Dear Persons Interested in Solar Powered Electricity,
I am excited to announce we are closer to getting solar power to numerous residential homes around the Newburyport area. There will be two types of systems: a 1kW and a .5kW, both ground mounted. We have been in contact with Solar Market of Arundel, Maine, which is the same company that put the solar panels on The Tannery. The 480 watt (~.5 kW) and the 960 watt (~1 kW) will account for approximately 770 kWh and 1540 kWh respectively of your annual electric bill. This is about 10% of the average American’s annual electric bill.
Our goal is for you to get the most for your money in order to maximize your satisfaction with solar power. So the numbers end up being a total of approximately $4,500 for the 480 watt module and $9,050 for the 960 watt module. These are not including any rebates or incentives. To give you an approximate picture of the rebates and incentives here is what we believe will apply to each module:
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480 watt 960 watt
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Initial Cost**
$4,500 $9,050
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State tax credit of 15% rebate up to $1000
$712 $1000
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Federal tax credit of 30% rebate up to $2000
$1,422 $2,000
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MTC rebate
$960 $1920
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Estimated cost
$1,406 $4,130
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There would also be these annual savings:
Renewable Energy Certificate Rebate***
$40 $80
Savings on electricity bill***
$110 $220
Annual savings
$150 $300
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** These prices do not include installation and shipping, we do not know those prices at this time.
*** These savings may vary due to varying electricity prices.
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We will be holding a meeting on Friday June 23rd at 5:15pm at the offices of Hall and Moskow (Mill#5, The Tannery– under Doherty’s meat market) to execute contracts, fill out applications for rebates, and making an initial payment of 33% of the system cost ($1485 for 480 and $2986.50 for the 960). Checks are to be made out to Solar Market or a credit card can be processed for a fee if preferred. There will be a full refund of the deposit if the application is rejected by MTC. System buyers are ineligible for MTC rebates if the systems are purchased or installed before the application for the rebate is approved, hence the urgency of getting all this paperwork out of the way. Please let us know if you can or cannot attend. Thanks!
David Hall and Rachael Nealer
RSVP to rnealer@student.umass.edu
(Editor’s note: This blog software does not do justice to the chart that was submitted. For a better chart on “Initial Cost,” “Estimated cost” and “Annual Savings” please contact Rachael Nealer at the above email address.)