Pennywise

One kWh of green electricity costs in most cities in Holland roughly 14 Eurocents (January 1, 2005, up 10% compared with 2004). This is the private household's base rate, subject to all kinds of inimitable local and regional surcharges, green 'eco-tax' and value added tax. Customers are even charged by some municipalities for the electrical cables running deep under the [municipal] sidewalks! Let's assume a final 20 Eurocent, high tariff. Solar energy is not cheap. Although sunshine is free, the production of electricity from sunshine takes some effort.
A typical set of solar panels (four 150 Wp panels, productive surface approximately six square meters) produces some 480 kWh per annum. Such a set costs about Euro 3000. Several subsidy programs exist. Let's assume Euro 1/Wp. That makes Euro 600 worth of subsidy You have to chip in a net investment of Euro 2400 for the above 600 Wp installation. At 20 Eurocents per kWh, one may expect to 'earn' some € 96,- per annum on the PV system. The break-even period therefore is approximately 25 years. Please note that we are not discussing here depreciation, repairs and interest. Don't believe your power utility company when they advertise a lower pay-back period. Solar electrcity won't make you rich, but for the environment it is a big boon. When the solar panels produce more electricity than the home appliances consume, the excess energy flows back into the utility's power grid. Private households should be compensated for this (by so-called net metering). In the Netherlands, net metering is officially regulated by law, July 1, 2004. My analog electricity meter spins back however.

It is hard reality for the penny-wise Dutchman that the electricity rates continue to rise. Hopefully, prices of solar panels will go down. The break-even moment will probably arrive earlier with every penny higher charge for the kWhs on your electricity bill. For the time being, subsidy and strong concern about the environment remain the lifeblood for this form of renewable energy.

The true reasons why I have installed 'my' six panels is that I am producing my own supergreen electricity, and there is no greener electricity than my own green electricity. Do you trust your energy company as to the origin of their electricity? I don't. In addition my original six solar panels prevent the emission of 568 grams of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere per produced kWh (compared with coal- or natural gas-generated electricity). Over a span of 30 years my panels will prevent the emmission of some 80000 kilograms of CO2!
Investment return on solar electricity, even with the absurd 75%-or-so subsidy on PV panels, remains poor. If you want to get more bang for your invested buck than the above modest amount, then consider attempts to reduce energy consumption in your home. What about thoroughly insulating the walls, roof, windows, and floors. Buying an energy-efficient refrigerator or dishwasher will save you a lot of kWhs, perhaps more than you will 'earn' by installing solar panels. Using your bike instead of your car once in a while will help to reduce energy consumption, keeps carbon dioxide emissions down, and will keep your body healthy.