Now that PV rates have some down substantially, combined with various state and utility incentives, as

We’ll

Until then, enjoy the article… and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Molly

Montana, with its huge potential for renewable energy, could do more to use its resources to help strengthen the economy.

Montana is currently ranked 22nd in the nation for the amount of renewable energy produced, yet has enough available resources to become 3rd in the nation if properly developed and invested.

Montana potential for wind is due to its topography. High mountains combined with spacious plains are perfect for developing wind farms. Wind

In places where buildings are a barrier, as they decrease the amount of wind which can be harvested, we could use solar power to create renewable energy gains.

Montana is also one of 13 states which can produce energy from geothermal hot spots. The technology of geothermal is constantly improving and needs to be developed in order for this technology to be effective without compromising the environment.

Yet with all this in mind Montanas still spend 4.7 billion dollars to produce fossil fuels every year.

Increased implementation of green energy is only possible through the contribution of the average American who wants to better this great nation. Political activism, alternative energy advocacy and service are among the few ways which people can contribute to helping renewable energy succeed in this struggling economy. I would recommend that, if nothing else, each and every person reminds their representatives that they support sustainable energy.

Let’s make a difference.

Nick Bowman

SBS Solar
401 South Orange St, Unit C
Missoula MT 59801

Dear SBS Solar:

Solar PV Pergoal, Central Missoula, Montana

I’m writing to share my great experience with your company and my 100% solar-powered home. In the fall of 2011, SBS installed a 24 panel, 6 kW, grid-tied solar PV system at my home in central Missoula. Because my house had additions, I don’t have one flat surface for the panels, so SBS hired subcontractors to design and install a covered back porch structure for the panels. I started producing all of my own power in the early spring and now in the summer am producing 50% morepower than I need. I will receive a credit for this extra power and it will mitigatethe power use in December or January when I might be producing as little as 30%of own my power.

100% Solar powered electric car, from home Solar PV system in Missoula, Montana

I recently installed more efficient appliances, and thus I will probably producemore power than I use this year. This surplus of power led me to decide to lease a 100% electric car, which will be 100% solar-powered car for at least 6 or 8 monthsout of the year.

I felt compelled to act because we can’t afford to ignore the signs of climate change or the role we play in it. I feel a moral obligation to reduce my carbon footprint, to protect biodiversity and protect the planet for future generations. Can you imagine the reduction of coal and oil consumption we could achieve if every family in Western Montana had a solar-powered home

The cost breakdown for my solar system:

COSTS INCLUDING STRUCTURE:

Materials and installation for PV system: $28,570
New back porch structure:$8,640
Engineering of structure:$1,643
City building permit for structure:$285
Relocation of power/gas lines for structure:$3,605
Electric panel relocation:$620
GROSS Total:$43,363

Northwestern Energy Grant ($6,000)
Federal Tax Credit($11,208)
State Tax Credit($500)
NET Total including structure:$25,655

COSTS EXCLUDING STRUCTURE:
Materials and installation for PV system: $28,570
Northwestern Energy Grant ($6,000)
State Tax Credit($500)
Federal Tax Credit($8,625)
NET Total excluding structure:$13,625

So essentially, the solar system had a net cost of less than $14,000 for 100% annual power.

The system will eventually pay itself off and then the power I use in my home and the “fuel” I use for my car will be free. While this is certainly a meaningful reward, for me the bigger reward is knowing that my decision to choose an alternative to coal and oil is a concrete physical step toward a safer planet for future generations. As Terry Tempest Williams has said: “The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come.”

Thank you for the important work you are doing.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Smith
(contact info withheld to maintain customer privacy.  Please contact SBS Solar directly for more information) 

(click above to

Before getting too far along, we realized we needed to replace the building paper with Colbond Enkadrain mat  that allows the roof to drain under the entire racking system.  Roofer Stan Howard specked this product, and this is the proper way to do any ballasted system.  In this picture, the guys are using a table saw to cut this stuff – funny – sometimes you need to pull a MacGyver move on the job.

