Oklahoma

Solar Legislator Score: **

Oklahoma, the Sooner state. With the Ozark mountains, Cypress swamps and Grand Lake, not to forget the plains and prairies, Oklahoma needs the sun to keep itself looking good. Solar power and other clean energies could keep the state’s cities and towns bustling while protecting the land and waters that bring life to the Sooners. The state legislature has not done much to promote renewable energy sources, but here’s a guide to what they’ve been thinking about.

STATE LEGISLATION
Governor Brad Henry seems to have put all his eggs in the bio-fuel basket, and has yet to mention solar power. Hey Governor Henry, what makes all that corn grow to make bio-diesel? Hint: the sun.
Despite a history of getting an early start, the Sooner state legislature is behind the times when it comes to solar energy. In 2006 Republican Representative Randy Terrill did introduce House Bill 2512 which would have provided tax credits for installing a residential solar system, but sadly the bill didn’t pass. It would have been a great chance for Oklahoma to ramp up its use of clean power since the credits ran from 10% for a geothermal system to 40% of the cost for a solar photovoltaic system!
While House Bill 1387 passed both the Oklahoma house and senate by wide margins early in 2007, it has since bogged down with conspicuously little comment from the state’s leadership. This important piece of legislation would provide state tax credits equal to 40% of the equipment and construction/installation costs of solar and wind systems. Oklahoma is currently the sixth leading producer of wind power in the nation. HB 1387 would expand the use of renewable energy to residential and business customers, and pave the way for a more important contribution from solar power. Unless and until this legislation is passed, Oklahoma’s solar rating will continue to be poor.

NET-METERING
Oklahoma allows net-metering for any power generation system up to 100kW in size. The drawback is that the utility is not required to purchase net excess power generated. A customer can ask that the utility purchase power at the wholesale rate. As you might imagine, this policy doesn’t give much of an incentive to generate clean energy. Net Metering Rules which govern solar thermal electric, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal electric, municipal solid waste, and chp/cogeneration are available to commercial, industrial, residential, and general public/consumer systems with a generating capacity of 100 kW or annual energy output of 25,000 kWh/year – whichever is less. Agreements to purchase excess power generated by the customer are commonly negotiated with the utility company.

STATE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, UTILITY REBATES, UTILITY LOANS, AND UTILITY INCENTIVESThere are no residential incentives, rebates or credits in Oklahoma, but utilities can take a tax credit if they produce electricity from renewable sources under a provision in Title 68 of the Oklahoma statutes. A 2006 amendment extends the credit to any electricity producer generating more than 1 MW of clean power. For electricity generated between now and January 1 2012, the credit is $0.0025/kWh and between January 1, 2012 and January 1, 2016, the credit goes up to $0.005/kWh.

EXAMPLE 3KW SYSTEM – HOME INSTALLATION COST
With a solar rating of Great, paying for a 3kW home solar electricity system should be easy. In Oklahoma City, it would cost about $49,500 to install a typical system. Don’t forget that you can take a $2,000 federal tax credit too. For an average household using 1,300kWh each month, at a rate of $0.0858/kWh with OG&E Electric Services, it should take about 25 years to break even. During that time, though, you’ll be saving nearly $975 each year on your utility bills, and you’ll add about $11,600 to your property value. Here are few more important details about your system:
*550 square feet of roof area required
*Estimated utility savings over 25 years of $24,338
*You’ll keep a whopping 268.5 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere; that’s like taking 66 cars off of the road or planting 1177 trees!

CONSENSUS
Oklahoma has made remarkable progress in the development of wind power, although that may be more the result of efforts by its two largest power providers than state legislators. OGE Energy, parent company of Oklahoma Gas & Electric, recently announced plans to more than quadruple wind power production from 170 mW to 770 mW, and is also constructing a high-capacity transmission line in the western part of the state. (Interestingly, green pricing customers are now buying wind power at about the same rate as electricity from traditional sources.) Public Service Company of Oklahoma, a unit of energy giant American Electric Power, is currently an even larger producer of wind power in the state and equally committed to growing that market.
However, Oklahoma will have to do some serious work promoting solar power and other clean energy sources to be considered an environmentally responsible state in the 21st century. The state legislature has considered very few renewable energy bills, and has passed even fewer – just one in the last 2 years, and it was an amendment to an existing rule. It’s more than OK to jump on the solar power bandwagon sooner, not later! If Oklahoma really wants to make a change in its energy market, the legislature needs some renewal; vote in some lawmakers who care about the Sooner State.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/oklahoma/