I am going green.
No, the Carolina Reaper has not taken its toll on me. I am in the early process of installing solar panels.
In my experience, there are three reasons to make the solar leap: 1) to preserve the environment, 2) to save money, and 3) to be cool. Or a combination of any of those.
My path to the green side has meandered further than the Mississippi River.
I have never found the environmental argument that seductive. I have seen enough studies to know that the production of solar panels are, at best, an environmental wash, if not an actual small detriment. I am not convinced solar is the clean energy its proponents tout.
I have a friend who is very concerned with matters environmental. He also has solar energy at his house. But he is realistic enough to know each panel contains a potential environmental issue. His justification? "I like driving past the local power plant and watch the stacks emitting smoke. It makes me feel a little morally smug that I am not part of it."
For several years I have considered the electronic switch. In 2015 the house with no name (and the rest of Barra de Navidad) were without electricity for several days after hurricane Patricia gave us a glancing blow (sawing memories in half). I decided to investigate whether a solar system with battery storage would fill that gap. Swearing, like Scarlett O'Hara, to "never be [power] hungry again."
But, after talking with a couple of friends who have jousted with their own battery storage systems, I gave up that idea and decided to look at a system where I would still be attached to the local grid. My system would produce electricity. When I produced more than I needed, it would be stored with the electrical company. When I used more than I produced, I could then draw on that reserve.
It meant that when the system went down, I would be without power. But, in the ten years I have been here, I have experienced only a few days without power. CFE, our local utility, is quite efficient in getting the system up and running.
In 2017 I received an estimate for a system (green is not my color). Based on my electrical bills for the previous three years, it would have taken me over twenty years to recover my capital investment. I spiked the idea.
Fiscal matters have changed. My last two electrical bills have equaled my bills for the full previous year. There are three reasons for the increase.
One, the Mexican government has started phasing out the summer subsidies it provided for consumers during high-consumption months.
Two, there are now three of us living in the house, where there was once only one. My teenage son and his girlfriend have been added to the mix.
Three, the increased usage caused by reason number two has kicked me into the DAC. Trying to explain the DAC is a bit like trying to grasp the subtleties of the Schleswig-Holstein question. Suffice it to say that an increase in electricity usage will bounce the consumer into the system's highest rate -- where the consumer may stay until The Second Coming. It is something like Utility Purgatory. With a very high rent.
The result of all that is my November-December electrical bill was a total of $4,676 (Mx). That is about $244 (US). Or $122 (US) a month.
People shivering in the ice of Illinois would probably consider that a bargain. Here, that is expensive. And it will get more expensive when the heat increases this summer.
Right now, even the fans are silent in the house. We are still enjoying days with a bit of chill. That will not last long.
The solar system I am now installing will cost just under $100,000 (Mx) -- or slightly over $5,000 (US). At my new DAC-enhanced rate, I should recover my capital investment in 3 or 4 years. Maybe less.
Now, that makes my decision sound as if I am a category two buyer -- someone who is doing this to save money. But, if you have been reading my essays, you know my life does not center around trying to get a deal.
True, the cost has induced me to make the step. But I am doing it because solar power strikes me as being the epitome of cool. Like frying rice paper into snacks. Or drinking buttermint tea.
I bought a contemporary Mexican house because I liked its lines and its symbolic statement that Mexico is a country with a promising future. The straight lines and solar panels should complement one another. After all, I already have a solar water heater.
The only snag is FATCA -- another legacy of the Obama presidency that makes transferring dollars to Mexico a chore. Not an impossibility. Just a chore.
The installers will arrive on 11 February. Between now and then I will deal with Banamex's 6000-peso ATM withdrawal limit. I should have just enough time to accumulate the capital I will need.
I can then join the lunch table for cool kids.
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