Published monthly by Cookson Hills Electric Cooperative, Inc.
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JULY 2022
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Can I save money by installing a solar energy system? >> Part 2 of 2 Check out the June Hot Watts for the first part in this series answering the question “Can I save money by installing a solar energy system?”
you. Talk to your electric cooperative to help evaluate your feasibility for solar energy.
Oklahoma photovoltaic solar resource Financial considerations The below map is measured in kilowatt-hours per When evaluating the potential of installing a solar square meter per day (kWh/m2/day), which represents electric system at a home or business, considerations insolation, the total energy on a surface over a specific should include: time interval. Examples use the location’s solar resource Residential system installations 1. Solar access: Oklahoma is fairly good in tosolar determine average output and savings per year, and comparison to other parts of the country. Site kWh/m2/day were calculated using theresource National Renewable Energy Oklahoma photovoltaic solar This map is measured in(NREL) kilowatt-hours per square meter percalculator day (kWh/m2/day),using which represents specific access depends on installing the system 7.0 Laboratory’s PV Watts the 6.5 insolation, the total energy on a surface over a specific time interval. Examples use the location’s so it is not shaded. See your location on the map 6.0 default settings, including inverter efficiency of 96 solar resource to determine average output and savings per year, and were calculated using the 5.5 National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) PV Watts calculator using the default settings, below for average output. percent. 5.0 including inverter efficiency of 96 percent. For more information, visit pvwatts.nrel.gov. 4.5 YourFor outputmore may varyinformation, depending on site specific factorspvwatts.nrel.gov. and regular maintenance such as 2. Retail cost of residential electricity: Oklahoma visit washing the panels several times per year. Output also may drop about 1 percent per year is low in comparison to many other parts of the through the average 20-25 year lifespan of most systems. country. A lower electric rate makes the return on investment length longer than Example #1 - Northwest Northeast Average kWh/year: 14,187 Solar radiation (kWh/m2/day): 5.20 Average savings/year: $1,419 a higher electric rate. [119307] Installation & equipment cost: $28,900 Estimated payback: 20.4 years 3. Available incentives: Solar energy systems may qualify for a federal tax credit of 30 percent until 2019, 26 percent in 2020 and 22 percent in 2021. Example #2 - Central Solar radiation (kWh/m2/day): 4. The total cost of the system: The 4.89 Installation & equipment cost: average installed cost of residential $28,900 Average kWh/year: 13,366 solar photovoltaic (PV) is $2.89/watt, Average savings/year: $1,336 or $28,900 for a 10-kilowatt grid tie-in Estimated payback: 21.6 years system. In addition, there may be other Example #3 - Southeast Solar costs to consider, such as liability, radiation (kWh/m2/day): 5.15 homeowners’ insurance and property Installation & equipment cost: $28,900 taxes. Average kWh/year: 13,710 Average savings/year: $1,373 Given the information listed above, Estimated payback: 21 years evaluate your situation to ensure installing a solar system makes sense financially for 2
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Source: This map was produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Students return from Energy Camp >> page 3
Unclaimed Capital Credit listing
1Cost is based on $2.89 per watt installed. Does not include 30 percent federal tax credit. . 2Based on an average Oklahoma retail rate of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh); not avoided fuel cost.
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3Does not include varying maintenance costs, which will increase payback time.
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