Solar and Wind projects

[Carlb]

I never had a website running so I guess you are just getting old like the rest of us.  I will be taking pictures as I go along with this project and post them when time permits.  I am trying to get this project done before the end of the year and time is running out fast.  The foundation holes are dug and all of the equipment in now on site except for the inverters.  Once I set the posts in concrete the actual assembly of the array should only take two to three days.  All of the wiring from the sub panel to the array is already complete.  I would look into Outback or Xrantax inverters for the ability to do what you want.  You will still probably need a small battery bank to make the inverters happy

Carl.

[LowGear]

Just in case you didn't know.  Photos are very easy to post on this site.  See that "+ Additional Options..." down there on the left of this edit page?  Just click and do a couple of simple steps and there's your photo.

Casey

[Carlb]

Well the new 11.2kw solar array is  completed and online.  You can see from the photo the new array with the wind turbine and the 10kw array on the roof of the house in the background.

[rcavictim]

Well the new 11.2kw solar array is  completed and online.  You can see from the photo the new array with the wind turbine and the 10kw array on the roof of the house in the background.

Carl,

Your efforts are turning more of the planet green than the technical specs alone might indicate.  Green with envy!  Way to go Bro!

[vdubnut62]

Yeah, what rcavictim said!
RON

[Carlb]

Thanks guys,  it was a lot of work, and with the exception of the post setting I did all the work myself. It took me almost a month to get it together and it was exceptionally cold here for December, most days in the mid to upper 20's F. and high winds.

Carl

[rl71459]

Congrats!  That is great... I'd love to have that system('s)
I am soooo jealous! Do you have any pict's of the inverters and other hardware?

Rob

[Carlb]

Here is a picture of the array from the back.  If you look near the middle of the array you will see two SMA 5000 inverters back to back.  There is really not much else in the way of hardware but if anyone is interested in installing a tiltable array i would strongly recommend the TTI  adjustable tilt ground mount mounting system.  This array is 10' tall and 92' wide and I can adjust the tilt from 0 degrees to 40 degrees by myself.  The entire array tilts at one time on the seven posts as seen from the back. 

carl

[LowGear]

Hi Carl,

Did you ever give us a breakdown of your actual costs on this latest addition to Carl's New Jersey Power Center?  Do you have a projected break-even date?  And for those of use that just paid $0.34 per KWH; what do folks in NJ pay per KWH?

Casey

[cschuerm]

Just curious Casey.  Where do you live?
I just looked over my last 12 months and my rate (including fees and taxes) varied from a low of $.07 to a high of $.16/KWH with the most recent being $.08.  Oklahoma.
Might be interesting to start an entirely separate thread just comparing energy usage and price...

chris

[Carlb]

Hi Carl,

Did you ever give us a breakdown of your actual costs on this latest addition to Carl's New Jersey Power Center?  Do you have a projected break-even date?  And for those of use that just paid $0.34 per KWH; what do folks in NJ pay per KWH?

Casey

Casey,

The actual cost for the new 11.2kw array was between 36 and 37 thousand dollars (I haven't added it all up yet) All of the the equipment was purchased wholesale so  I saved a bunch of money there.  I did all of the installation work including electrical so I saved even more money there. 

While this current installation did not qualify for any rebates from  the state of New Jersey it does qualify for a 30% federal tax credit which is available to everyone no matter what state you live in.  I will receive about  11,000 dollars in tax credits from the federal government so my out of pocket will be about 25,000 dollars.

  The system will produce about 2,000 dollars worth of electricity a year and we can sell our Renewable energy credits (we earn 1 credit for each megawatt of electricity the array generates).  The array will generate approximately 15 megawatts a year each of which is worth between 650 and 675 dollars each for a total yearly return of about  12,000 dollars.  The system will pay itself off in just over two years.  In New Jersey the sale of the renewable energy credits is guaranteed for 15 years for the date of install.   

We pay .16 per kwh in the area.

Carl

[LowGear]

Wow Carl,

That's great.  Of course I'm wondering why not do five times this amount.  I mean an investment that's guaranteed to break even in 2.5 years with tax credits or 4 years if you don't is a fantastic investment.  I wonder how to get Hawaii to do the renewable energy credits program.

If it were a business, like a farm or B&B I wonder if you get to write the system off as well?  That would be too good.

How do you buy this stuff wholesale?  

Thank you for your great attitude.

Casey

[LowGear]

Hi Chris,

I live in Hawaii where about 90% of the energy is from diesel boilers.  .34 cents really drives me nuts as I immigrated from Seattle where they're just peeking at .10 a KWH.  I did a thread about the costs of energy about a year ago and Hawaii was number one in the states.   We were paying almost .43 cents a KWH at that time so we're completely conditioned to think that .34 is a great price.

Cheers,

[Carlb]

Update:

Well my 11.2kw array has just reached its one year anniversary and I figured I would report the kWh produced, the cost savings and the profits from the sale of the Solar Renewable Credits

15,556 kWh Produced @ 15.6 cents Per kWh = a savings of 2426.00 Dollars in avoided electricity costs
We sold each credit (1000kWh = 1 credit) for 675.00 for a total of 10,500 Dollars for a total net return of 12,926 dollars.

After the 30% federal tax credit the system cost me just under 24K to install .  We are on target to have recouped our investment before the end of 2011.

[sailawayrb]

Great setup and great economics!  

Carl, where do you live in NJ?  Reason I ask is that I grew up in Carlstadt (about 7 miles west of NYC near the Meadowlands stadium) and completed my undergraduate ME studies at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1980 before heading West and devoting my life to WMD and airplanes...

Bob B.