Comments on: Tennessee Solar Power Rebates, Tax Credits, and Incentives

By: Dan Hahn

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:55:02 +0000

Hey George,

I hear you on the gripe about taxpayers subsidizing other’s solar installations and I gotta say, that’s one hell of an interesting idea to have your own little nuclear plant underneath your home. While many citizens probably wouldn’t mind the increased odds of having their children born with extra limbs, some might. Gotta correct you on the maintenance aspect of solar however – there is relatively little that needs to be done to maintain a solar system once it is up on your roof. Then again, I’m not sure you’re the type of person who would have panels up there in the first place. Thanks for stopping by,

- Dan

By: Ge orge T

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:44:21 +0000

You know, I am simply amazed and disgusted at the number of people wanting a tax deduction or some special dispensation because they want to go solar. HEY! If it’s what you want, do it. Why should Tennessee taxpayers subsidize you being able to sell back electricity to TVA, a publicly owned electric company.
As for solar, the reason few people have it is because it is cost prohibitive.
There are currently available, mini-nuclear plants that can supply electricity to communities of around 25,000 houses, for about $300 dollars a year; the home owners would have to pay the cost of the unit, to be installed underground. THAT cost would be about 2,000 dollars every 10 years. If you are mathematically inclined, you can see the superior advantage to this kind of electric producer. And the more of these units that are sold, the cheaper they will get.
Kiss solar goodbye: it is too costly and inefficient; the maintenance is also expensive. And stop looking for others to pay for you to get what you want.

By: Troy

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:10:42 +0000

I think photovoltaics are a useful part of the energy supply, but I’m amazed at how many people on here are upset because they want solar for their own use, but are unhappy someone else won’t help them pay for it! Stop blaming the other guy, save up and make it happen. You could put in a few panels and a few batteries for under $2,500.00. Put a couple of your moderately used lighting circuits on it and you are on your way. Stop looking for handouts or for someone else to get it done for you.

By: Dan Hahn

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:30:05 +0000

Scott,

Thanks for your thoughts, especially your comparison of securing funds for a gas guzzling Hummer to home solar panels.

By: Scott Kersey

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:52:43 +0000

I can agree with most things posted here. It really chaps my backside when I hear on the news TVA has jerked rates up (for the umpteenth month in a row), followed by a news blurb about the TVA handing out multi-million dollar bonuses to its upper management. I’d love to swing to the solar side of the fence, but its just not cost effective yet. Adding to the frustrations, no one will lend me the 40K+ I’d need to build the system. “Unproven tech”, “Not a good return on (our)investment”, “We can’t secure a loan with solar panels” are things I’ve heard when asking to borrow some cash. BUT, if I asked for 40K to go buy a new gas sucking hummer…the answer is always the same “SURE”. WTH is wrong with this picture? Why has it been made so hard to get the switch done? At what point will we step forward rather than backward?
Like many of you, I’m sick of $300 per month heading out the door to the electric company, in exchange for using my lights. I’ve replaced light bulbs with CFLs, pushed the A/C to 77 and heat to 65 in winter, I yell at the kids to turn off anything they aren’t using…and yet every month the bill edges closer to 400.
The worst part, I pass a sign everyday that is tacked up to a telephone pole “Knoxville, a Solar City”…ya, right, sure it is…We can give huge tax breaks to the big corps, but little guys get either a few thousand or nada when we try to change the world. Perhaps a change in management (or government) is in order. Carter put solar on the white house in ‘79, Reagan had them removed soon after…that should say something about the state of affairs we see in this country.
Convincing the average Joe that solar, wind, or bio-fuels are a smart move seems to be like explaining nuclear physics to a cave man. Should it really be this hard?
I have imagined a world, with a simple plan of just a few PV cells per home. All grid inter-tied, and reducing the overall load on the system. Everyone benefits, tax breaks or rebates cover the costs, (we are after all spending billions is US cash to fund wars overseas, and giving those same countries billions in “rebuilding” aid all to protect some silly oil production BS, that we could do without all together if we pulled our head outta our ___ and used alternative tech) its a win-win for the consumer…but a net loss for the producer.
Ok, enough…I’ll step off the soap box for now. Hopefully, some will read this and get as fired up as I am, or maybe a few might just change their thinking on the whole green type movement.

By: jack henley

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:48:28 +0000

joey eavey, you say we can build the solar for hundreds as to the thousands that i have priced. i would be interested if you could give me some direction on this. i am talking solar panels. i live in lenoir city tn. lcub power they don,t give credits yet but i will ask for them to start and see what they say if enough of us ask.

By: Gary Fletcher

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:16:21 +0000

It seems to me that you are either off the grid or on. There is no in between. So to be completely off the grid it is necessary to have a battery system to supply power for the duration of the highest consumption hours during the day. What device must I purchase to gauge this usage? In addition, I have a friend who has a cabin on High Knob in Wise County Virginia completly off the grid. He says his main problem is batteries. He says that NASA has the correct batteries but the government entity won’t release them. He says these batteries would solve all the off production time power requirements. Anyone have intimate knowledge of these batteries?

By: Ken

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:15:06 +0000

Andy, you need to have the local utility install a net meter. My systems produces just like yours but when I’m not consuming I have actually watched my meter spin backwards. In the example you gave above about going on vacation, first read would be 4911 and second read would be 4411 indicating that you actually put all your energy on the grid. Oh and the .12 cents is in addition to the 9.5 cents so you should be getting a credit of .21.5 cents per KwH. Just a thought but you might want to take that up with the local utility.

By: Joey Eavey

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:16:11 +0000

I want to know why they wont buy all power produced.I have 100 acres to start a solar and wind farm, but they wont pay you for all the energy your capable of producing.taxpayers paid for grid why cant we use it.solar & wind is very simple to manufacture yourself why do they make you spend $30,000 when you can build your own commercial grade panel for a few hundred.How long are americans just going to keep letting these evil corp. & Gov. officials get awy with it.I’m a builder & my wife teaches, we pay for all the bums, we pay for the CEO’s new jets, now there’s not a gallon of milk for my own kids.Let’s all do something,100 milion on Oboma’s porch should do the trick. joeyeavey@comcast.net

By: andy

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:24:18 +0000

And of course, my figures were off in the example I used…..500+300 is 800 and times 9 cents is $72, not 81….so the total bill would be 8 + 72 or 80, not 90…..

But since this has no “edit” feature, I couldn’t correct my mistake….please forgive….it’s early….ahahahaaa