With Current Washington State and federal incentives solar presents one of the most stable investments available. By installing Washington built Itek panels and inverters system owners have the potential to have a complete return on investment (ROI) within the first 6 years of operation. Beyond this point of ROI every kWh produced by solar is essentially free energy for the remaining lifespan of the system.
Below is an example of a typical cost analysis for a Washington Built solar system:
4.4 kW WA-Manufactured Solar System
Installed Cost: ($5-6.50 per watt) $26,400
30% Federal Tax credit: -$7,920
Total out of pocket cost: = $18,480
Estimated WA State Power Produced Incentive in First 7 Years
4.4 kW x 3.61 x 365 days x 7 years x 0.772 x $0.54/kWh= $16,828
Estimated Energy Savings in First 7 Years +
4.4 kW x 3.61 x 365 days x 7 years x 0.772 x $0.09/kWh= $2,804
Total Return on Investment After 7 Years = $19,632
With current Washington State and Federal incentives as well as energy savings the potential ROI in the first 7 years allows for a complete recuperation of the initial cost making everything else from then on profit.
Estimated Energy Savings for remaining 25 years
4.4 kW x 3.61 x 365 days x 18 years x .772 x $0.09/kWh $7,212
Total return on investment over 25 years $8,364
Additionally, with electric utility rate trends historically only being on the rise, the $0.09 cents per kWh used in the above calculation is fairly conservative. A recent article in the Seattle Times details how in the next two years rates within Seattle are now scheduled to increase by 10% for most homeowners. With the intrinsic increase in power prices from Utilities and the unchanging nature of the sun the time has never been better to go solar!
1 Average available sun hours for Seattle, WA
2 Standard environmental derate factors used by NREL’s PV Watts Calculator
