John Bury has posted Part 5 of his series on the Union County Renewable Energy Initiative, complete with numbers, using the "Morris Model" Union County is following. See here.
According to Bury's column, using today's energy prices, the annual savings on energy, using solar, is $84,355. That savings translates to $1,265,325 over the life of the 15-year $21.6 Million Dollar Bond. There are 17 Morris County sites. Further broken down, that savings averages a mere $5,000 a year per site.
While Bury provides a chart that shows how the SRECs will be used to pay down the debt, there is no information to indicate whether any potential profit made from the SRECs will be shared among the participants (local units). By the same token, the SREC market could potentially tank, which could royally screw up the bond repayment plan. It appears PSE&G is aggressively pursuing steps to become RPS compliant. See how here.
Regardless how you view this project, it is indisputable, as Bury points out, that overtaxed taxpayers, through our roles as taxpayers and ratepayers, are funding this project with very little return. We can only hope that no default occurs, the SREC market remains viable and no litigation arises (cough cough).
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1 comment:
You forgot the "play to pay" cost element.
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