SC solar opponents skipping key facts

My rooftop solar system went live in 2016, and I am tired of people saying I don’t pay my fair share for the energy grid.

In order to start generation, I must buy 108 watts of power from SCE&G. To convert my DC power into AC power, I must purchase more than 30 percent of my power from the grid.

All solar has done is what I might otherwise have accomplished by investing money in EnergyWise products, like a high-efficiency gas furnace to replace an electric heat pump. I could have added extra insulation, installed triple-glazed thermal windows, bought better appliances, you name it. If I had done that to reduce my power bill, at what point would I have become a leach on the grid?

When you include the debt on the solar system, my monthly utility cost has risen by $113 per month. Don’t carelessly call me wise or wealthy. There are better adjectives, especially if I told you the whole experience.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 2:25 PM with the headline "SC solar opponents skipping key facts."