‘Silver Bullets’ for Solving the Energy Crisis #3 – Adopt the Berkeley Solar Financing Model
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
Every energy expert says there is no single “silver bullet” for solving the global energy crisis. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a bunch of silver bullets, each one of which might solve a part of this crisis, and do so in a way that makes investors a lot of money. EnergyTechStocks.com has loaded up its six-shooters with silver-bullet solutions to different aspects of the energy crisis which, in its opinion, aren’t just technologically feasible but, just as important, politically and financially viable as well.
Silver Bullet #3: Adopt the Berkeley, Calif. model for financing the installation of solar panels and energy efficiency improvements.
A key drawback to the widespread acceptance of solar power by homeowners is the big upfront cost of installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which can run to $15,000 to $20,000. Since recouping that money through lower utility bills takes many years, if a family moves only a few years after installing such as system, it may be out a lot of money.
The Berkeley, Calif., city council is putting in place a solution which, if adopted by every country, state, city and/or town, might overnight turn every house into a solar power plant, effectively eliminating the need for a lot of coal-fired power generation that pollutes the air and contributes to global warming.
Under the Berkeley plan, the homeowner doesn’t pay any money up front. The installation is paid for by the city, using a portion of the proceeds from a special bond issue. The homeowner pays it back a little bit each month via a small increase in his property tax. In theory, the amount of the additional property tax will be roughly comparable to the homeowner’s monthly savings on his electric utility bill. Should the homeowner move before his PV system is paid off in full, the new owner simply picks up where the previous one left off.
To be sure, the Berkeley plan could run into trouble with the local electric company, although with more utilities being required to incorporate solar and other renewable power sources in their generation portfolio, this mightn’t be a problem.
For investors, widespread adoption of the Berkeley plan could lead to windfall profits for any of the solar PV manufacturers that would suddenly find themselves filling huge new demand for their products. Virtually every solar PV company listed on the home page of EnergyTechStocks.com might benefit.
Coming tomorrow, March 27 – Silver Bullet #4 – turning garbage into transportation gold
