Tucson Electric Power has gotten the green light to install rooftop solar panels at customers’ homes without installation or maintenance costs. In exchange, people would pay a fixed monthly fee for the next 25 years.
For instance, if energy prices go up, no worries, if you get panels you’ll still pay the same amount every month thanks to the fixed rate deal. Also, if you break the things, TEP will fix them.
There would be a $250 administrative fee if you go for this new plan, though.
A press release from TEP says the “first of its kind program” will be available in the spring to between 500 to 600 customers.
“The company will seek participants in areas where TEP’s solar arrays would maximize benefits for the local electric grid that serves all customers,” the release says. “TEP will also look for sites where solar panels can be positioned to maximize output that more closely coincides with peak demand.”
The plan was approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission Thursday. TEP proposed it a few months ago.
At the time, I spoke with Joseph Barrios, a TEP spokesman, and he said this program is one of the many ways TEP is looking to expand options for renewable energy use.
For more info, click here.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2014.
TEP signup page doesn’t work. Other than that, good idea.
The main beneficiary is TEP, not the homeowner. After all the terms and conditions, it’s not a good deal. All the power generated with solar goes back to TEP with no credit to the homeowner. The whole program is a corporate write off. You must also sign up for the electronic bill paying, the electric company takes no risk.
If they are paying for the panels and the install, that is definitely worth quite a bit. But it is not readily apparent how much the monthly rate would be according to TEP charting, and they can increase the monthly rate down the line if usage exceeds 15% of what their charts predict.
If you’re considering investing into a solar energy system for your home, it’s wise to install the latest, aesthetically pleasing, highest performance technology you can afford. The key reason for this is the fact that the solar panels that you install today will probably be on your roof for the next 25 to 30 years before they’ll need to be replaced.
Installing solar panels that already have an outdated look or that offer poorer performance today, can have a negative impact on your home’s value in just a few short years after they’ve been installed.
The solar panels that most of the solar lease and PPA companies are installing today have the same aluminum framed, boxy look that existed back in the mid 50’s when they were first introduced.
Today, new, Gen 2, frameless, 1/4 inch thin, see through, glass on glass, higher performance designs are available that can make all the difference in the world when attempting to sell your home.
These bifacial (double sided) solar panels actually produce extra power from their backside, from light that is reflected off the roof’s surface without taking up anymore space on your roof.
The new 300 Watt, 60 cell solar panels that are used in Hyper X 2 solar systems offers a better PTC to STC ratio “Real World” performance according to the California Energy Commission’s performance rating listings than over 119 of SunPower’s solar panel models.
And they offer a very high 94.3% PTC to STC performance ratio. They also offer a heat resistant -0.28%/degree C temperature coefficient for better performance in warm/hot climates. And a minus 60 degree C extreme cold temperature rating. And when it comes to aesthetics, nothing even comes close to Hyper X 2’s panel’s glass on glass, see through, frameless construction.
With N-type mono-crystalline bifacial cells for double sided power production, up to a 22.% efficiency rating, superior aesthetics, and a price that outcompetes the solar lease and PPA company’s offerings, very few products on the market compares to Hyper X 2 Solar. http://vimeo.com/113187160
Not burning coal for power just may save the future for all mankind. This plan deserves serious attention, and covering every home and business in all of Tucson would be amazingly effective with our sunshine. But questions… Since there is mention above – what about when you sell your home? Is the same deal transferable to the buyer, even though the clock started with the seller? And just where are neighborhoods that will “maximize benefits for the local electric grid.” And aren’t the panels installed and therefore chosen by TEP, hopefully with the same quality as those mentioned above?
Vote: Yes
Another way to get to the objective of moving local energy production/ local consumers to scale is by TEP/Producers taking a risk with a new program(s) and their customer/consumers taking a risk on incremental changes to existing that can save them money and so get their distracted attention..
This STUPID, we are paying for these Panels through our Electric Bills, TEP should put the panels in Fields or over parking lots creating shade and all facing South. Putting panels on roof that face East ,North, or West is a WASTE of money.
Sounds good to me. I moved here from the SF Bay Area 9 years and love living in Rancho Vistoso here in the NW of Tucson. Getting into Solar has always held an interest in my heart & head. IT MAKES SENSE!!
With all of our sunshine I gotta think it’s a good thing. This plan will make it easy for me to get into it and as far as moving, I’m probably not. I’m here to retire.
I like the idea.