Largest Solar In Mi

You might think that solar power is still too expensive for the average homeowner. With the availability of a federal tax credit and the DTE Solar Currents program, you might have to rethink your options.

 

According to Jeremy Zinn of Oak Electric in Waterford, the average 5Kw system will only end up costing a homeowner about $10-$12,000 out of pocket. The entire system will cost around $32-$36,000, but there is currently a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost and the Solar Currents program will rebate about $12,000 of the initial cost. The savings on the average electric bill will be about $110-125 per month and with the average electric bill running $100, you could zero out your electric bill.

The installation that has been erected in Dreyden, according to DTE, is the largest array in the state of Michigan and the homeowner is actually selling power back to the power grid and DTE will pay the homeowner about $3000 per year for the excess power that will be produced by the solar power array.

 

DTE has set aside a fund for the Solar Currents program of $25 million, which according to Zinn, about $6 million has already been paid to people that have installed solar power on their homes. In the first six months of the program, DTE paid out $1 million. According to DTE, the program will help offset the cost of installing solar power for 1500 homes in the state of Michigan. The federal tax credit will be available until 2016. Without the DTE subsidy, the payback period will be about 30 years, with the DTE subsidy, the payback is only 10 years on a system that will last at least 40 years.

 

Oak Electric is based in Waterford, Michigan; however they will install solar power on homes all over the state of Michigan. The company has installed systems in Ann Arbor, Rochester, Birmingham and Bloomfield.

 

Because there is a federal tax credit available, Zinn said that homeowners have a federal right to install the systems, even if subdivision rules or city ordinances may not specifically allow or address solar installations.