PV Gap

Tony Said:

What would you pay to a "Green Collar" Job?

We Answered:

Other than the public transit jobs, all of these are minimum wage jobs. Another fine solution for poverty brought to you by the liberal green agenda...

Claudia Said:

Public Service Company of New Mexico has recently come out and said that is wants to cut back on it’s incentiv?

We Answered:

Are you suggesting a call for over-all increase of derived solar energy; in other words, despite the amount of available incentive or cost off-set monies requiring an over-all increase and thus private funding of systems without assistance? Or, are you suggesting that future systems be more efficient; typically done by changing the rules and regs of the permit systems. Or, are you suggesting that any future incentive and/or cost off-set program monies only be spent on more efficient systems?

These incentive systems typically come about in one of two ways. In some cases, some money is set aside and/or found with the goal being to convert as many systems as possible. It is known at the onset that the money is not enough to fully achieve the desires, wants, or needs of the system and/or the public. Still, it is better than nothing and all that is available. Sometimes, based upon the savings to the system with the initial program, additional programs can be funded. While this first system does occur, it is not the ideal to even the utility provider; it is better than nothing but is still lacking.

More often than not, the utility has arrived at an ROI (Return on Investment) figure before initiating an incentive program. Securing new sources, developing new sources, and upgrading existing systems is expensive. Often, a utility can reasonably predict their future service needs based on the historical rates of usage, including the rate of increase or decrease. With this data, they can further predict the future cost of procuring and delivering their service and/or product. Often, an incentive program is designed to reduce individual use adequately to reduce the costs of future procurement and delivery. They may not need to reduce everyone's usage, just enough usage that they do not need to spend additional procurement and/or delivery monies. Sometimes, they too have a finite budget that may not be enough for even their own needs but, it is still better than nothing.

Often, an incentive program is a much an awareness and culture change program as it is a usage reduction program. Obviously, the existing incentive program was popular enough that it ran out of funds far quicker than originally thought despite the economy. Undoubtedly, it got people talking, thinking, and considering installations of their own. Chances are, there will be some doing installations of their own whether there is incentive assistance or not. (This is probably the ideal of any incentive program.) In other words, it has generated demand; so much demand that it outstripped the incentive money supply.

The question is, are there existing PV systems that provide your suggested percentage of solar energy? If not, chances are the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and/or the Public Service Company of New Mexico do not have the funding required to develop enhanced systems, nor can they commit the purchase money/number of purchases required to compensate a company for their development costs.

If the systems exist, what are their relative costs? In other words, are they likely to be so expensive that individuals would not install them on their own and/or any future incentive money would result in less energy saved even if each individual PV system was more efficient? It could be counter productive.

I guess I should have considered one last scenerio - Requiring those with existing PV systems, whether privately funded or funded with incentive money assistance, to upgrade? I'm sure that a number of those existing systems are still being paid for. Even so, I think that if this is your suggestion that there will be a hue and cry. I could even envision people removing their existing PV systems rather than being forced to upgrade them for both principal and principle reasons.

Lawrence Said:

What can be built on land that has no septic tank approval?

We Answered:

I don't know if it will be of any help, because I don't know about the water from shower, laundry and dish water; however there are composting toilets and incinerating toilets

http://www.google.com/search?q=compostin…

http://www.google.com/search?q=insinerat…

Hope that helps