The Green Collar’s Blog

State of the DFW Solar Market

It has been just over half a year since the solar market in Dallas / Fort Worth kicked off with the Oncor solar rebate and the removal of the $2,000 cap on the Federal Investment Tax Credit. Solar has reached a point here where it does make financial sense and is a wise investment to consider. Still, it is a big investment and therefore a big decision to make and with the newness in this market, we are seeing a lot of people staying on the fence.

Challenges for this market:

• Educating. There is a lot of educating that needs to happen in this market and we, those of us engaged in this solar market, are working tirelessly to put solar on peoples radar and ultimately on their roof.

• Scores of Municipalities. Solar is relatively new to North Texas and many of the local city governments are trying to determine how to handle this. Each city government is different and has their own set of inspections, fee’s, and hoops to jump through. This makes the actual installation process tedious, expensive, and often drawn out, much to the customers dismay. Operating in the Metroplex with scores of local city governments has proved a tremendous challenge.

• Numbers and cents. Solar is a significant investment for any homeowner and we need people that are able to not only speak to the technical components of solar but also how the financials can play out. Financing some of these systems can make a lot of sense, especially if you are able to roll it into your mortgage, and this message needs to get out so that those of us that don’t have $25K of liquidity sitting around can still take advantage of the benefits of solar.

• Perception. There needs to be a re-focusing of perception when we approach an investment in solar. There is more to the transaction for most people then a simple ROI analysis. I find it interesting that we consider almost no other investments that we make on this basis. The car we bought began depreciation the moment we drove it off the lot and the cup of Starbucks coffee that I’m consuming as I type this has never given me a return of even a cent back. Those are some pretty poor ROI’s. I do believe that ROI is a very important aspect of investing in solar but we just need to be realistic and fair when we make that our only measure of feasibility. Solar is a hard asset that will provide real, measurable, and increasing returns on that initial investment.

Bright Spots for This Market:

• Progressive People. There is a surprising number of progressive people living in the Metroplex. We have found that Plano, TX is a bright spot for solar, Grapevine, Dallas, and Fort Worth are showing some strong interest.

• Local Rebates. Oncor is providing the solar rebate of $2.46 DC watt and that is the main driver for this market.

• Educated Customers. I am meeting with more and more homeowners that really know their stuff. It is refreshing to sit down with a potential client that has really studied the industry, their own electrical consumption, and the benefits of solar.

• Solar Installations. Every week more homes in the Metroplex are getting solar on their roofs. We aren’t seeing as many as we would like to see but the numbers are improving daily and we have high hopes for North Texas being a future leader in the solar market.

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