The tax credits being taken by the solar panel companies applies only if you lease the panels or have some sort of set up where you by the power from the solar companies in much the same way you pay for power from conventional sources. I don't know if it's the same everywhere in the US, but here, in California, if you buy and own the panels, you get the tax credits and any other credits that apply, not the solar company. In fact, there have been programs where excess power generated by privately owned home solar setups is fed back into the power grid and the homeowner either gets a credit on any power they may take from the grid, or, if they are entirely power self-sufficient, they receive payment for the excess power. There is one veteran-owned solar panel sales and installation company in Southern California whose ads make a sales point of the customers getting all applicable credits, not the what they call in their ads "the Wall Street Guys"...
The rise in electrical rates here in CA is due mainly to the power companies losing a substantial and growing amount of revenue as more and more homes and businesses are moving to self-sufficiency. As the revenues decrease, the power companies, rather than practice efficiencies and economies, are trying to make up for the shortfalls by raising the rates on conventional customers. A lot of the consumers in CA are beginning to call to question the actual need for these hikes and the burden placed upon the non-alternative base. It is going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out down the line...
An analog for the power companies shortfall woes can be found in those states where a substantial portion of revenue is derived from vehicle fuel taxes. The rising popularity of alternative fuel cars, electric, hybrid, CNG, etc., coupled with higher mileage efficient conventional engine cars is decreasing the sales of gasoline and diesel to such an extent state and local governments are fretting over their own shortfalls. As people are becoming more self-contained in their lives, the traditional modes of operations of business and government are fading and the power is going to the newer technologies and methods. Now that companies that once looked down their snouts at electric and hybrid vehicles such as Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW are fully embracing and devoting more of their R&D resources to that which they once disdained, it is only a matter of time until alternative vehicles will be far more common everyday. I would hate to be holding oil company stock in, say, twenty-five or so years from now...
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