One of my friends recently complained that the electric bill for his business has doubled in the last 5 years – and runs to about $500,000 per year. I was stunned. Being a ‘numbers guy’, I ran the statistic backwards and realized that it’s a 15% annual growth rate. I also realized that it’s the same for me at home. My power and fuel bills, electricity, heat, and gasoline have also doubled, to about $6,000 a year, over the last few years.

I told him that just like I could install a photovoltaic solar power system on my roof that would generate all the electricity I need, he could use solar power to generate much of the electricity he needs. His response was ‘You’re may be right. But how?’ he asked.

‘Simple’, I said, ‘just put solar modules on the roof. Add an inverter to convert DC power to AC, a meter than can run backwards, and you’re in business. Just like we’re talking about for the school system.

On top of that, the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate, or SREC, value of the power, in New Jersey, add considerably to the value of that power. The SRECs work like this. The Board of Public Utilities tells the Electric Utilities that they have a choice. Generate power using solar, pay a fine, or buy SRECs. The SRECs today are worth MORE than the price of each kwh if generated by those old 19th and 20th Century technologies, coal, oil, and nuclear. Click here for the NJ Clean Energy Program, click here for SREC trading and historical values.

Bill Scott, of Akeena Solar , says “Solar will be competitive WITHOUT INCENTIVES when electricity is at $0.21 to $0.25 per kwh.” We at Popular Logististics think may be the summer of 2009. The incentives, however, make it much better, today.

According to the Asbury Park Press, “School District Sold on Solar” in addition to the money they don’t spend on electricity, and any revenues they hope realize from the sale of carbon offsets, the Toms River, NJ School District expects to realize $1.25 to $1.5 million from the sale of their SRECs next year.