Solar Selections Slim In ?The Natural State?

Look in the local Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages under “solar,” and there’s a short list of dealers — only two. Rocky Grove Sun Co. of Kingston, owned by Jimis Damet, and Al’s Dock Service in Rogers, owned by Al Coakley, fill the category.

Solar harvesting may be one of the most underutilized energy sources available. Perceptions about its cost and reliability are probably the reason.

Solar costs more up front — a whole house system could run $20,000 to $40,000, Damet said — and there are limitations to the amount of power generated by a system, causing customers to examine usage on a microscopic level.

But both issues are improving. Prices are significantly lower than they were 20 years ago said Damet, and the systems are much better overall. As European countries continue to embrace solar power, America may benefit from refined technology and the inevitable drop in price that comes with universally demanded gadgets.

According to the Web site www.dsire.org (Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy), states such as California, Washington and New York have tax breaks, offer rebates and net metering programs to encourage solar use.

Net metering allows the owner of a renewable resource system to push excess power back to the local electric grid and “sell” it to the utility company, depending on state laws.

California, for instance, offers a personal tax exemption of 100 percent of the interest paid on a loan from a utility company for a solar system, a property tax exemption of 100 percent of the project value, and a progressive rebate system to refund up to 75 percent of the system’s installed cost on affordable housing, plus a bevy of city-by-city incentives.

“The Natural State” is behind in those incentives, according to the site, only offering a net metering program and no rebates or tax breaks.

Arkansas’ net metering system is allowable for solar thermal electric, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal electric, fuel cells and microturbines using renewable fuels technologies for commercial and residential applications. It allows customers to push excess power out to the grid, but does not require utilities to compensate the resident or company, according to a Public Service Commission document.

The two providers say the solar business in the northwest corner of the state is slow at best.

Coakley’s primary business is in boat dock maintenance on Beaver Lake. He also installs solar systems on related out buildings, so patrons won’t have to pay to tie into the electrical grid, which can be costly and require permission for easements.

The average cost of a Coakley-installed system is about $3,000, he said, which is a typical two-stall system. That generally provides enough juice to power the two boat lifts, lights and a couple of 110 volt (household-sized) outlets.

He has orders for three systems, he said, but his supplier is backlogged trying to supply orders from Germany.

Damet, who has lived “off the grid” since 1972, offers supplies, installation and consulting for do-it-yourselfers. He installs between 10 and 20 complete systems a year, he said. Rocky Grove is his primary source of income and he manages to eek out a living, he said.

Of course, Damet has no light bill.

Most of his customers are people who have land that’s cost prohibitive to get on the grid, or who “have religion” and want to go solar to be conservationists, he said.

The major stumbling blocks to a modernly appointed house are central heat and air conditioning, Damet said. Solar users have to be more frugal with their kilowatt-per-hour usage than utility company users.

Both Damet and Coakley said it’s important to fully understand their customers’ power requirements before installing a system. Coakley said in many cases, it’s easy to add on down the road, should needs change. His systems are typically more simple than Damet’s.

Both think solar and other renewable energy sources are the future.

“We’re going to decentralize energy, it’s just a matter of time,” Damet said.