In this scenario we made sure to request

Overall our team liked the rapidrac system and it went together surprisingly quickly.  Hopefully we will have a chance to install it on a future job before the river rock ballast is put down. Learning Moment: having to manage existing rock is a large portion of the job.

This system is (4) separate arrays of 9 modules combined on the roof producing up to 8.4 amps at 240 volts AC each for a total of 8.1 kW AC.  The system size is 8.64 kw – (36) 240 watt modules.  The owner will need to install his internet service before we are able to monitor the system online.  The system has already passed inspection and the Net Meter Agreement is signed and in the line up for having it installed.  It should be activated when the net meter is installed so they can use the electricity produced from the array while they are finishing construction on the home.

SBS Solar hired me in June to be the full time office manager and I spend most of my time talking to our distributors, tracking and ordering the components needed for our installations, as well as how to save money on car repairs talking to customers who come into our showroom in Missoula.

The best thing about working for SBS Solar is being a part of such an outstanding team.  The quality of our installations really makes me proud to be a part of this company and makes it easy to stand behind our work.  This job has given me a lot of work experience and tools which have developed my professionalism and has made me a better employee.  Also, working for SBS Solar has improved my understanding of renewable energy systems and solar application.

When I am not at work, in the summer, I enjoy hiking, camping, swimming, fishing and exploring the outdoors.  In the winter, I ski and snowboard.  I enjoy watching movies, listening to music, and hanging out with friends.  I also try to participate in advocating and lobbying for clean renewable energy.

A ballasted solar PV mount is a graceful, highly engineered solution that secures the array without damaging the flat roof. It is compatible with the usual framed photovoltaic

Right now our team is setting up the base of the system, which includes the ballast block trays which each have a 4″x8″x16″, 26-pound cement  block in each tray.  There are 5.5 blocks per panel, to keep it properly weighted down.

In these photos you can see the 30# strips of 36″ wide tar paper below the blocks, trays, and ballast frames.  You’ll notice that there are rocks on the roof.  This is to protect the EDPM membrane.

In our next post, we’ll start to show the racking and panel installation.  In the final post, expect pictures of the finished system.

In the talk I mentioned that there has been some question as to whether the 30% federal tax credit for renewable energy installation (which is no cap and can be carried forward for multiple years), is to be taken on

Turns out it’s either — depending on your system, residential or commercial, according to Kenton D. Swift, PhD, CPA, Associate Professor of Accounting, The University of Montana, School of Business Administration.

He was in the audience at my talk and was kind enough to approach me afterward to further discuss this question.  After some research he got back to me via email with the following information:

I wanted to give you a little information about one part of your presentation. When a homeowner installs a solar pv system, and receives a utility rebate, they need to reduce the cost of the system by the utility rebate before calculating the 30% federal tax credit. For instance, if the system costs $13,000 and the utility rebate is $6,000, the credit would be 30% of $7,000 or $2,100. This is actually the way you calculated the credit in your presentation, but you hinted it might be possible to take the 30% credit on the full cost. This seems to be a common confusion.

There are actually two separate 30% federal income tax credits, one for personal residences (IRC Code Sec. 25D), and one for business (IRC Code Sec. 48). Generally, the credits are the same except for this one issue about netting utility rebates. The law requires that the rebate be netted against the cost before calculating the 30% credit when taking the residential credit (IRC Code Sec. 25D). I have attached a recent letter from the IRS chief counsel’s office which describes this netting process. Again, it is the same way you actually did your example at the meeting, which is great.

For the 30% federal BUSINESS credit (IRC Code Sec. 48) there is no specific requirement to net the utility rebate against the cost of the system, before calculating the credit. Actually, there does not seem to be any current law explaining what to do. Thus, I believe that when taking the business credit, most taxpayers take the credit on the full cost of the system, before utility rebates. This is a better result than one can get when calculating the residential credit.

I hope that helps to clarify a confusing issue, which you have handled very well.

Someone at the meeting also asked about the property tax exemption for solar pv systems in Montana. Kent went on to clarify that “such systems are exempted from property taxes for 10 years.”

