Why It’s a Brilliant Financial Move to Go Solar in Pennsylvania Right Now

by Shannon, posted on August 21st, 2010.

The Keystone State has been working hard to make solar power a significant part of its state renewable energy policy. In fact, they’ve implemented a program similar to the one making New Jersey the hottest solar market in the nation right now.

But while the really juicy policy stuff for solar is all lined up in Pennsylvania, there’s still a distinct shortage of actual solar on actual houses [1]. When economists talk about this shortage they say things like “this creates a scenario beneficial to short-term SREC pricing.” Translation: Pennsylvania homeowners who go solar early in the game stand to make a lot of money.

You can watch this short video on how it all works, but in a nutshell, it’s basic supply and demand. When you install panels on your roof in Pennsylvania, they don’t just generate electricity for your home. They also generate an abstract chunk of clean energy goodness called an “SREC” or a “Solar Renewable Energy Credit”. Utility companies are required to buy a certain amount of those credits per year to offset the dirty grid power they generate. This is great news for homeowners because it means they are financially rewarded for generating clean energy. There’s an actual market for it.  In New Jersey right now if you’re a homeowner who has solar panels on your roof, you get a check in your mailbox four times a year for fifteen years (can your bathroom remodel promise that?).  In Pennsylvania, homeowners with solar get checks in their mailboxes too, but with no upper limit to the number of years they can receive them.

What makes the solar market especially juicy for Pennsylvania homeowners right now, is that while the state has set aggressive goals for clean energy, only a tiny percentage of households actually have solar at the moment, so SRECs there are at a premium and are likely to remain so for some time. This is great news for savvy homeowners who realize that there’s a distinct benefit for going solar now versus later. Not only can you potentially get your entire solar system paid for through this program (and get rid of your utility bill forever in the process), you can actually make money, especially at this stage of the game, when there’s relatively little competition.

Want to know more? Sign up for One Block Off the Grid (free) and you can talk to one of our Pennsylvania solar advisors, Jamie Burkart or Jonathan Weisblatt. They can answer all your questions and help you figure out how much money you could make by going solar in Pennsylvania. The results can be truly eye-popping.