Have you ever thought about going solar?  I like to think of myself as an environmentally conscience person and like the idea of doing my part to reduce my environmental impact and improve air quality…but how much does it cost to go solar and is it worth it?

So I wanted to learn more about what's involved.  Yes We Can! LI, an issue-driven nonpartisan organization, founded by Merokean Marvin Kreutzberger, recently held a climate change conference in Glen Cove.  Besides explaining how the earth's climate is changing, experts in the field suggested ways to save energy with solar, wind or geothermal alternatives.

Several of my North Merrick neighbors recently went solar and they love it.

"Going solar is very exciting," Mark Manas said.  "The rebates made the job a no brainer… on the average, our bills have been cut in half."

Lenny and Francine Goldstein just installed solar panels a few months ago and said that they just had their first $0 electric bill.  Sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?  Can you imagine having a $0 electric bill?

Apparently, when a customer's solar system generates more electric energy than their consumption, the electric meter spins in reverse. The excess electricity is returned to the LIPA system. At the end of each month, the net metered customer is billed only for the net consumption, that is, the amount of electricity consumed, less the amount of electricity produced.

The Goldsteins make it sound so easy. 

"Our entire installation took only three days and we were up and running," Lenny Goldstein said.  "Doing our part for the environment while saving big over the lifetime of the installation made this a great investment."

Sounds great, but I needed to find out more.

LIPA estimates the cost of installing a solar system at $22,360 after rebates, and with projected electric bill savings of $1,297 a year, it would take a little over eight years for the system to pay for itself.

The only problem: I don't have $22,360 to put down on a system.

The state just passed legislation to allow us to apply for federal or state loans. However, I am intrigued by County Legislator Dave Denenberg's bill that would allow me to apply for a county-funded loan that would go into effect as early as June 1.

The county, in effect, would apply for state and federal grants and then under Denenberg's bill, the county would lend me money for the solar panels that I could repay through my property taxes over a 20-year period.  This loan would be transferrable to the new homeowner should I decide to sell.  I think that it is important to implement this program as soon as possible because it is a common belief that LIPA will soon run out of money for their incentives.

But I'm torn because County Executive Ed Mangano and the Republican legislature haven't implemented Denenberg's provisions. The legislature just approved a measure that allows it to apply for federal and state grants, which really doesn't make sense to me because they already could do that without them passing this legislation.  Nassau's legislation does not provide a timeline. I am uncertain how this legislation would help me afford solar panel installation.

So, now I'm still undecided about what to do.  Do I wait and risk losing the LIPA incentives with the hope that Mangano implements Denenberg's legislation that provides county-funding for my solar panels that I could pay off over 20 years?  Or do I install solar panels now and apply for an expensive short-term loan for the $22,000 down payment?

Any suggestions?