Rooftop solar systems get even more enticing

The Desert Sun salutes Palm Springs Motors.Not that enormous flag it flies, although we're proud to see any business celebrate this great nation. We're impressed with its new 650-kilowatt solar system it has installed. With 2,743 panels atop carports at the Ford dealership in Cathedral City, it is one of the largest solar installations in Riverside County, not counting the utility-size solar farms in the eastern desert.The system is expected to generate 1.1 megawatt-hours of power, enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes. It will provide 80 percent of the power needed to run the dealership's equipment and light its 100 service bays.While we applaud this big step toward reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and helping California move toward its goal of generating a third of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020, it's not really an altruistic decision. It's a smart business move.The cost of solar panels has dropped 30 percent since 1998. The Palm Springs Motors solar system will pay for itself in six years. Solar systems are expected to last at least 20 years.
In the past, some homeowners have balked at making the investment in solar systems because of concerns that the payments might last longer than the effective life of the panels. That's no longer the case. And no-money-down leases are now available.The more solar power generated in the Coachella Valley, the less we'll need the new Sentinel peaker plant being constructed north of Palm Springs.There's also some urgency in investing in solar power because the 30 percent federal tax credit is scheduled to expire in 2016.Southern California Edison provides another incentive: In November, the California Public Utilities Commission approved rate increases for Edison of 5 percent this year, 6.3 percent next year and another 5.9 percent in 2014.Investing in solar power also is an important way to help our valley meet the state's goal of reducing carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Coachella Valley has some of the dirtiest air in the country because smog blows in from the Los Angeles basin.The Desert Sun encourages homeowners, business, cities and other public agencies to follow the example of Palm Springs Motors. It makes economic sense and can help us all breathe easier.This is another serious policy, and politically vexed, issue. On one hand is the possibility of low-cost solar power (on the basis of cheaper imported modules with access to low cost debt) leading to higher deployment and thereby increased jobs in project construction and long-term operation and maintenance cost.