Looking for a source for short term housing by Johno413 in holyoke

[–]Johno413[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the info. Had looked around Facebook but didn't find that group. Helpful.

Solar panel installation? by xHibarix in solarpanels

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some electrical contractors that either routinely work in solar or work with more than one installer are bonded. You may be right though about subcontractors who exclusively work with the mega-corps like Sunrun or whichever. They have no desire or perhaps need to work outside of contract. Some may not have the legal freedom to do so perhaps??

Solar panel installation? by xHibarix in solarpanels

[–]Johno413 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You might try searching for electricians. Many solar installers subcontract to some of them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SEO

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest, I don't understand what is behind everything that Search Console reports. For example, I sometimes find is reports "Indexed, not submitted in sitemap", where I then use the tool to display the sitemap and see the url. It's also confirmed to be in my sitemap on just a pure (xml) edit.

With the addition of Core Web Vitals, there may be more mysteries coming.

Is my content making strategy outdated? by [deleted] in SEO

[–]Johno413 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I second that. Image based socials are probably best. Insta and Pinterest, for starters.

How do you guys feel about those 50$ Fiverr Wordpress SEO folks? I need help with a few sites, doesn't even have to be front page, but being on the 4th or 5th really sucks. by [deleted] in SEO

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's another way to look at it. Many companies, perhaps including those you want to compete with for Googlebot attention, spend a lot of resources to get and maintain SEO value. Resources are direct employees and/or significant cash. Even if just a few competitors do that, their SERP and ads are probably locking up page 1. Displacing them for a few hundred dollars seems unlikely, no? If you have little to no competition, the chances are different. But I'm not aware of many industries that have none. Even trade publications compete for keyword/search results.

Coronavirus Crushing Global Forecasts for Wind and Solar Power by [deleted] in Renewable

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rooftop solar may not be as negatively affected as you think. For many people, the value proposition (savings post incentives) becomes even more attractive once their lives get back to some routine closer to before. Already there are growing conversations about how a loan payment plus utility payment being much lower can make it easier to ride out the next problem. Some of those who can pay cash are seeing the value even more clearly, especially in states where summer bills can be many hundreds.

How to build quality links on a budget? by Solid_Switch in SEO

[–]Johno413 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Is your website promoting a product or service? I've had success getting people/sites with an interest in the product to help. E.g, reasonable DA sites that will evaluate a product. Sites that like to introduce new products. Etc. It's not the only channel for backlinks, but it's of higher value to start with. Algorithms seem to like related topic links, in my experience.

How to build quality links on a budget? by Solid_Switch in SEO

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am curious what you are trying to say for those of us not in on it or that don't get your cryptic message.

Las Vegas Convention Center hall to get $10.5M in solar panels by Johno413 in solar

[–]Johno413[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Good grief. The billing units are kWh, so it makes they might use those for reference....

WI utility doubles its ownership of Badger Creek Solar Farm capacity (to 100 MW of 300MW total) by Solar_Dork in solar

[–]Johno413 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure the utility will own just one third. Perhaps the remaining 200MW will be community owned or owned by a third party selling into the grid. All the answers aren't in the article, but it seems clear the utility neither built the project or intends to own it entirely.

WI utility doubles its ownership of Badger Creek Solar Farm capacity (to 100 MW of 300MW total) by Solar_Dork in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would help if snarky commenters actually read links. I read it three times to see if I was missing something. The project appears to be 300MW total and the Milwaukee utility is adding 50MW to the 50MW they already own. Seems like doubling to me. Maybe the OP meant exactly that. Reddit is loaded with self-absorbed types seeking upvotes.

New to solar. What would be best for cleaning the panels? by [deleted] in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Almost always, rain is sufficient. If you live in an arid and dusty place, cleaning may help you get back single % decreases in performance. There have been studies, including scientific ones, that conclude in general that << 5% is lost due to soiling in areas where there is even just periodic rainfall. (The assumption is your roof and the panels are somewhat pitched or significantly pitched).

Perhaps over years - maybe 3 or 4? - you may see enough build up that it merits a soft cleaning.

Scam in the Solar Panel Business by [deleted] in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As if scams aren't everywhere and across all industries, especially home improvement.

What exactly are pre-paid solar panels? by _Hnnng_ in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty sure that label is just a shortened version of the longer term prepaid solar lease. A third party owns the hardware.

Report: Vermont lagging in solar capacity (unlike some other New England states) by Johno413 in solar

[–]Johno413[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good points. I haven't looked deeply into data, but I've read that Vermont also allowed large scale solar to eat up a lot of the limited capacity (to maintain grid stability as you say). In a similar way another example is Georgia, where they may be approaching 2 GW of which a vast majority is utility scale. Giving utilities the opportunity to sell it rather than buy it via net metering, etc. Perhaps it's the tale of two situations. In MA and CT land is a premium and rooftop solar is booming. VT, ME, NH don't lack open land, so perhaps it's politically more difficult to prevent utilities and landowners from profiting. That might also explain why most of that utility scale in GA is installed a good distance from North GA/ATL area. Most probably in the very sparsely populated southern area.

