Colo. utility helps customers generate solar power

High energy costs have put a dent in household budgets, but one energy company is working to make renewable energy more affordable. The Delta Montrose Electrical Association in Montrose, Colo., population 12,500, is helping area residents install solar energy systems in their homes. Kati O’Hare writes in the Montrose Daily Press that, through a $25,000 matching grant from the Governor's Energy Office, DMEA is offering a $2/watt rebate on solar photovoltaic systems. So far, 12 systems have been installed. (Read more)

Jim and Sharen Branscome, right, have one of those systems. They write for the Daily Yonder: "After 48 days of operation, we have generated 2.470 megawatt-hours of power and saved ourselves $246 in power we didn't have to buy from DMEA at 10 cents per kwh." (That's a kilowatt-hour, 1,000 of which make a mwh.)

The Branscomes still owe DMEA $108, thanks to a recent cold snap and the fact their system was finished during fall, leaving them unable to "bank" energy for later. However, they write, "Come spring and summer, we'll be in the 'banking' business. That is, we'll be selling excess power back to DMEA at the same ten cents per kwh they charge us." They write that they will have to live to 120 to recoup their capital costs, but the project was "the right thing to do." Maybe it's like planting a tree. (Read more)