Tax Credits [RE-wrenches]

[Christopher Freitas - OutBack Power]

There is a big difference between how we in the California and German 
encourages the growth of a PV market.  

In California we "Buydown" the equipment cost for the customer.  In 
Germany they pay a special high rate for the power produced by the PV 
system.  Doesn't sound that different, maybe, but it has a big impact on 
the attitude of the consumer.  

When you "buydown" the system price,  the customer pays less up front.  
It is easy to imagine numerous ways for corruption to occur.  The 
customer looks for the "best" deal (cheapest) price for the most PV on 
his roof to maximize the credit.  The amount paid does not get adjusted 
for lousy tilt angle, tree shading or poor installation methods.  The 
customer is also inclined to buy the lowest quality components as the 
credit is somewhat fixed (slightly affected by inverter efficiency 
though).

When you instead pay a high price for the actual power produced,  the 
customer reacts in a different manner.  He looks for a system that will 
produce the most POWER possible.  He might even be willing to pay more 
for a better installation or more efficient components with the 
understanding that, in the long run, it will produce more power. 

The German model builds a more competitive marketplace and encourages 
development of high performance, reliable products.  The California 
model makes a market full of cheap products and installations, and 
results in poor customer satisfaction and fraud.     

Christopher Freitas
OutBack Power Systems, Inc.
cfreitas at outbackpower.com  www.outbackpower.com
Tel 360 435 6030  Arlington WA USA

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