Solar energy: 'The best investment under the sun'

By Erin McClary
C & G Staff Writer

Local man installs renewable energy system at his home

If the green benefits solar power brings to the planet aren’t enough to get every homeowner on the bandwagon, the other “green” renewable energy systems provide might just be.

Combined, new federal and state incentives and programs offered through local utility companies could pay for more than half the cost of residential and commercial solar energy systems. If that’s not enough, the return on investment is a whole ’nother story, experts and advocates say.

“Were looking at six- to seven-year payback for about a 10 percent (return on investment) ROI, so really it’s very compelling from a standpoint of incentives,” said Dave Hollens, president of New Energy Solutions in Milford. “DTE has incentives that make it very affordable.”

DTE Energy is currently reimbursing homeowners one-third of the retail cost for a solar power system, Hollens explained. Through the program SolarCurrents, DTE will also reimburse homeowners 11 cents for every kilowatt-hour produced from the system for 20 years.

In the program, homeowners with massive solar power systems could potentially have DTE owing them money at the end of the billing cycle — at least that’s the fantasy, said local architect Michael Wolk, who had a 2.5-kilowatt solar power system installed at his Bloomfield Township home this month. He is the first in the township to install solar panels on his home, Hollens said.

On its website, DTE advertises its new program as “the best investment under the sun” and claims it could help offset the cost of a 4.5-kilowatt solar energy system by an average of $22,000 over 20 years.

Right now, a federal tax credit is being issued to homeowners for up to 30 percent of the total cost of installing a renewable energy system. The state will also kick in 25 percent. Hollens said the state incentive is currently the only tax break offered to Michiganders for helping produce renewable energy.

This, combined with the incentives provided through DTE’s SolarCurrents program, is why Wolk took the plunge into the deep green. Up front, his system is costing him about $16,000, but if it passes DTE’s inspection in the next few weeks, he’ll get a check cut to him for roughly a third of that.

“I’m doing this in conjunction with DTE Energy, which means that I’m taking advantage of their incentives,” he said. “They’ll be paying for about a third of the cost of the system, as well as for the next 20 years, they’ll be paying me 11 cents per kilowatt of energy that I send back to them. It’s kind of like a bank.”

Wolk is hopeful his new solar panels will provide him with about 70 percent of his household’s electricity usage. When he built the house 25 years ago, he said, he had going green in mind. For example, having an exposed roof that faces the south makes his home the perfect candidate for a solar energy system, and new technology also makes having the system more aesthetically pleasing, with flat panels instead of those that stand erect on a roof.

“I’ve managed to get my house pretty energy efficient, and this was the next, logical step,” he said. “I designed the house sustainably — the southern exposure has more windows than northern, for example — and I’ve taken a lot of the steps to bringing the house up to these standards, so this made sense.”

For those looking to build new homes, Wolk encourages building with renewable energy in mind, as designing something from the ground up can provide endless opportunities. He said hiring the right consultant and designer is the first step.

Hollens’ company provides energy audits to homeowners and businesses looking to lower utility costs and become more eco-friendly, and Wolk’s architectural firm is experienced in designing structures to provide sustainability.

In many cases, an existing home or business may not be a candidate for solar panels, but it may be a candidate for solar thermal energy — a way to heat your home and water by way of the sun — or even ground-mounted solar panels, something that’s becoming more and more popular, Hollens said.

And still, if installing a renewable energy system in your home doesn’t fit the budget, Hollens said his audits can provide other sensible alternatives for saving energy, like installing a better furnace, caulking, upgrading home insulation and even switching to florescent lighting.

“My company philosophy is to help my clients become energy independent,” Hollens said. “Whether they want to go to that level (completely independent of energy utilities) or to whatever level of energy independence they want to go, my goal is to get them there through a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.”

It’s not unusual in places like Northern Michigan to find homes and cabins that are “completely off the grid,” which means they’re independent of energy companies like DTE and Consumers Energy. And in most of those cases, Hollens said, it’s more affordable to install renewable energy systems than hook up to the utility companies’ grids.

Although he’s been a green, outdoorsy kind of guy his whole life, it was only three years ago that Hollens started up New Energy Solutions. He took his background in construction and came up with a way to reduce homeowners’ and businesses’ bottom lines, while also reducing their carbon footprints.

“It’s a win-win. We’re helping the environment and helping people save money,” he said. “But that’s what people haven’t figured out yet: You can be green, and it’s very cost effective.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1118.