By JIM BRUMM
Whether its working from home, life saving medical equipment or relaxing with popcorn and a cold drink in front of an entertainment center, Americans want their electricity -- immediately, at a low cost.
For a rapidly growing minority, power from the wires of the local utility does not meet either goal.
Back in January 2001 -- before California�s rolling blackouts -- a survey conducted for generator maker Coleman Powermate found 10 percent of Americans planned to buy an electric generator within five years to protect their family from power outages.
The plans have been turned into a spending surge, according to David Pettigrove, a senior analyst at Bainbridge Inc. in San Diego. Based on a market survey, he estimates U.S. spending on residential back-up generators will climb to between $200 million and $250 million in 2003. Costs for the units surveyed range from $2000 for a portable unit that can be plugged into your home wiring to $12,000 for a permanently installed power plant that will start up automatically within seconds after the wires to the house stop delivering electricity, Pettigrove noted.
This year�s expected outlays, he continued, represents an increase of 15 to 20 percent from 2002, when spending surged 30 percent from 2001 -- a year that started with California�s blackouts and included the 9/11 terrorist attack, two events cited by many buying a back up.
Meanwhile, there has been a similar throng of home and business owners turning to solar power in search of lower costs while proclaiming their environmental consciousness.
Solar panels capable of generating some 130 megawatts (MW) of electricity had been installed in the U.S. by the end of last year, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) spokesman Michael Pranzino said, noting this represented the installation of about 30 MW during 2002.
This year BP Solar alone plans to install systems capable of generating nearly 20 MW, according to Angelo Lombarto. He heads Solar Home Solutions, the residential marketing program the world�s second largest oil company rolled out this year in California, the New York City area, New Jersey and the Philadelphia area.
Of the 100 MW of solar capacity in use at the end of 2001, the SEIA estimates 57 MW was connected to the local utility system. With such connections, the solar system owner can buy electricity when the sun is not providing enough and sell electricity to the utility when the solar panels are providing power more than the operator needs at the moment.
This is a process known as net, or reverse, metering because the solar power user only pays for the net amount of utility-provide electricity used.
By the end of 2002, Pranzino said, about 70 MW of solar power was connected to the grid -- the wires owned and operated by the local utility -- and it is estimated this included 35 MW installed on homes.
Most of this was in California, he added, noting a total of more than 3,000 homes there installed solar electric systems last year.
Last year, before BP Solar�s new marketing effort, the company sold just over 3 MW to home owners who connected their new systems to the grid, BP Solar spokeswoman Sarah Howell said.
Most of these grid connected systems are not meant to supply power if the local utility�s deliveries are interrupted, Lombarto pointed out.
He said most solar power buyers are unwilling to pay the additional 15 to 20 percent that a system using batteries charged by the sun to provide power at night would cost. Instead, they opt for systems that shut-down when local power deliveries stop to avoid sending power back up the wires to where linemen are fixing the break-down.
Although BP will install systems generating as little as half a kilowatt (KW) -- or 500 watts -- most buyers install 3 to 6 KW systems, Lombarto said. Such a system costs about $8 per watt in New Jersey, before a state refund of $5.50 per watt, and $9 per watt in California, where the state subsidy slips 20 cents every six months and is now $3.80 per watt.
A total of 13 states provide such subsidies, according to DSIRE, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Program and operated by the North Carolina Solar Center.
While BP markets solar power directly, another solar panel maker, AstroPower, turned to Home Depot for marketing about two years ago.
A Home Depot spokesman said about 100 stores in California, New Jersey, Long Island and Delaware now carry the systems, explaining the home improvement stores are focusing on �sunny coastal areas with high cost power and with good rebates.�
Many more Home Depot stores are selling Coleman Powermate portable generators for use as emergency power supplies. Costs range from $38.98 for a unit capable of generating 1,850 watts to $499.00 for one producing 6,250 watts (or 6.2 KW), and another $150 to $200 to equip a home electrical system to use this power.
Powermate also sells 10 KW standby generators costing $5000 to $6000, spokesman Jake Greff said. These units are permanently wired to the owner�s electrical system and start up automatically when the utility power is interrupted. which is owned by Sunbeam Corp., The company, which is owned by Sunbeam Corp., has no direct relationship to the maker of Coleman camping gear.
Another supplier of standby units is Kohler Power Systems, whose units were featured on two This Old House projects in recent years.
Ron Ford, general manager of Kohler�s Florida distributor, Tampa Armature Works, said the company�s residential units deliver 8.5 to 100 KW of energy, with the smaller unites costing $6,000 to $7,000 installed.
Pettigrove expects these prices to continue to decline as improved marketing leads to manufacturing efficiencies.
After the blackout, Clayton requested the article be recast to reflect the impact of this event. Click here for the result which appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.