Discussion of Cost Justification Part One

There are a lot of variables to consider in justifying the cost (investment) in a photovoltaic (PV) system.  They include:
      Price paid to a vendor
      Incentives or rebates from the federal government
      Incentives or rebates from state and local governments
      Incentives or rebates from local utilities
      Grants from non government organizations (NGO)
      Your financial position
      Your ability to borrow and pay back money
Therefore, no one experience can fit all prospective investors situation. 

Shop many vendors to know you are getting fair quotes.  As in most technological purchases, there seems to be a premium price associated with leading edge technology, even in the solar field.  We had prices quoted, per panel that were higher than others only because of the technology used within the panel.  One vendor overpriced the installation because they were planning to use new fangled panels that were smaller.  We didn't need smaller in our case so last year's more economical model would have sufficed.

The vendors in your local area will be an especially good source of information about incentives that might be available to you.  Listen to all your vendors.  One vendor may know more than another.  Amazingly, our chosen vendor knew where we could sell our REC (see above) for 33% more revenue than our other three prospective vendors.  We will be able to pay off our system a year sooner as a result.   So, our rebate and incentive situation would be similar for all North Carolinians.  It would be similar, but different in other states.

For financing, we decided that our return on net investment will be better over the next five years than it would have otherwise been by leaving money in a CD.