NORTHERN
ARIZONA
UNIVERSITY
 
Sustainable Energy Solutions
College of Engineering, Forestry & Natural Sciences
College of Business Administration
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Investing in Your Future:

With Current Arizona Policy,

a Solar Panel is a Good Investment




Dean Howard Smith and Gary Tallman*





Working Paper Series—05-16 | October 2005


Introduction
Policy Benefits
Producing, Using and Selling Electricity
Expanding the Analysis
Environmental Implications
Sensitivity Analysis
Final Notes



Introduction
Arizonans are poised to reap the benefits of new technology in the production of electricity. This production will occur at the household level harvesting one of the state’s vast resources: solar energy. Changes in the federal energy policy and the state’s Environmental Portfolio Standard are likely to result in a rapid growth in the use of solar panels within the state.
This paper shows the economic decision process for an individual household’s evaluation of an investment in a solar Photovoltaic (PV) system. For exemplar purposes a simple PV system for a grid-connected (connected to a commercial electricity supply system) house will be used. The various assumptions and decision processes are then developed.