CFE agenda 020816 - Laserfiche WebLink

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This is another in a series of articles by the Orange County Commission for the Environment (CFE). Each article highlights an environmental issue of interest to the residents of Orange County. The CFE is a volunteer advisory board to the Board of County Commissioners. Additional information can be found in the Orange County State of the Environment 2014 report at r /commission for the environment.php A Surge in Solar Energy Produced on Rooftops in Orange County David Neal, Orange County Commission for the Environment This past year, with the help of the Solarize Orange campaign, Orange County experienced a surge in the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In 2015 the Solarize campaign helped 50 homes install rooftop systems that can generate a total of 298 kilowatts (kW) of electricity using sunlight. Each participant saved an average of $1,500 through bulk - purchasing of solar panels and related equipment. In combination with the two previous Solarize campaigns, solar PV systems have been installed on a total of 135 homes in Orange County, with the capacity to produce 1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy per year! This is the greenhouse gas equivalent of not burning 740,000 pounds of coal or the amount of carbon stored in 565 acres of forest. Some of our neighbors were spurred to go solar by the anticipated expiration of the state's renewable energy tax credit, which our General Assembly let sunset at the end of 2015. For others, it was the dramatic decrease in the cost of solar panels and their installation. For some, an opportunity to reduce the amount of air pollution generated from the burning of fossil fuels, including coal, that supply much of our electricity was enough of a motivator. All three of these factors drove my family's participation in the Solarize Orange campaign. Since we installed our system, we have not paid Duke Energy for a single kilowatt hour. During these short winter days, we will need to rely more on the electric grid for power, but our panels produce electricity every day, even when the sky is overcast. Unfortunately, clouds of a different sort hang over the Solarize initiative. The expired state renewable income tax credit had made solar PV systems significantly more affordable, allowing homeowners to recoup up to 35% of their costs. Without it, solar is out of reach for many Orange County residents. Those who balk at state or federal tax credits for renewable energy systems should remember that fossil fuels and nuclear power have received substantial subsidies for generations. In addition, the use of fossil fuels incurs social and health costs that we all bear in the form of increased rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, polluted surface waters, and altered landscapes. We should petition our state representatives to restore the state renewable tax credit and thank our congressional delegation for recently extending the federal tax credit through 2020.