PLEASANTON, CA — Enact published the latest study on the recent PG&E rate hike and market pricing for solar and energy storage hardware, revealing an improved return on investment for Californian solar customers.
As published in:
California residential solar customers buying on the NEM 3.0 scheme in PG&E are now able to achieve a return on investment of 4.8 years in 2024, according to research from Enact Solar.
Solar-plus-storage customers can now achieve an ROI of 5.5 years, compared to 7.6 years for customers who signed onto solar in 2023.
These findings are based on the following scenario:
- An 8 kilowatt solar panel system with 100% energy offset
- Electricity is priced at $2.90 per Watt
- The system includes a 10 kilowatt-hour battery storage add-on priced at $13,000, fully installed.
This revelation comes at a time where over two million people are behind in utility bills by an average of $744. Over 16 million PG&E customers are now expected to pay around $400 more per year in utility bills from 2024.
While utility prices increased in January, prices for solar panels, inverters and battery costs have decreased from the fourth quarter of 2023. The climate for many solar energy companies is expected to be tough in 2024 — particularly due to the second PG&E hike in quarter two.
Enact’s integrated consumer app offers transparency and choice, accurate design and savings tracking for homeowners and installers alike. The app measures daily, monthly and annual solar-plus-storage savings — which further reduces the friction between installers and customers, and improves trust.
Delivering savings and a return on investment on solar-plus-storage requires significant effort, given the complexity of rates, dozens of different storage brand options and varying customer load-patterns. The Enact platform alleviates this burden for customers, primarily through its feature that prepares sales proposals with solar-plus-storage in five minutes or less.
“At Enact, we’ve witnessed many customers struggle with the increasing complexity and ad-hoc regulatory changes within the energy market in California,” Deep Chakraborty, CEO and cofounder of Enact Solar said.
“Despite the NEM 3.0 scheme reducing the benefits of going solar in California, our latest study finds that homeowners still stand to benefit from investing in solar-plus-storage systems and unlocking the potential of low-cost energy in 2024 and beyond,” Chakraborty said.
“Moreover, our innovative app works to integrate and simplify solar sales proposals, thus boosting ROI levels for our residential solar customers in California.”