Look out consumers, here comes increased electric prices

In an already struggling economy, it seems that it's about to get worse for american consumers.

All over the country electric utility companies are trying to pass legislature that will increase the monthly bills of millions of their customers. The companies site "aging infrastructures" and "tougher environmental regulations" as the main reasons for the price hike, but we believe this may be only half true.

In truth, the majority of electric power grids across the country are in fine shape - for our current power needs. With the increase of home electronics and power guzzling gadgets Americans are constantly straining the infrastructures that have been in place since the early part of last century. These power grids, are obviously not renewable, like PV solar energy, and therefore have a finite amount of energy to be drawn from.

Another key issue here is cost of implementing environmental regulations for these filthy energy sources. The majority of our electrical power in the United States derives from coal, one of the dirtiest (not to mention non-renewable) fossil fuels on the planet. As citizens become more and more aware of their wasteful energy use and the negative impact it's having on our global environment, they are making a conscious effort to vote in politicians that vote for "green legislature". This legislature challenges the anti-environmental practices that the utility companies have in place and forces them to spend money on fixing these issues. But where do you think this money really comes from? Of course, your pocket.

In this day and age, with gas and electricity prices continuing to skyrocket, the best thing you can do for your wallet is to invest in solar for your home. It's clean, pays for itself, and it's renewable. Don't let the dirty utility companies continue to price gouge.

You can read more proof here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/05/americans-face-double-digit-hikes-in-electricity-bills-to-fund-upgrades.html

Trying to forecast California Utility annual increases and understanding the numbers!

As an integrator, XeroSolar has always taken a very conservative approach to forecasting utility increases for our commercial solar installation clients.

There are various data points on the Internet that say historically, California has seen around a 6% annual increase. Southern California Edison says the true number is 3% per year, on average. On the other hand, we have seen some installers using figures as high as 11%. That's a pretty broad range, but what exactly is the "true" number?

Clearly, if California saw 11% annual increase for 25 years, businesses would close their doors. (Although some would argue they already are). Even 6%, which is the average of all sources polled, is not sustainable as a forecast even for the biggest companies.

Having said that, a very interesting article caught my eye while reading the UK's Daily Telegraph (10/18/11). It stated that bills for electricity rose an average of 18.3% this year for the UK alone! Remember their annual inflation is 5.2%. That's a pretty staggering increase during an already struggling world economy.

What does all of this mean for California and the future of solar installations in Los Angeles compared to other utility options? It's clearly not good for traditional energy utility services. There model is perhaps, broken beyond repair. Obviously you cannot rule out one-off steep increases- that is, our utilities need to increase their rates to cover infrastructure repair and other costs. However, if you need to put 6-10% increase into your spread sheet to make the numbers work, maybe you are trying to fit a round peg into a square hole...

One thing is for certain though, while the price points of other energy sources continue to climb, solar energy in the South Bay only gets cheaper. Undoubtably, this trend will continue as solar panel manufacturers improve on the efficiency of their products.

While green energy systems are a relative newcomer in the utility field, they continue to grow as other energy providers, who have had decades longer to work out their business models, continue to struggle.

UK energy prices face sharp Increases!

UK Energy bosses warned today that regardless of Government intervention, energy prices face sharp increases for the entire world economy; meaning there's no better time than now for solar installations in Los Angeles.

California, like the U.K, seem to stuck between competing forces. High unemployment and a strong interest to increase clean energy usage. Competing forces... WHY?

While David Cameron will do everything possible to keep energy prices low, according to Mr Bentley, the “inconvenient truth” is that energy prices will continue to rise.

“In my opinion unit prices will only go one way unless someone discovers huge amounts of gas and imports it into the UK. The international price for gas, I am afraid, is going up,” he told the BBC.

Mr Huhne (Energy Secretary) also predicted that prices will rise.

“If you are asking me to predict what is going to happen to world fossil fuel prices then the Government’s prediction – and the prediction of virtually everybody else – is that indeed that in the medium run those prices are going to go up,” he said.

It is our opinion that California will see sharp increases in electric prices as base prices in commodities are on the rise, utility companies need cash for infrastructure up-grades and least of all SB 32. With this in mind, we can't think of any negatives for utilizing solar for your home. The ROI alone is an enormous factor to consider.

As coal and oil costs skyrocket, solar energy in the South Bay is the cheapest its been in years.

Look to hedge against increase and lock in today's prices...

Don't worry, solar power in Los Angeles is here to stay

There has been some negative press about the solar industry in the past few weeks as the Solyndra story lingers. Some have claimed that the solar space is a small and unstable industry.

Here are some facts:

Solar in America is, in fact, getting stronger. More than 100,000 Americans work in the solar industry, making, selling, and installing panels in order to utilize solar power for commercial use. This is actually double the number since 2009.

These people work at more than 5,000 companies, the vast majority being small businesses, and are located in every state in the union.

In the last year, solar grew by 69 percent, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy. Since the start of 2010, the price of photovoltaic solar panels in Manhattan Beach alone, dropped by 30 percent!

The U.S. was a net exporter of solar products in 2010 by $2 billion, even to China, and solar power in the U.S. now exceeds 3,100 megawatts, enough to power more than 630,000 American homes.

No rational person can look at these facts and dispute that commercial solar installation will be on a decline any time soon.

What we have to do, as consumers and solar distributers alike, is learn from the mistakes that Solyndra made in order to keep this industry thriving.

This is exactly what companies like Xero Solar in Los Angeles are striving to do.

LA DWP: What a great solar rebate program?

Judging by the speed at which the $20mn autumn 2011 commercial rebate was gobbled up, tells us just how successful the program was/is. Right?

Well, I suppose that depends on which side of the transaction you are on. It’s not just the pv solar power customer and installer involved. There is the leasing company, DWP, politicians and of course let’s not forget all the LA DWP rate payers. (Where do you think the rebate money ultimately comes from?)

Is handing out $100 bills for free and having a line of “customers” stretching around the block a successful business model? NO.

So, why then does it seem that no one is looking more closely at the level of the LA DWP rebate? I’m saying this even though we are a commercial solar installation integrator. I have seen commercial leasing deals offering to “kick back” half the rebate to the host customer! DUH WINNING!!!!!!

Surely the purpose of the program should be to maximize amount of photovoltaic solar panels for Manhattan Beach and surrounding cities, not how quickly they can spend the rebate? Solar does not have to “pencil out” for every roof top. Out of all the commercial deals we looked at, everyone would have work with half the rebate level.

Our mission at XeroSolar is to build a long term SUSTAINABLE business model which will cover California’s urban carbon foot print. So, my question is, “Is being honest going to be bad for business, or just good business practice?”