Frontier Solar Says 2009 Is the Year to Go Solar

According to Gabe Cooley of Frontier Solar, there has never been a better time than now to go solar. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 passed on October 3, which means the federal tax rebate towards a new solar system went up to 30 percent, as of January 1.

"Prior to that," Gabe says, "the rebate was $2,000 max. The average solar system is 30,000. 30 percent of that is 9,000…this is a $7,000 difference in savings. In addition, you have your local, state rebate, which will save you another 15 to 20 percent, depending on what city you live in. In essence, you can expect up to a 50 percent savings on your solar system."

Gabe adds that with Obama's energy plan, the direction of our country in the next four years will be towards alternative energy. "When Obama takes office, we may get an increase in rebates, we may not, but more research will be invested in panels and alternative energy. This will make the cost of panels go down. Solar energy is expensive because it hasn't caught on yet. Once it does, it will get cheaper."

At the same time, as with the prices for labor and gasoline, what goes down eventually goes back up again. "Gas prices have gone down temporarily," Gabe says, "but everybody knows they're not gonna stay there. If I had a huge gas tank in my garage, I'd fill it up." With the economy being down, Gabe encourages buying and installing panels now, while prices are at their lowest and rebates are high. "There's never been a better time to go solar. The average residential system will now pay itself off between 7 and 10 years with rebates." Gabe stresses that this figure holds true for homeowners who aren't financing, as interest payments would have to be taken into account.

As a California based solar contractor, Gabe hopes that over the next year or two, California and other state governments will increase their local incentives. "The federal tax credit is for 7 years; it's not going away anytime soon. I hope that the California state rebate will not only increase but continue to happen, making it more viable for homeowners to go solar." The California state rebate is currently on a tier system. The rebate went from 25 percent to 20 percent to 15 percent and will continue to decrease in attempt to get homeowners to go solar sooner rather than later. "I also hope that our new administration will see the value of alternative energy, not just for solar, but for wind."