"Hillsboro townhome owner: Going solar the smart thing to do for environment"

By Tim Toenjes, OregonLive.com

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My dream of going solar became reality more than a year ago when nine SolarWorld photovoltaic panels on my roof were connected. I'm still amazed that the small, 2.16 kW system I own supplies over half of my three-story townhome's electricity. It doesn't consume fossil fuels or produce carbon dioxide, and I feel good knowing that I'm placing less demand on our planet's non-renewable resources.

Going solar is something that you have to want to do. It won't save you a huge amount of money but it's the smart thing to do for our environment and planet. I'm a native Oregonian, and I learned the sustainability ethic growing up. I hate to see things thrown in a landfill -- I work at Tuality Community Hospital, and when old electronics are tossed out there, I separate them for salvage.

I got serious about PV solar after attending the NW Solar Expo in May 2010. The Oregon tax credits accelerated my desire to do a project, and I was also motivated by lower electricity bills, reducing my carbon footprint and adding value to my home.

The expo gave me some idea of the cost of a PV solar system, various manufacturers, and local contractors. I received three bids from local contractors and chose the one that put the most effort into their bid, solved the challenges posed by my townhome, and used locally manufactured SolarWorld panels.

My final system cost after incentives and tax credits, including loan interest, was $2,358. My system's base cost was $15,180, which was reduced upfront by the Energy Trust of Oregon incentive to $12,300.  I financed that with a bank loan, and applied my state and federal tax credits to payments. Today, Energy Trust of Oregon incentives are lower, but the tax credits are unchanged, and a new $500 rebate was just added to the Hillsboro Solar Advantage program.

I belong to a Home Owners Association, and people ask if they can go solar in their community.  State law does not allow HOAs to prohibit solar outright, but they can limit where solar panels can be installed, dictate the color of the panels, and set other rules. The best advice is to keep an open mind and work with your HOA to educate them on the various advantages of solar.

Now my dream is for every new house or commercial building to include PV solar. As the prices of panels decrease and the cost of electricity increases, PV solar will make sense for the majority of buildings. We cannot continue to rely solely on non-renewable resources for our energy needs when we know that those resources will eventually become scarce and cost-prohibitive.