Tax Credits [RE-wrenches]

[bob ollerton]

Thats a very good point, and it appears that the Germans have a good way to
go about this.

It will be interesting to see how many take their money and when the PV
system stops making power they don't know it or if they do, don't get it
fixed.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Freitas - OutBack Power" <cfreitas at outbackpower.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2002 1:39 PM
Subject: Tax Credits [RE-wrenches]


> 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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