“Sure,” you say. “I’d love to produce my own electricity with solar panels. But I don’t have $30,000 or more.” But what if you could get a nice little photovoltaic array for say … $6,000?

That’s what John Worden, a homeowner in Gardner, MA, recently did. He and his family now have 10 Evergreen solar panels on the roof of their home, producing 1,900 watts (1.9 kilowatts) of electricity. It isn’t enough to cover the Worden’s whole electric bill, but it’s reduced their cost from about $80 a month to about $40, and has halved the amount of electricity they buy from the local utility. In September alone, the Wordens used just 223 kilowatt hours, compared to 599 in September of 2007, before they had the system installed by Nexamp, a solar system installer in North Andover, MA.

“I’ve been interested in doing this for a while,” says Worden, “and we got into a grant offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which helps to subsidize solar systems on homes that are under a certain value, in addition to tax breaks. So what would normally be about an $18,000 system became a $6,000 investment for the Wordens.

Be sure to check for grants for solar power in your state, community, and through your electric utility. And look into tax credits and rebates as well. You may not get as lucky as the Wordens, but you can cut your costs on investing in a solar system.

About the Author:
Steven Castle - Contributing Writer

Steven Castle is a writer, editor, and humorist who recently completed Filthy Rich Things, a savage satire on our thirst for success and wealth. He is presently expanding his magazine work by writing more about alternative energy sources and green building.