solar retrofit for entire florida city (renting, mortgage, how much)

[solar4bradenton]

i'm looking for answers. then i will better pursue funding. is everyone in favor of having solar cells installed on their properties if you don't have to pay the initial cost? wouldn't this show the world that florida can make the change fron nonrenewable fossil fuels to all you can get your hands on solar energy? tell me that your all in favor of this and how i get investors and government officials to cooperate with this retrofit and change over.

[Mike1306]

For a single house (2500sq ft) to be completely off the grid would right now cost in the range of $50,000. That is after the state and federal rebates. Of course you could also feed back into the grid and make money off it.
The pricing is just completely out of the realm of possibility for most people.

If you are trying to figure out how to get investors to fund this I really don't think it is doable. Investors would want return on their investment pushing the price even higher for the homeowner.

With the massive amounts of open land we have I don't understand why the utilities do not petition the state for use of some of those lands to install photovoltaics. I would think the savings the utilities would see in the energy costs would be massive and they could realize significant earnings within just a few years.

If not on land they could also do something out in the gulf. One acre photovoltaic fields up and down the coast would cost a pretty penny but once again would only take a few years to recoup the cost and after that the earning would be substantial.

[Davachka]

I think this is an excellent idea. It is such a waste of resources that solar energy is not being utilized in the sunshine state!
We are moving there in July and were looking into purchasing solar panels for our new home. Good luck in your endeavors, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would back your ideas!

[DustyButt]

How much does energy sold back to the grid go for?
I'm in the process of possibly moving to Florida and I'm contemplating the possibilities of buying a home there. Here in the Northeast a new 3/4 bedroom home in a good neighborhood sells easily in the range of $400k-$500k so having a comparable $260k home in FL with solar power is more than reasonable to me. I was going to do the math to figure out when/if it will pay for itself over the life of my mortgage but I was in need of actual figures.
Does anyone know?

[SLCPUNK]

Renting solar panels for the home seems to be the best way for an average person to afford the cost. Once I settle down for good, I'd rent. The cost is locked in for the term (2,5,10,30 whatever) so you are still paying less than you would for electric, especially on the back end. I look forward to going of the grid one day.

[spainbrit]

I would do it in a heartbeat and have a brick built house, it will come eventually, but more folks need to put their money into solar technologies and then it will take off.
In fact now might be a good time to invest in that type of stock