How Clean Energy Saves Everyone Money
Clean energy is saving money for families around the world – even for those who don’t have a clean energy system themselves! Here’s how…
Clean sources of energy are obviously good for the planet, but did you know they can also be good for your wallet? While prices for alternative energy systems such as solar and wind power remain somewhat costly, the cost has declined dramatically in recent years, and predictions indicate that soon, choosing these forms of energy production will be a no-brainer for most people.
A September 2016 U.S. Department of Energy report indicates that over the past 8 years, “Manufacturing costs of wind, LED’s and electric vehicles “has fallen by 41% to reductions as high as 94%” which means less expensive consumer installment prices.”
The report found savings for consumers in a number of areas such as:
- Solar – “In 20 states and in 42 of America’s 50 largest cities, financing a residential solar energy system currently costs less than purchasing. electricity from a customer’s local utility, commonly termed ‘grid parity.’”
- Wind – “Power purchase agreements forwind have fallen from rates of up to 7 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2009 to an average of 2 cents/kWh today in certain regions of the country.”
- LED bulbs – Using LED bulbs has saved $630 billion in avoided energy costs between 2015-2035.
The cost savings of owning such a system can be dramatic over time. And some studies show that, surprisingly enough, even people who don’t even own such a system may benefit!
A study by Boston University, Professor Robert Kaufman, discovered that a combination of suburban solar panels reduced “electricity prices for all of the approximately three million consumers in the state, even those with no solar panels.” When conventional consumers use excessive energy for air conditioning in the summer, utility companies purchase the cheapest energy sources available first. This, of course, is the extra clean energy from buyback solar owners, which then passes on the savings to consumers.
It’s time to start taking better care of our planet – and if you can live more sustainably and save money by doing so, it’s a win-win all around!
Source: HealEstate.com
