Paracas had one 90-watt solar panel, and Paradox had 6 with 540 watts. Our condo has 14 panels with 3120 watts, and yesterday I put up an array on a friends roof of 14 panels with 3710 watts. The difference is this last system came in less than a dollar a watt and that first 90 watt panel on my boat cost over $360 or $4 a watt. Just four years ago a 3 to 5 KW solar system cost almost $5 a watt after healthy rebates. These systems we’re installing this summer and fall are costing about a $1 a watt installed. Not only has the cost dropped to 25% from four years ago, but the production per square foot has increased 26%. It’s a good time to think about a solar system, especially if you can do one like our solar barn raising program here in Durango.

The only other “barn raising” projects I’ve been involved in was a barn up at the St Paul on Red Mountain Pass and hand-moving a garage with 25 other apple-cider-squeezers in Grand Junction. These solar projects are much more modest and installing the panels only takes a couple hours with 4-6 people depending on the pitch and height of the roof. (This is after you get the railings installed, which should be with a smaller crew.) The final stage can be done with a large family, including the observers and support crew.

These local projects were stimulated after a local non-profit sponsored a Solarize effort which reached it’s goal of over 100 installations done last Spring.  Local contractors participated in a fixed-price program and successfully increased our county’s renewable energy number by at least 25%.  The barn raising version has followed with homeowners collectively working to install their own, friends’ and neighbor’s solar arrays on roofs, garages and free-standing installations.  I’ve helped on 4 of the 36 so far of these, and have a pretty good understanding of what’s involved and would highly recommend taking on the venture.

One of the features of the newer systems is that you can use micro-inverters right under each panel and follow the solar output hourly and online from anywhere in the world.  Or track what you’ve been gaining over the lifetime of the installation.

Check it out. And it’s the right thing to do.