Summary:

Dick Peffley, the head of Lansing Board of Water & Light, has added a solar panel installation to his backyard. Peffely sends the excess solar energy that the solar power system generates back to the grid to help his neighbors.

Main Article:

Catching Rays: Why the Head of Lansing’s BWL Built a Solar Array in His Backyard

It was a cloudless 90-degree day, and the sun beat down on Dick Peffley's solar panels, creating more than enough solar energy to power his Delta Township home.

The excess solar energy went back to the grid, helping to power his neighbors' houses and earning Peffley a discount on his energy bill. 

Peffley, the general manager of the Lansing Board of Water & Light, the public utility serving Greater Lansing, installed 60 solar panels in his backyard more than a year ago. 

Unlike energy from fossil fuels, solar energy doesn't emit greenhouse gases that warm the atmosphere and contribute to global climate change. By the end of this year, the BWL has pledged to get at least 20% of its energy from renewable energy sources, including the sun, wind, water and landfill gas.

"As a general manager of a utility, I've got to walk the walk," Peffley said."I've got to lead by example."

BWL: Interest in private solar power system slight but growing

Peffley is among 74 BWL customers with their own solar panels tied into the grid.

That's a tiny fraction of the BWL's more than 97,000 electric customers, although Peffley says interest appears to be growing with 20 customers hooking up solar panel installations this year. 

In the city of Lansing, part of the BWL's service territory, half of all homes are rentals, which makes it difficult for residents to invest in the solar panels.

And up-front costs could be holding people back. 

Solar panel tax credits are expiring

After rebates and federal tax credits, Peffley's solar panel installation cost $14,450. 

That doesn't include an estimated $17,000 Peffley, a licensed electrical contractor, saved by using 350 hours of his own labor for everything except heavy lifting. 

Federal tax credits for solar panel installations, first implemented in 2006, are being phased out. When Peffley installed his solar panels in 2019, the credit covered 30% of solar panel installation costs. The credit will shrink before being eliminated in 2022 for residential solar panel installations. 

The BWL offers a rebate for installing solar panels at $500 per installed kilowatt up to $2,000. And, through a system called net metering, a customer gets reimbursed when their panels generate more energy than the customer uses. The BWL buys the excess energy back at retail value.

Over the next several decades, solar panels are on track to become cheaper to manufacture and more efficient in their solar power output, said Michael Craig, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan specializing in sustainable energy systems. 

Solar energy "will become increasingly normalized, increasingly popular," Craig said. "When you got out and drive by cornfields, you'll see more of it just like you'll see more wind (energy)."

How long will it take to pay back investment?

Peffley estimates it will take nine years to break even before he starts making money from his solar panels, which he purchased from a California company. If he had started the project in 2022, when the federal tax credits expire, it would take about 13 years to be paid back.

Peffley used top-of-the-line materials and, at 20kW, built the largest residential solar panel installation allowed by the BWL. Without solar incentives, the project's up-front costs would have been $41,500. A more average-sized 5kW residential solar power system costs between $15,000 and $25,000 before tax credits and rebates, according to the Center for Sustainable Energy. 

"I understand that not everybody has the real estate or the means to put it in," Peffley said of his solar power system, which he expects will last 30 years.

People with less land could consider placing solar panels on their rooftops. The roof's slope will affect the panels' output, as will shade cover, Craig advised. South-facing rooftops will get more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Or people can lease a panel in a solar garden, like the one the BWL operates at a former East Lansing landfill. 

The BWL also allows its customers to opt into paying 10% more on their electric bills for investment in 100% renewable energy, which the BWL gets mostly from solar, wind and hydro-powered sources. Currently, 47 BWL customers have agreed to that surcharge through a program called GreenWise.

BWL promises to reach 50% "clean" energy

By 2030, the BWL aims to reach 50% "clean" energy through a combination of increasing renewable usage and improving efficiency.

By that time, roughly 19% of the BWL's energy will come from solar, 11% from wind and 69% from natural gas, according to projections provided by Brandie Ekren, the BWL's director of strategic planning and development. 

In the winter, Peffley sweeps snow off the panels with a broom to maximize their exposure to sunlight. At night, deer seek out shade by sleeping under the panels, which give off some heat.

Over the last year, Peffely's panels generated more than 24,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, about 14% of the maximum amount they could have generated if the sun was shining 24/7 with no obstructions. Nearly 43% of the solar panel installation’s yearly output occurred during the summer compared to only 12% during the winter.

Each day, Peffley logs into a smartphone app to check his solar power output.

"It's fascinating to me," he said. "It's kind of like a game."

Get creative and design your own rooftop solar system by going to HahaSmart and using the design DIY tool and see how much the system will cost using the price checker tool.