Photo courtesy Creative Energies

THE WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL BELIEVES THAT some of our most difficult environmental challenges can be addressed through better energy efficiency and more home-based—or what is often referred to as “distributed”—energy generation.

So this new study, as reported by the New York Times, seems to be good news for the environment:

Study Finds Solar Panels Increase Home Values

By FELICITY BARRINGER

Read the full story from the New York Times here.

All those homeowners who have been installing residential solar panels over the last decade may find it was a more practical decision than they thought. The electricity generated may have cost more than that coming from the local power company (half of which, nationwide, comes from burning coal), but if they choose to sell their homes, the price premium they will get for the solar system should let them recoup much of their original capital investment.

That is the conclusion of three researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who looked at home sales — both homes with photovoltaic systems and homes without — in California over an eight-and-a-half-year period ending in mid-2009. The abstract of their study states, “the analysis finds strong evidence that California homes with PV systems have sold for a premium over comparable homes without PV systems.”

Read the full story from the New York Times here.

Scott Kane, co-owner of Creative Energies, a Wyoming-based renewable energy company, said this new study reflects a recent change:

“Historically, the value of an on-site generation system wasn’t considered by home buyers to be a substantial asset,” Kane said. “So this represents an increasing acceptance that a solar power system brings lasting value to a home.”