge SE7600H inverter w/EV charger: $1,993
- Racks, flashing, feet, conduit, wire, MC4 connectors: ~ $1,000
- Engineering plans, permits, inspections, electrician: ~ $1,000
