Texas Electricity

   Vacaville man reaps the benefits of solar powered home

Joe Inocencio's rural Vacaville home used to be powered exclusively by conventional electricity. When he saw his energy bills spike from $120 per month to $500 during the state's energy crisis a few years ago, he began looking at alternatives. It took three years of research, but today Inocencio's home is powered solely by the light of the sun.

Six solar panels on a steep hillside behind Inocencio's home soak up sunlight through their blue silicon faces. The system generates enough energy to power the residence, and then some. "I'll save about $125,000 over the life of the system," said Inocencio. That life expectancy is 25 to 30 years.

Installing the solar electric system offered Inocencio protection from rising electricity rates. That doesn't mean, however, that he's off the power grid. He still pays a monthly fee of about $5. But his solar panels generate far more energy than his home needs. "If the power is off in Joe's house, the current still goes through his meter and out to the grid, causing his meter to spin backwards," explained Mike Hall, a sales associate for Borrego Solar Systems, the Berkeley company that installed Inocencio's system.

The back-spinning meter racks up energy credits for Inocencio from the power company. "If things keep going at the rate they are now, I'll owe the power company nothing by the end of the year," said Inocencio. He is not the only one who benefits from his solar panels. By sharing surplus power with the grid, Inocencio is generating power for his neighbors and, most importantly, reducing energy demands on the power grid.

"Just think back to those blazing hot summer afternoons, when everyone is cranking their air conditioners full blast," said Inocencio. That's when the demand on the grid is the greatest, the risk of black-outs is highest, and when solar power begins to make more and more sense.

However, should there be a black-out, Inocencio would not be spared from it. Like his neighbors, his all-electric-powered house (natural gas is not commonly used in rural areas) still taps the existing power utility for energy. An expensive battery, or a generator, could free him entirely from that dependence, but, he said, he doesn't see the need. "The main point is to replace power, not to make up for power loss," said Hall. Inocencio's use of solar power benefits the environment, too. It's pollution-free, and consumes no costly and non-renewable fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil.

Since Inocencio's system became operational about one month ago, it has generated, as of last week, some 349 kilowatt hours of energy, and counting. The project, however, is an atypical one. The price Inocencio paid - about $29,000 after state and power company rebates and a tax credit, is about twice as much as the more common roof-top installation, according to Hall. Rebates from the CEC of about $3,200 per installed kilowatt hour paid about 40 percent of the system cost. The state of California also offers a 7.5 percent tax credit on the remaining cost of the system.

Inocencio's house faces northeast, not a favorable direction for gathering solar energy. Borrego solar agreed, instead, to build the six panels on poles up the hill behind the house, where they can be optimally positioned facing southwest. A trench had to be dug for the thick black cable that delivers converted power to Inocencio's circuit breaker. With the help of a neighbor, Inocencio dug the trench himself, saving himself about $800.

The company's willingness to let him do some of the work was one of the reasons Inocencio chose Borrego solar. He also liked the fact that they didn't subcontract their work. The six panels are up a steep, dusty trail alongside the cable-concealing trench. On their pole-mounts, the rectangular panels are big enough to offer shade - a strong temptation on the hot hillside where blowing grasses are already acquiring a summery singe.

The surface of each panel is covered with blue polycrystalline silicon - "basically low-tech computer chips," said Hall. The six panels consist of 72 cells that collect voltage from sunlight. The cells are graphed neatly by wires that gather electrons. Together, these modules create a circuit producing direct current (DC) power. Because the grid - and Inocencio's home - operates off alternating current (AC) power, the energy must go through the inverters mounted to one of the poles. From there, the power runs through wires to Inocencio's breaker box, and then - fiat lux.

Inocencio is so happy he's gone solar, he doesn't understand why others aren't taking advantage of the generous rebates offered by the state and the power company to homeowners who install solar panels. "It's like paying a five-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage," he said. "If someone offered you that, wouldn't you take it?"

More and more people are - including the city of Vacaville. The rooftop of Vacaville's City Hall has been sporting a 39 kilowatt solar electric system since October, and will generate utility savings of $6,500 annually, according to the system's manufacturer, PowerLight Corporation.

solar power use increased 300 percent in California last year, according to Hall. As the cost of power has gone up, the price of solar power systems has come down, he said. Now, interest in solar power is high. "Everybody knows someone it's worked for, but no one wants to be the guinea pig," he said.


Environmental benefits of solar power

The amount of CO2 emissions reduced by a solar power system like the one Joe Inocencio installed are:

• About 15,950 pounds annually, or 479,000 pounds over the lifetime of the system;

• Equivalent to the emissions from an average passenger car driven 23,000 miles, or 690,000 miles over the lifetime of the system;

• Equivalent to the CO2 that would be removed by planting 3 acres of trees.

One system will also:

• Reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 354 pounds over the life of the system (nitrogen oxides are a major contributor to smog and air induced respiratory problems);

• Reduce the acid rain-producing components nitrogen and sulfur oxide by 3,000 pounds.

Source: Borrego solar Systems
By Mary Lynch/Staff Writer

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