At SBS Solar we go to the DSIRE database for all of this information and have even been referred to this site by the IRS when we called them about the above questions!  This is also the site that Kent relies on for much of his information, or confirmation of information.  He notes that he has “checked their information for many states, and it always seems to be up-to-date, when I compare their explanation to state law.”

Feel free to be in touch with SBS Solar on your energy conservation incentive questions, or to get a project started in Montana.

1.  Why did you decide to install solar panels?

When we first bought our home, we realized that the south-facing roof offered an opportunity for solar photovoltaic panels and solar hot water.  We want to minimize our environmental impact and installing solar panels is one of the easiest ways to do so.

Kristi feels strongly that every south-facing roof is wasted space that should be generating electricity.  Industrial forms of “green” energy like commercial wind and solar farms impact a lot of habitat for wildlife, or in the case of solar farms, replace the habitat completely with solar panels.  Rooftop solar units have no effect on natural habitat, so they are a much greener way to meet our energy needs than industrial energy facilities.

We were considering refinancing our home to take advantage of low-interest rates at about the time we were reminded of the subsidies available for installing solar photovoltaic panels.  Once we had the roof evaluated for solar power potential and had received a bid for the installation (along with an estimate of the subsidies), we knew we wanted panels.

8-panel, 2kW Solar PV system

2.  Did you encounter any challenges during the installation process?

The first challenge for us was approval from the homeowners association for our installation. Our installer prepared drawings showing the appearance of the eight panels mounted on our roof. We took to the drawings to our immediate neighbors and discussed our plans. All but one of the neighbors were supportive and the remaining neighbor said that while he didn’t want to look at solar panels on our roof, he understood why we wished to install them and would respect whatever decision the homeowners association reached. The association’s architectural review board approved our request.

The next challenge was a couple of tall non-native trees growing in our yard. We were considering having them removed anyway, but did so promptly after we learned that they would shade the panels. We still have some shading in winter from our aspen trees, but the effects on our power production are minimal. We left the trunk of one of the trees standing as a wildlife snag.

3. How long will it take for your system to pay for itself?

If the price of electricity stays in the range of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour and our photovoltaic system produces 2,289 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year as estimated, the system should pay for our cost of installation in 15 years (the system has a 25-year warranty).  If the price of electricity goes up, the recovery period may be much shorter. If the price of electricity goes down, we may never recover the cost of installation.

Our cost was much less than the system’s total cost of $12,629. We received a subsidy of $6,000 from Northwestern Energy for our 2-kilowatt installation and federal (almost S2,000) and state income tax refunds ($1,000).

Our system includes microinverters that  convert the DC electricity produced at each panel to AC electricity we can use in our home or return to the grid for use by other Northwestern Energy customers. The microinverters reduce the risk that more than one panel will be affected by shading and are provide real-time monitoring of the power being produced by each panel.

Our account is credited if we produce more electricity than we use (only likely during the summer). This arrangement allows us to receive full benefit of all the power we produce without requiring us to buy a bank of batteries to store power.

We do expect that our home will be easier to sell and may command a higher price because of the panels.

4.  How do you see your solar panels contributing/fitting into the larger Missoula effort against climate change?

Our purchase reflects our personal values, greatly influenced by subsidies offered by the power

What sort of lessons has the process of installing your own solar panels taught you?

Snow melts quickly off our south-facing roof. We had expected the snow to melt just as quickly off the panels. It doesn’t. The panels, mounted an inch or so above the roof, have cold air beneath them.

We use a pole-mounted plastic snow rake to clear snow from the panels and onto our deck.  The deck never used to get shoveled, but it does now.

In general, we were extremely lucky. The cost of solar panels has dropped

The panels were installed on schedule at the agreed-upon cost.  Within a week after our panels were operating, Northwestern Energy installed the special meter that gives us credit for the electricity we produce.

During December, our solar panels produced just 18 percent of the electricity we used, but as the days became longer, the panels produced 30 percent of the electricity we used during January and 43 percent during February.

We enjoy having the panels and we’re happy to see them producing more electricity as the days keep getting longer.

Bert Lindler and Kristi DuBois