FollowCalifornia may now hold the record for largest residential solar system in the world. The 150-kilowatt system is about 30 times larger than an average 5-kilowatt residential system.
The estate sits atop a hill in Los Angeles. Instead of installing the 600-panel solar power system on their roof, the owners, who choose to remain anonymous, installed the array on the south-facing downward slope of the hill. This increases the efficiency of the system. Tilted panels typically produce more power than those laid flat.
The owners showed a bit of whimsy in the installation, leaving a gap in the rows and columns of solar panels to accommodate a boulder protruding from the craggy slope.
Each of the mono-crystalline panels produces 250 watts of power, for a total of 150,000 kilowatt hours per month. The United States Energy Information Administration, or EIA, reports that in 2009, the average monthly electricity consumption was 908 kilowatt hours per month.
How much did the solar power system cost? While that information is also being kept confidential, it is possible to estimate average solar costs. In California, for systems over 10 kilowatts, consumers can expect to pay $7.42 per watt. For the 150,000-watt solar system, that means a total of $1,113,00.
However, that cost does not include solar rebates and tax credits that are available at the federal, state and local level. The federal tax credit alone can pay for up to 30% of the costs. The state program in California offers up to $2.50 per watt rebates for systems under 100 kilowatt hours. In Los Angeles, a new wave of rebates is enabling thousands more to go solar.
For large-scale systems like the project here, the formula is a bit different, with rebates of 39 cents per kilowatt generated over a 5-year period. Local counties, cities and utilities offer various credit programs as well. Southern California Edison credits $1.90 per watt.
It is not unusual for customers to pay 50% to 75% off the retail cost, after taking advantage of all available programs.
For example, according to Matthew Kenyon, chief executive at the Dana B. Kenyon Company, a 26-kilowatt commercial system their company recently installed in Florida had a retail cost of $240,000 that was reduced to $40,000, after applying all available credits and incentives. While the solar system for the Southern California estate may have been a million-dollar project, the homeowner’s net costs were most likely far lower.
SolarWorld, a global leader in the solar industry, manufactured the turn-key solar panels, so named because they are intended to be installed by conventional electrical contractors who wish to install solar systems. The contractor, SRC, Inc., collects site-specific information and customer specifications, then SolarWorld handles for the design and production. For the California project, Consolidated Electrical Distributors was responsible for the delivery.
Notably, solar panel designer and manufacturer SolarWorld isn’t only interested in high-end customers. Operating under the name Solar2World, the company also supports off-grid solar power solutions in developing countries, promoting sustainable economic development on the global level.
Source: calfinder
