SUNRNR of Virginia, Inc.
("Sun Runner")
Return On Investment
| A comment on Return on Investment (Positive ROI, Value): Going "green" with alternative energy such as solar is in its infancy and can make initial cost seem high. As a colleague says, "Solar is the most expensive form of energy man has ever come up with." Grid/utility electricity is cheap in the US, at least for now, but requires a grid. Gas-powered, portable generators currently cost much less than solar-based, but after buying and burning a couple hundred gallons of fuel and listening to the incessant putt-putt, the cost difference becomes negligible. Also, tax credits on renewable energy products are becoming more prevalent. A SUNRNR is not only a good investment, but an environmentally-correct option. |
Alternative Energy Return on Investment
The national average for electricity from utilities (grid) is $0.11 per kWh. A rough estimate for electricity from a permanent residential solar system installation today is four times that amount. Throw in federal and state incentives and you'll be lucky to pay $0.30 per kWh with solar. However, there is speculation of grid utility electricity tripling in cost very soon.
Alternative energy is not currently cheap or cost-effective, but as grid and gas prices rise, incentives increase, and renewable energy technology costs fall, it will get better.
It is also important to remember that SUNRNR is not trying to compete with the grid, so comparing our kWh cost to theirs is moot in a sense. (We certainly have the advantage if considering running hundreds of feet of power line.) And cost per kWh gets even fuzzier when you take into account a SUNRNR provides renewable energy.
In round numbers (and making assumptions slightly in our favor), let’s say a gas generator comparable in power output to a SUNRNR costs $1000, uses one gallon of gasoline at $3/gal per hour at max, and is used on average one hour a day every day. After two years and 700 gallons of gasoline, a SUNRNR would be paid for, fuel is free, and the next required maintenance would be in three years or more. Added bonuses: 700 hours incessant putt-putt noise not heard and 700 gallons of gas not consumed.
So far, this discussion has been focused on personal and/or local use. It wouldn’t be complete without commenting in broader terms. Nationally and globally, the ROI could be dramatic, but difficult to define with a number. There would be numerous advantages for this country if FEMA would use solar generators instead of gas-powered at disaster sites like hurricanes or during the ice storm in the mid-West earlier this year. (And remember, it is difficult to get the gas to run a gas generator for electricity when you need electricity to pump the gas.) As for globally, the US provides so much costly aid to other nations to help fight disease and improve quality of life. If we could get portable, renewable power to these people to allow for clean water and light at night, we would be teaching them to fish, not giving them one, and the investment could return many-fold.
