We believe that all Americans should be able to receive an education, so the federal government provides low interest loans to students. Now Americans are in need of alternative sources of energy to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So why doesn’t everyone just get solar panels? The price!! A solar system for a home can cost about $30,000!! The gov gives tax credits for such systems, but how does that help the average joe? So my question is: Would it be feasible for the federal or state government to provide low interest loans for families to buy solar systems for their homes? If you reckon that this is feasible, then at which level ( fed or state) should this service be provided?
That is a very expensive way to produce electricity.
A $30,000 solar panel system installed on your home will have an annual production of electricity of about 4,000 kilowatt hours.
If you finance that with a loan at 6% interest (a very cheap interest rate) your annual interest cost is $1,800. That is 45 cents per kilowatt hour, which is very expensive for electricity.
You would be very miserable with your local utility company if they charged you 45 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity.
If instead that money were spent on wind turbines, the cost of production of electricity is 4 cents per kilowatt hour using wind turbines. That is less than one tenth of the cost using solar photovoltaics.
I reckon that it makes much more sense for the government to fund electricity production by wind turbines because it is so much more cost effective.
The ”federal government” isn’t helping you get an education, we taxpayers are. That’s our money young lady, and the government doesn’t need any help on thinking of ways to spend it!
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LIFE
amen to the above answer!
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It does provide tax breaks and incentives for having energy efficient solar panels and other types of devices.
I agree with the first persons response. Before everyone gets solar panels provided by the government, Health care is more vital in my opinion. Public schools are tax funded and so we should do the same for health care. But I can go on and on about that subject.
If you can afford to own your own house, you can take out a home equity loan to pay for such things.
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Yes, you get a tax credit from the Feds.
Some places, you can get a rebate from your state.
When you add a solar system to your home, your home’s value goes up , amazingly, the price of the system. Wow! You really have more equity! You just made money that you will collect when you sell your home.
Hey – you pay less in electricity straight away! That’s money in your pocket every month.
Some places, you sell your extra power back to the electric company. You might get a check from them.
A solar system costs $30,000.00? How much is a jet ski. huge screen TV, new computer, etc…? A new car? Cable TV for a year? Eating out 3 nights a week for a year?
The average joe could find the money for a solar system if they were willing to. Especially when they are going to come out ahead of the game and get all that extra stuff in a year instead of now.
Instead, you are recommending that the family takes on additional debt. This is really the way that families get over their heads and their houses get foreclosed on.
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To power the country with solar panels we’d have to cover the entire southwest quarter of the country. Not realistic.
And really, I reckon that most American families have better things to do with $30,000 than falling prety to the global warming hype.
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That is a very expensive way to produce electricity.
A $30,000 solar panel system installed on your home will have an annual production of electricity of about 4,000 kilowatt hours.
If you finance that with a loan at 6% interest (a very cheap interest rate) your annual interest cost is $1,800. That is 45 cents per kilowatt hour, which is very expensive for electricity.
You would be very miserable with your local utility company if they charged you 45 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity.
If instead that money were spent on wind turbines, the cost of production of electricity is 4 cents per kilowatt hour using wind turbines. That is less than one tenth of the cost using solar photovoltaics.
I reckon that it makes much more sense for the government to fund electricity production by wind turbines because it is so much more cost effective.
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My colleague’s experience with the solar photovoltaic system that he installed on his home.
You have to know that USA is not a communist country. You can’t expect the government to give you things that you see from your rich neighbors. Taxation and credit rebates are used to regulate income differences and stabilise the society. Maybe you want the loan for solar panels, but I can reckon of many things that the loan can be in better use for low income families.
Solar panels are unfortunately expensive, I do hope in the future that they will be cheaper and more efficient. For now, what the government can do is to give tax breaks.
I’m sorry but I must disagree. It’s not an environmental issue, it’s rather about the economy and politics.
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