Electricity Costs [RE-wrenches]

Wed Nov 29 08:37:28 PST 2006

System costs have been a very delicate issue for us.

Off-Grid is a special case. Nobody goes off grid without a reason.

On-Grid raises the difficult subject for most buyers of comparing a definite
cost now with greatly uncertain future costs and technologies.  It is rare
that I find a customer who has the foggiest idea even of how to approach the
issue rationally.

What seems certain is that PV is one of the few ways a homeowner or small
business can cap utility costs, and that the ecological impact of PV
electricity usage is less than of utility.

We have been selling a high percentage of combined solar thermal and PV.
This makes sense to us, and apparently also to many of our customers.

Jim Easton
Alternative Energy Technologies
CSL: 852243
9465-B Mission Park Place
Santee, CA 92071
Tel: 619-262-8800
Fax: 619-562-8811
Cell: 858-527-0240
-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Cronin [mailto:kcronin at islandenergy.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 5:54 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: RE: System Pricing [RE-wrenches]

Jeff

I was referring to grid tie, without batteries.

I am not trying to collude via RICO statues to suggest what the installed
cost for PV is. There are definitely certain aspects of the project that we
are all purchasing within 10% on the commodity side, and it seems the last
thing, or first thing to suffer is our sense of dignity. So, under this
premise, we tend to cannibalize our labor for the sake of a solar trophy.

This, in my humble opinion needs to cease and never rear its head. Having
said this, I am not suggesting what you or anyone should charge, but lets
all not race to the bottom, to be replaced by more people that want to race
to the bottom to have their name in lights.

Sure, battery based systems are quite complex, grid tied and off grid and do
lend themselves to the scrutiny of a host of additional accoutrements not
seen in grid tie world. These, are custom systems in my viewpoint, and
deserve different parameters.

Until the solar ingot prices drop to prices so low, it is like scooping up
sand at the beach, we shall continue to struggle with being on par with grid
power, incentives removed. It is a behavioral situation that needs to change
and it is incumbent of all of us to foster this.

Because the industry has used cost per watt as a metric, we have a tendency
to speak this language. I am merely taking costs, and dividing them up by
all of the facets in the process from module pricing to the cost of a ground
wire to squeeze all of the value out of the equation to get a sense of what
things truly cost this month and beyond and track it accordingly. We all
have different OH costs and other intangibles that are hard to quantify, but
some things are quite static, again with materials.

Keith Cronin
President
Island Energy Solutions Inc.
Kailua, HI 96734
Electrical Lic C-25221
808-262-3268 Tel
808-263-0338 Fax
www.islandenergy.net 
kcronin at islandenergy.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Yago [mailto:jryago at netscape.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 11:12 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: System Pricing [RE-wrenches]

I realize this is not an easy subject to deal with, but several recent posts
have thrown around system pricing in the $9 per watt range without
describing what a "system" is.  Since these posts can be read by the public,
if we are going to discuss pricing we mention what kind of system is being
priced.

For example, unlike many of you on the west coast or in areas with high
utility rates and state rebates, many of us on the east coast have clients
in areas with electric rates that are still fairly low, or do not receive
any state or utility rebates.   This means an "out-of-the-box" packaged
gridtie system does not have that good of payback here.  Many of our systems
are purchased for their back-up power capability or are off-grid, so any
utility savings are a bonus, but not the main reason a client is buying a
system.   This also means many of our systems have large battery banks,
special battery rooms, generators, and lots of design review of the homes
HVAC and electrical loads and switchgear requirements. This puts us way over
$9 per watt and I was wondering if others could post some of their "average"
installed costs, but define the type of system being priced.

Thanks,

Jeff Yago
Dunimis Technology Inc.

_____________________________________________________________
Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.

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