Solar Power Will Lead Our Economy In Three Years!

I promise !!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have been considering the installation of a photovoltaic (PV) system, there has never been a better time.

The City of Healdsburg provides a generous rebate program as compared to PG&E. These rebate programs do have built in declining incentives so the sooner that you act the greater your incentives. There are many variables that go into the cost of a system so getting a price from one of our local contractors is well worth your time.

REBATE STRUCTURE

Rebate funds are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

That's until all available funds have been allocated, OR the program has installed an aggregate of 540kW, OR the program has been active for a period of 10 years.

To increase the potential for broad participation in Healdsburg’s program, rebates are limited to a maximum system size for each customer class. Residential customer rebates are limited to a maximum system size of 4,000 watts-ac and commercial rebates are limited to a maximum system size of 20,000 watts-ac.

Customers may install solar systems larger than the rebates allow, but in no case shall a participant of the SB-1 program install generation exceeding their existing on-site load.

Declining Incentives

Incentives are on a first-come, first-served basis. Solar incentives shall be offered on a declining basis. Healdsburg Electric Department solar program reduces the incentives through progressive steps. Each step is allowed a total payout of $95,000.

Once the allowed payout for the current step has been allocated, the next step with a lower rebate will be started. Solar projects that span steps will be provided a prorated rebate.

Cost Effective

The costs of the monthly payments for a home system are lower than what your electric bill would be.

 “The cost of these systems has really come down since I started installing these systems," says Mark Dankowski, owner of in Healdsburg.  "The components now have an excellent life span and the total cost of ownerships can always outweigh the cost of getting all of your power from a public source.”

 I encourage you to get a quote on a system from one of our local solar providers. Sensible Solar and are two providers that I know do an excellent job and will be there for you for years to come.

The Big Picture

A couple of things have been on my mind and I am very excited to share them with you. I recently did a column on the emergence of “Green Building.”

It is a buzz word in the minds of many and there is a bit of a mystery as to how it will fuel our economy. I am clearly missing something and I have found the missing piece.

The other thing that is on my mind has to do with our economy. Nobody but me talks about the fact that the world is in great change in regards to our shift in the way that we work and do business.

We have left the industrial age and we are now in the information age. I have thought about this a lot and I wonder if during these huge socio-economic shifts if there is not a downturn to the economy during the times of change.

For example, when we were going from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. It may be a factor that is not being recognized in today’s economy and should be.

I am very close to being on target according to Jeremy Rifkin. Rifkin sees that we are in the third portion of the industrial age.

“We are entering a time of great change," Rifkin says. "We are entering the internet-energy age.

"The first industrial age was the expansion of America with Railroads, Newspapers and all the construction that led to our great infrastructure," he adds. "The second industrial age was fueled by the expansion of our cities and the introduction of suburbs”.

Hang in there I will pull all of this together in a minute and tie it to solar.

Rifkin is the principle architect of the European Union’s Third Industrial Revolution long-term economic sustainability plan to address the triple challenge of global economic crisis, energy security and climate change.

The third revolution was endorsed by European Parliament in 2007 and is now being implemented by various agencies within the European Commission as well as in the 27 member states.

These 27 European states have committed to being 40 percent solar within the next 20 years. There are several pillars to this plan.

1. To have all the member states commit to having 20 percent of all of their energy come from solar in the next ten years. That means there will be massive investment into new technology. All buildings will be built “GREEN” to minimize energy loss.
2. Collection. The collection of this power will be done much different than today and they have already ear marked eight billion dollars into the design and build of these collection systems. Every home and building will be a power generator and will use hydrogen storage tanks to capture and store power
3. Energy Internet! The internet will be the back bone of this new technology. Our power grids are old and almost obsolete. Nuclear power is sun setting and this is where we are headed. The internet with new devices will be used to distribute this power. There will be apps on your phone to shift your power to your neighbors or where it is needed within a close geographic location.
4. Fuel cell cars will be here in 2014. All buildings should become power sources to create store and distribute energy. There are already charging stations all over Europe for vehicles.

The world is changing and solar can lead the way to a lot of new jobs, a cleaner environment, less greenhouse gases and much less reliance on foreign purchased fuels. Be the leader to make this change. It is a long term investment in our future that cannot be over looked.

MAKE WEB NOT WAR!    www.HealdsburgRealEstate.com