How Great is Solar In Arizona?  Some parts of the state have nearly the highest amounts of Average Sunlight Hours per Day!  That is VERY VERY Important for production and for investment return.

So here is how the numbers break out:

APS currently has a $3.00/watt DC rebate that they will award to homeowners who install a PV system to generate electricity.  They say there is no limit on this incentive as far as system size as well.  So lets do a hypothetical solar system cost analysis quick and dirty run through:

Say you buy a 3 kw system for $7/watt, so you spend about $21,000 total.

The state incentive is going to give you $3/watt and you bought 3,000 watts.  So that is a state incentive of $9,000

Then you also are eligible for  a 30% federal tax credit, which would be another $6,300.

So, as far as incentives are concerned you are looking at about $15,000 of the $21,000 solar system in incentives.  Of course the tax credit is not a check from the federal government, but it is a tax credit.  Some people can definitely use tax credits, not everyone of course.

Another question is how much electricity is going to be saved each month from this $21,000 system?  The answer is about 500 kwh/month, and that is about $75/month in savings assuming a $.15/kwh rate.  Don’t expect a system of this size to save you $300-400/ month, it just ain’t going to do that at todays energy rates.

Some things to also consider are performance of the system.  The PV solar system needs to be in full sun, and performing optimally in order to receive the full state rebate.  The state enjoys paying full rebates for people who have systems installed properly, but it will ding you if something is not done correctly.  As far as how much time it takes for the state to send the rebate check, well that can take anywhere from one month to four months or more.  It just depends.  No exact time can be gauranteed, so don’t be relying on that check to be in the mailbox the day the system is turned on.