5 Reasons to Consider Solar Electricity

5 Reasons to Consider Solar Electricity

In Education Leave a Comment

In Florida we have relatively low electricity prices per unit, financing limitations compared to other states, and few incentives to encourage people to consider solar electricity for their homes and businesses. However, there are some very compelling reasons to look into solar electricity.

Watch our quick video on the 5 Reasons to Consider Solar Electricity

Utility rates will keep going up.

The fact that we have low electricity rates now just leave lots of room for upward movement. In some states, electricity can cost more than three times our residential rate at certain times of the day. FPL recently requested a 24% increase in rates over the next 4 years. There is no questions that rates are going in one direction only. By installing solar panels, you are essentially locking in the price of the electricity you buy for the next 25 years, insulating yourself from ever-increasing rates.

Don’t let short-term rate trends fool you. Utility companies love to advertise when rates decrease, but are very quiet when they go the other direction.

We are dangerously dependent on natural gas.

Florida utilities generate about 70% of the electricity we buy from natural gas, and that figure is rising. Any fluctuations in natural gas, which is now a historically low prices, could send electricity costs skyrocketing in Florida. Natural gas is a relatively clean, stable, and domestically available source, but its price is heavily dependent on a worldwide marketplace that we can’t control.

People with solar panels hedge against rising fuel prices, reducing their risk and creating freedom from uncontrollable outside influences.

We are in the Sunshine State!

It’s more than just a nickname. Florida has a great solar resource. In fact, the National Renewable Energy Lab rates Florida the third highest capacity among states for rooftop solar potential. Despite this, we are not even in the top 10 for installed capacity. Florida is a sleeping giant when it comes to solar energy. Other states with far less sun like New Jersey and Massachusetts have far more rooftop installed solar capacity.

The availability of reliable sunlight over the long-term makes Florida one of the most potentially productive places in the country for solar energy.

Gain a sense of independence.

Solar energy is a local resource in a sense. You don’t have to truck in solar energy, and you don’t need a pipeline. It falls upon us every day. It’s reliable over the long-term, and we don’t have to rely on national and geopolitical influences for our personal energy security. If you want to do your part to make Florida and the United States less dependent on scarce natural resources dominated by governments and corporations, solar energy is a safe bet.

There isn’t any money in the sun as a fuel source, so we are being force-fed other fuels that can be bought and sold the the highest bidder. Solar energy gives us a degree of independence.

Save money with solar panels.

This is the obvious reason that most people start looking into solar electric panels for their home or business. In Florida, with the current costs and available incentives, most people will save enough money on electricity to pay for their solar panels a couple of times over. We don’t know where electricity prices will be 25 years from now, but we know that solar panels with 25 year warranties will continue producing power for that long and beyond. That means solar panels are a safe investment.

While you won’t strike it rich overnight, like any safe, long-term investment, sticking with it will earn you solid returns on your investment.

Leave a Comment