Question: Who should promote a revolving fund to finance solar?
We are looking for ideas on how you feel about solar electric financing for homes and businesses. Obviously, the issue is the upfront cost of solar and how it can be financed. The payback concept is based on TVA’s green-switch program where they pay you for each kilowatt-hour of solar electricity you generate. The payment is based on what you presently pay for electricity, say 9 cents, plus 12 cents for each kilowatt-hour of solar you generate. The 12 cents extra is called the ”feed-in tariff.” Today, one can expect to reach break-even with the present green power switch program’s 12 cent per kilowatt-hour feed-in tariff in about 7 years. Correct me if I am wrong about that assumed payback period. Should the state of Tennessee create a revolving fund with zero interest, or should TVA do the revolving fund? The idea of the revolving fund is that the money collected from the feed-in tariff would go to paying for the loan. When the loan is paid back, the homeowner now starts collecting the feed-in tariff money which goes towards paying down their electric bill. The contract you sign with TVA through your local distributor last ten years. If the terms of the green-switch program improve to the customer’s benefit, those already on the program are automatically enrolled in the better program. Not all the distributors of TVA power belong to this program so you need to check with your local electric utility. The fund now loans others and with the expected decrease in cost of solar systems, the money in the fund goes further to finance more systems than before. What are your thoughts?
Steve