High energy prices spur interest in renewable sources

From an article by Malavika Jagannathan in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

When Euripides Ortiz started building a solar-paneled patio next to his Ashwaubenon house, he said his neighbor thought he was building a grandstand.

Today, his panels, which generate the majority of the home's electricity, are a topic of interest around the neighborhood. For a year, he's been running most of the home's electricity from these 15,300-watt panels, reducing his electric bills from $200 a month to $30.

"There has to be something you can do as an individual," said Ortiz, a retired Department of Corrections officer. "Once I got started, it only took me a couple of months."

Crippling gas prices have many people looking to alternative energy sources for their homes, such as solar, wind or geothermal. Although the initial costs may be high, the payback comes in energy savings and from an environmental standpoint.

According to the Energy Information Administration, 7 percent of the country's energy consumption in 2007 came from renewable sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydroelectricity. State data show that wood and solar constitute most of the renewable sources used in homes, with utilities leaning toward hydroelectricity, biogas and wind.

Both the state and federal governments offer tax breaks and other incentives for homeowners who choose to install alternative energy sources in their homes.