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Sunnyside up
El Paso home goes solar
By Robby Gray
1/25/2009

Original article published 1/25/2009


The sun shines on El Paso an average of 305 days a year. But the high cost of solar energy systems and low cost of energy have kept area homeowners from making the switch to solar power.

So when Jim and Rita Paton recently pulled permit number 001, the first, for the installation of a large solar panel system on the roof of their Upper Valley home, they became trailblazers.

Solar energy was recently made more attractive by a provision of the Wall Street bailout package, signed into law by President George W. Bush in October.

And that’s when Abraham Lopez expanded the focus of his business, Camino Real Energy Solutions and Technologies, to include the installation of home solar energy systems.

“Now, all of a sudden, residential solar panels are becoming an affordable option,” said Doug Yost, a retired engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers and historic home preservationist who works with Lopez as a consultant.

The Patons’ system cost just over $28,000, but after a tax rebate, they expect their total investment to be less than $20,000.

“Like many others, I’ve lost money on IRAs, annuities and all that stuff. Here I don’t know that I can really lose money. I know it will pay for itself,” said Paton, a science teacher at Coronado High School.

Accounting for some inflation in energy prices and an electric bill that was about $1,000 a year, they expect to pay off their solar investment in 15 or 16 years. The system has a 25-year warranty.

“The acid test for solar panels has always been what the payback period is, and does that payback period extend beyond the warranty of the panels?” Yost explained.

Bailout boon
A provision in the bailout package extends the 30-percent credit for homeowners and businesses that purchase rooftop solar power systems, according to a spokesperson for the Internal Revenue Service.

More importantly, the bill removed the $2,000 cap on the tax credit. That’s important because the $20,000 to $30,000 cost of a solar panel system translates to about $9,000 worth of tax credits.

And there’s another benefit Jim Paton likes.

“About when this pays itself off, I will be retiring,” he said. “So I have insured myself an electric bill- free retirement.”

While the Patons, a family of four, can’t sell their extra energy back to El Paso Electric and get a check, they will receive rebates to save for shorter winter days or cloudy days when they use power from the company’s grid.

Yost said he and Lopez hope to design a system in such a way that the costs zero out at the end of the year.

“Working with the utility company here has been a breeze,” Yost said. “They realize, with all the building going on, it’s going to put an incredible strain on their infrastructure to provide power.”

Curtis Hutchinson, manager of economic and rate research at El Paso Electric, said they were happy to work on the project.

“We are responding to what customers want, including renewable energy,” he said. “We welcome any kind of extra generation, and it helps us meet our renewable energy goals.”

Energy investment
Lopez and Yost expect there are more people in El Paso who would rather invest in energy than an IRA.

“We found that our demographic is people who are maybe 10 years away from retirement but who want to become energy independent,” Yost said. “We’re finding that that’s a clientele who is opening up to us.”

Yost said he believes that the new federal tax incentives will make a solar startup possible in El Paso.

Texas does not have a program to provide funding of renewable energy equipment as some states such as California do.

But owners are eligible for a property tax exemption for the amount the solar energy system raises the appraised value of their property, according to the Texas State Energy Conservation Office.

For more information about renewable energy in El Paso, go online to epelectric.com and click on the “renewable energy” link.



Robert M. - posted: 1/29/2009 2:39:47 PM
The Patons rock! The world needs more trailblazers like you!
William Moore - posted: 1/27/2009 12:07:25 PM
This article is misleading. Most El Paso citizens do not have $20,000 to $30,000 of disposable cash to purchase a solar electric system. Additionally, in this current economic slide towards ‘doom and gloom,’ that amount of disposable income has more future value. When inflation hits, within the next year, I shall not look for security in a solar electric system.

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