What is the True Value of Solar?

When we replace dirty fossil fuel energy with clean, renewable solar, we do more than just save money -we create multiple ripple effects of social, economic and environmental benefit. The world is becoming rapidly more interconnected and we can recognize – and value – the benefits of clean energy, both in the social, economic and environmental costs that it avoids as well as the benefits that it provides in these same areas.

For example, positive impacts gained by the implementation of solar could include the stimulation of green jobs, protection of the environment, improvement of energy efficiency and so on. Negative impacts avoided might include reduction of airborne toxins, avoidance of volatile energy prices and reduction of negative health impacts. Depending on who is doing the measurement, these benefits and avoided costs inure to the owner of the development, the local community or the region in which the solar operation is built.

That means that a large solar project can not only be cost neutral or positive to a client, but also return benefits to the client or to society that do not appear in a standard financial analysis that typically ties a project’s long term payback to the price of natural gas or coal.

3Phases’ sister company, URSULA, has developed a unique, comprehensive and accurate way of measuring and valuing these kinds of avoided costs and benefits. URSULA’s information technology services can contribute to calculating the true economic, social and environmental costs of using fossil fuels and the true value of building solar in its place.

Employment of such tools has the ability to enable long-term cutting edge leadership to interested parties who wish to develop solar, or other clean technologies.