But Act Now To Lock in Before Free Enrollment Ends Nov. 28!
After organizers of the government-supported Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg campaign dropped the price of solar to $1.95/watt, which is lower than any other Solarize program to date- and possibly the lowest price ever for residential solar in North Carolina- we expected folks to be lined up around the corner to get into Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Yes, there’s been a steady stream of people signing up but not the kind of rush of enthusiasm one would expect after a decade of seeing dozens of daily sign-ups for much higher than $1.95/watt.Challenge Accepted
Suffice it to say we have a messaging problem. While the solar industry uses $/watt as a common denominator for cost comparisons, the public doesn’t use this metric, doesn’t understand what it means, or how it applies to their situation. Fair enough. Challenge accepted.
In order for people to understand the incredible value proposition of $1.95/watt offered through Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg, we adjusted our messaging so people could relate to catchy phrases like Solar on Sale or 30% off the Sun. However, to truly articulate the value in a way that people can relate to, we must do so in the most familiar terms: to do so, we must do a little bit of time traveling.
The Good Ol’ Days
Travel back in time to the year 2000 when a dozen large eggs cost about $0.91, a pound of ground beef was $1.48, and a fast-food burger was $0.77. Ah, the good ol’ days. Gas was $1.55/gallon, and the average cost of electricity was about 6.5 cents/kWh. What’s a kWh you ask? Let’s just say that at 6.5 cents/kWh our average electricity bill in the year 2000 was $97.50 per month- about half of what we pay today. Today we pay around 14-15 cents/kWh, and the average bill is over $200 per month.
Fast forward to the future. If you could pay 13 cents/ kWh for the next 25 years, would you do it? What if we could add a battery for 14.6 cents per kWh for the next 25 years? If locking in your electricity rate for the next 25 years for less than what you pay the utility today is something you are interested in, please go to solarizecharmeck.com and sign up before Nov. 28th to reserve this pricing, get a free, no obligation solar evaluation and see if it's right for you. There is literally nothing to lose and a lot of savings to be gained. If you are interested in the nitty gritty details, check out the math below, and please reach out to us if you have questions at hello@solarcrowdsource.com.
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Explanation of Levelized Cost of Energy
To get to 13 cents per kWh, we use a metric commonly used in the energy industry called the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). A more detailed analysis of LCOE is included below but essentially the LCOE boils down to the initial cost of the solar energy system, takes into consideration a bunch of variables and then averages it out over 25 years. Why 25 years? Because that’s the warranted lifespan of the solar panels that convert sunlight that falls on your property every day into usable energy. Enjoy and let us know if you have any questions!
LCOE: LCOE stands for Levelized Cost of Energy, which is a metric that calculates the average cost to generate one unit of electricity over the entire lifetime of a power project. It accounts for all costs, including capital, operations, maintenance, and fuel, and divides them by the total energy produced, typically expressed in dollars per kilowatt-hour.
Summary of LCOE for 10kW system at $1.95/watt
- At $1.95/watt, the LCOE is approximately 10-13 cents/kWh, which is generally cheaper than most U.S. residential utility rates.
- The $1.95 per watt price for Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg translates to electricity for 10–13¢ per kWh and a 5–7 year payback period.
Summary of LCOE for 10kW solar at $1.95/watt + 1 Tesla Powerwall 3
- Buying the solar + Powerwall at net $24,500 for a 10 kW system yields an LCOE around 14.6¢/kWh if you judge value purely on kWh produced
- If you account for battery losses and a realistic replacement, the delivered LCOE rises — likely to ~15–18¢/kWh depending on how much you cycle the battery and the replacement cost.
- The battery’s primary value is not lowering LCOE — it’s time-shifting, resilience, and reducing peak grid purchases. Those value streams (avoided peak rates, demand charge reduction, resiliency) are separate from the pure LCOE calculation and can justify the battery even if it raises LCOE.
Assumptions Used
The following industry-standard assumptions were used in the LCOE Analysis and are typical and consistent across both cost scenarios:
- First-year production (Charlotte NC typical rooftop): 1,450 kWh/kW-yr
- Annual degradation: 0.5%
- Operations & Maintenance: $20/kW-yr, rising 2%/yr
- Lifetime: 25 years
- Real discount rate: 5%
- LCOE formula: LCOE = PV(all costs) ÷ PV(all energy)
Media Contact | SolarCrowdsource: Ken Haldin | ken@solarcrowdsource.com (404) 405-2924
