Citizens' Climate Lobby: Yes, solar panels work in Michigan
I had been thinking about solar panels for quite a while. Last fall everything fell into place and I signed a contract. Now I’m converting sunlight into electricity. Here’s my story.
There’s more than one reason to consider installation of solar panels. My primary motivation was to reduce my carbon footprint — to live more lightly on the land.
I also believe that distributed power generation is a good idea. For years after moving to Holland, I saw no homes with solar panels. By becoming an early adopter, I hope to encourage others by example.
I had already reduced my power demand by replacing all lights with LEDs, using Energy Star appliances, installing a smart thermostat, and improving roof venting and insulation.
My installation will ultimately pay for itself, but maybe not in my lifetime. I am, after all, a senior citizen. Typically, the math depends upon your site specifics. Most basic systems pay for themselves in 7-12 years. In my case, the addition of battery backup was an additional cost.
I finally took the plunge after the Holland Climate Collaborative started the SolarUp! Network (SUN). In an online meeting last March, they explained that a nearby installer, Helios Solar of Kalamazoo, would offer group-buy discounts up to 15 percent if enough people enrolled.
My group didn’t get to 15 percent, but I did get 10 percent. Along with that, a 26 percent federal tax credit, set to expire in 2023, was available. To my surprise, this incentive increased to 30 percent, retroactive to 2022, through the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. In addition, solar installations are exempt from property taxes in Michigan.
The provider first had to establish that my location was suitable for solar. My neighborhood has many trees and my home is in a valley. Nevertheless, with high efficiency panels mounted on my south-facing garage roof, the installer calculated that I could generate about 85 percent of my annual electrical usage.
Panel installation was completed in one morning. Battery installation extended the whole project to about two days.
The least expensive way to install solar power is to simply mount solar panels that supplement home power demand along with power from the utility (the grid). Any excess power generation goes to the grid, and if the grid is down, solar power generation is also blocked. Utilities require cutting off home solar during an outage so that no unexpected power is entering the lines while crews are working to restore them.
In my first month, September, output of the panels was close to demand. My first power bill was -$92! (Note: The vagaries of billing cycles vary from utility to utility) Of course, as the winter sun sets lower in the sky, production decreases. Snow cover blocks energy generation too. Nevertheless, summer production should exceed demand such that the panels put electricity back onto the grid for which I earn “solar credits.”
Solar credits reduce my electric bill, but not as much as one might suppose. A few years ago, Michigan legislators allowed utilities to pay less for excess solar power put onto the grid than they charge for the power the utility generates. Consumers Power’s billing system is complicated, but a solar home ends up receiving only about 50-60 percent of the retail electric rate in credits. For encouraging sustainable behavior, this is poor public policy, but our utility companies have powerful lobbies.
In a system that includes battery storage, excess power can be saved to use when power generation is low, e.g., at night. Also, power generated by the solar panels can be used directly for household needs even during a grid outage. About a month after our system was in place, an eight-hour power outage shut down our neighborhood, but we only saw a slight flicker in the lights when it cut off. No clocks reset. No noisy generator kicked in.
If you’re interested in meeting with local people who care about these issues, join our Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter at citizensclimatelobby.org. We have monthly meetings that you can attend. If you’re interested in solar installation let SUN know at solarupnet.org and they will send you an invitation to the next group-buy event.
— Bob Conradi is a local Holland resident and a member of The Holland Area chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Citizens' Climate Lobby: Yes, solar panels work in Michigan
