Rising Oil Prices A Good Opportunity For Solar And EVs
Today we see gas prices exploding across the United States and a large number of people start asking themselves what is going on?
Last week (in the first week of March 2022), national gas prices went up 12% in the U.S., reaching a current average of $4.065 per gallon of gasoline. About 12% of Americans are paying today an average of $5.343 per gallon, which is considered an insane price compared to historical prices.
Why is the Price of Oil Exploding?
Oil prices have been exploding for the last couple of months. On November 1 (2021), Brent crude oil price was $68, one month later on December 1, was $77, at the beginning of 2022 it already reached $89, by February $97, and now is $129.
$130 is almost double what it was in November 2021 ($68). The rising prices of crude oil automatically increase the price paid at the pump for diesel and gasoline.
The explosion in price has occurred mostly this year (2022) due to geopolitical uncertainty and chaos. We know that Russia invaded Ukraine, and the fact that Russia is the third largest oil and natural gas producer on the planet.
Well, the United States is the largest producer of oil on the planet, but is also the biggest consumer. The oil consumption in the U.S. is so high that it exceeds production, and this means that the country is a net importer of oil.
The United States is not energy independent, it relies on oil from other places around the planet.
In comparison, Russia is a net exporter of oil, because they produce much more oil than they consume.
The United States doesn’t have enough oil production within its borders, and is reliant on oil from external sources. Oil price is exploding upwards because of the reliance on Russian oil.
Europeans, people in north America and others around the world as the price of oil explodes upwards, will pay more at the pump.
Soaring Oil Prices Are A Good Opportunity For Solar
When energy prices goes up, any householder especially if it’s also a driver, will remember that solar power can solve all these issues created by the increased energy and fuel prices, at least at household level.
If you get high energy bills (due to increased prices), you should consider installing a solar PV system on your roof.
I know that solar works well, mainly in the summer, and the energy production from the panels decreases in the winter.
However, if you pay very low or zero energy bills during the summer, and reduced energy bills in the spring and fall, the money saved during these months (on energy bills), can be used to pay energy bills in the winter.
Having a solar PV system installed on your roof, will make less dependent on external sources (your energy supplier).
To not be affected by soaring oil prices, replace your vehicle with internal combustion engine with an all-electric one.
An electric vehicle uses only electricity to run, so you no longer need to wait at the pump and pay a small fortune just to fill up the car tank.
Not to mention that you will reduce your impact on the environment.
Solar Incentives Are Still Available
On December 2020, the U.S. Congress passed an extension of the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to provide a 26 percent tax credit for solar systems installed between 2020 and 2022, and 23 percent tax credit for solar systems installed in 2023.
As you can see, the incentives for solar are still in force, so why not take advantage of them?
Electric vehicle (EV) Incentives Are Also Available
In 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is back with some of the strictest emission standards for vehicles.
Basically, the EPA says that 17% of all new vehicles sold within the U.S., will either have to be EV (electric vehicle) or plug-in hybrid by the year 2026.
This means that total sales of EVs to quadruple in a pretty short amount of time.
If you purchase an EV (electric vehicle) in 2022, you can make savings on incentives and you will no longer pay for gasoline or diesel.
Depending on the state where you make the purchase for your EV, you can get incentives (mostly rebates) and other benefits such as carpool lane access and of course, free municipal parking.
Conclusion
What are you waiting for? Do you like to pay higher and higher energy bills and more expensive fuels due to geopolitical uncertainty and chaos created by the war in Ukraine?
Well, if the Sun is here to help us save some money, why to spend more on fossil energy sources that are limited and will only go up in the future.
Protect yourself and your family from future uncertainty in the energy sector, install solar PV panels as soon as possible, and if you can, replace your vehicle with internal combustion engine with an EV.