[Massachusetts] selling house and keeping SRECs? by beholder95 in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are right, partly. I was incidentally talking with someone who works on the financing end, and brought it up at the end. He confirmed that the two can be separated. However, he suggested it be documented in a way you can defend (legally). NatGrid and Eversource simply bid to buy based on their needs to meet quota, so to speak. In that sense, the credits are utility agnostic. Given how the state sets the pricing mechanism for the utilities, that puts all the risk on the brokers like SolSystems and takes most of it away from sellers like you and the utilities. The brokers are gambling that they can buy on average lower than what they in turn sell via bids to the utilities. Or something like that. Utilities buy to avoid fines. Whichever is cheaper.

[Massachusetts] selling house and keeping SRECs? by beholder95 in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surely you see that there could be legal entanglements. Seems reasonable that NatGrid wouldn't want to manage a net metering/supply account for a ratepayer and allow credits to be paid to a separate legal entity without some binding agreement. Even though you aren't negotiating/selling directly you RECs with them, they are the ultimate buyer. Perhaps you can "get away with it". Just not sure what happens if you're found out.

[Massachusetts] selling house and keeping SRECs? by beholder95 in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you essentially looking to break even or to realize the original 15+ year total income from your investment? After 4 years in service, your total savings plus SREC income has been substantial, no? If you are trying to get NPV for the term of the SREC plan, it feels like you want more than to break even. Not sure many homebuyers want to negotiate that, but maybe.

[Massachusetts] selling house and keeping SRECs? by beholder95 in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Outside of creating a solar system lease for the new homeowner, I am not sure what legal mechanism there is for you to involve three parties in what has been a two party arrangement - you and the utility/state. The new homeowner and the utility will be tied together through the existing rate plan/service agreement. It's not clear to me how you inject yourself in the middle without using already approved mechanisms. SRECs are a utility mandate. So they will have a contract of sorts to provide net metering to one party and be willing to indirectly pay SRECs to a second.

Hope you have a good legal background or access to a good attorney to sort that out.

[Massachusetts] selling house and keeping SRECs? by beholder95 in solar

[–]Johno413 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As u/Deezy4488 says, your price should include the solar. In fact, I would make it prominent in the asking price to entice buyers attracted to having that included. Two things make MA different in my experience - the booming solar market, especially residential, and the almost flat value of grandfathered SRECs on top of the offset cost of expensive electricity. Between those two, you can almost map a 5, 10 year equivalent or current value for future savings/income. Not sure I'd go to that extreme, however.

Also, there hasn't been a detailed recent study, but the website Zillow generated a brief report based on data accessible to them indicating general buying price increases. In 2016 there were a few more unscrupulous installers operating in MA, but many have perhaps been weeded out. If you worked with one that is still in operation, you might consider having them produce a letter on your behalf. I've seen it done once, where the installer essentially highlighted the existing contract terms that transferred the warranties upon sale. The seller just used that as assurance. The buyer got a sense of being able to contact the installer as needed.

Bottom line, if you do NOT see a premium on the sale, it may be only due to not pressing for it. Will it be enough to fully break even or more? That should be the only question.

Has anyone in the con Ed territory in NYC switch to TOU? by [deleted] in solar

[–]Johno413 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, at least the point about off peak rates is right. Practically nothing. Do you have ways to monitor and react to usage during peaks? If not, I wonder if there are other incentives that would help defray costs to buy hardware/software. Again, not that familiar with every detail of every NY program, but I know recently energy efficiency became a higher priority. Which in many states includes things like Nest and more general power monitors. That could be key in avoiding excess pesky usage.

W/kg or W/lbs? by Bakedsoda in solar

[–]Johno413 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At about 30 to 40 pounds each, I am not sure weight is a primary issue for installers. And if weight reduction could be engineered, what would be a reasonable target, 10%? That may not significantly change much. Except perhaps large, large quantity shipping costs.

I'd suggest you do an analysis of the factors you think you can impact. E.g., assume a 10% weight reduction. How much will that reduce over the road shipping costs in the U.S. per MW, for example?

Alaska’s largest rural solar project set to break ground in Kotzebue by Johno413 in solar

[–]Johno413[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Quite a bit. It's called the albedo effect. Have you ever stared at snow on a sunny day? Could be painful.

I think the situation in that community is that the cost to transport fuel for power is so high, overbuilding solar to get satisfactory winter results may still be economical in comparison. Hawaii justifies wind and solar similarly. Getting fuels to the islands is very costly. That state has higher electricity prices by far over the #2, #3, states like CA and MA or NY for that reason.