Our Offering
Frequently Asked Questions
How can American Clean Energy build a solar energy installation for us without it costing us anything?
American Clean Energy has established strong connections in the debt and equity markets. We partner with those investors who value utility grade, tax advantaged, long term investments such as our renewable solar energy installations.
By signing a PPA with us and agreeing to buy the electricity we generate for 20 years, you afford us a regular cash flow which we then monetize in the debt and equity markets. American Clean Energy’s core business is large scale commercial solar installations. By focusing exclusively on large scale solar installations we have developed the expertise to build installations at lower cost and more efficiently than you would be able to build on your own. Additionally, we have developed partnerships and relationships that allow us to monetize the government incentives a lot more effectively than a customer building one installation would be able to.
Many companies would like to reap the benefits of solar energy but they don’t want to divert their capital from their core business and believe we can deliver more value with our PPA offering. If this sounds like your firm, we provide an immediate, risk free solution.
American Clean Energy even has a model which allows you to invest a little in order to gain additional benefits. Contact us for more information.
Who gets the Federal Investment Tax Credit/Grant (ITC), NJ State Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC) revenue and accelerated tax depreciation benefits?
American Clean Energy and their partners and investors that build and pay for the solar installations anticipate a fair market return on their investment. The ITC Grant, SREC revenue and Solar power revenue are critical to adequately compensate them for their investment.
Contact us for more information.
How will I get electricity from my Solar Installation to run my business if there are clouds or if it is evening? (i.e. What if I need more electricity now than American Clean Energy is producing?)
Your utility company will always co-exist with American Clean Energy’s solar electricity installation so that you should never be without the electricity you need to run your business. Regulations exist for New Jersey and in a number of other states which require your utility company to provide grid interconnection. For more information see our page on Net-Metering and Grid Interconnection or contact us.
What is Net-Metering?
Here is how it works: If, at any moment of the day, the American Clean Energy installation generates more solar energy than you consume, the extra energy is sent into the utility grid and you get a credit from your utility company so that you can use it later, for free, when you need it. In other words, your utility meter will turn backwards. Keep in mind, however, that your solar power station must be sized so that it doesn’t produce more power than you can consume in a year. For more information see our page on Net-Metering and Grid Interconnection or contact us.
What happens on a sunny weekend when I don’t consume as much electricity as you are generating for me?
The beauty of net-metering, described in the prior question is that, for whatever solar energy American Clean Energy puts back into the utility grid on your behalf, you get a full retail credit from your utility company even though you are only paying us the PPA rate which is considerably cheaper. In other words, you still get the solar discounts even if you happen to use your solar power later. Contact us for more information.
How long do these Solar PV panels last?
Today’s solar photovoltaic technology has a manufacturer performance warranty of 25 years and they are expected to last 30-35 years with proper maintenance. Pay attention to the warranty life of the rest of your components. Many Inverters, another critical component, only have a warranty for 5-15 years so this needs be factored into total cost of ownership before you own the solar facility or if you plan to retain maintenance responsibility. Contact us for more information.
