We're all well aware that gas prices in the U.S. don't yet reflect the recent spike in crude oil prices, and today the Department of Energy issued its prediction: We'll pay another dime a gallon to cover the $100+/barrel crude.
For reference, the current national average price of 87 octane is $3.52/gallon. The DOE is predicting the summer months will push the national average up to $3.71/gallon, and reports Reuters, the agency believes there's a 25 percent chance the national average will exceed $4/gallon.
Of course, if you use 91 octane or higher and/or insist on living in California ($3.87/gallon), $4+/gallon gas is (already) an inevitability. And if you fuel up in remote Needles, CA, on a midsummer day, $5 seems quite plausible. How high is your pain threshold on this issue... tolerable as long as the Europeans still pay more?
xorbe says:
02:42 PM, 03/ 9/11
We're discussing another dime? I paid $4.20 last week for premium, lol. I bet it nears $5 this summer here in California, if not exceeds.
jeepsrt says:
03:32 PM, 03/ 9/11
I don't let it get to me, nothing we can do about it anyway.
e90_m3 says:
03:37 PM, 03/ 9/11
Well we better all get used to it. Unrest in the Middle East may be temporary, but the rise of middle cast in the developing world will no doubt drive oil demand to new heights. I wouldn't be surprised if we'd be paying $10 for a gallon of premium by 2020.
tomm250 says:
06:35 PM, 03/ 9/11
I'm still paying nothing for the sun-juice that powers my MINI-E. That's what you can do about it....
blueguydotcom says:
08:45 PM, 03/ 9/11
tomm - but you had upfront costs. ;P
tomm250 says:
06:29 AM, 03/10/11
Blue: Yes, I did. Just under 40K. The system generates a little over 10mWh per year which saves me $2,000 in electricity and then I get to sell the "green tags" or SREC's. Each one trades for $655 (that price can fluctuate but has been pretty stable for a while now). So the system makes me roughly $8,500 per year, thus payback is about 5 years. I get to sell the SREC's for 15 years and after that it's just the electricity savings.
However if I didn't have the money to install the system, my utility would have loaned me the money to install it for nothing down, but then they get the SREC's. (I'm not sure for how long, but it definitely works out in their favor)
Then there is this to think about: Using an EV when you have a solar array earns you even more money because you are displacing gasoline (let's say my car would get 30mpg which is pretty good) If the gas is $3.52 like it is now, it would cost me $1,760 to drive 15,000miles a year. At .18 per kWh, which is what my utility is charging, it would cost me $675 to drive my car 15,000 miles and that energy is now free for me.
I have a link on my blog that shows real time generation for my solar system and historical data from it if anyone is interested: http://minie250.blogspot.com/
06scooby says:
08:19 AM, 03/10/11
wow that's cool tomm!
blueguydotcom says:
11:34 PM, 03/10/11
tomm,
That's pretty sweet. We have solar for heating our pool and for our water heater but this...this is a whole new level. Not sure how the wife would respond to "baby, we're putting 40k down on a solar system for the house!"
Sadly, no SRECs in California. I'd be able to sell her quickly on the idea if we had an ROI like that.
tomm250 says:
06:12 AM, 03/11/11
Blue: A friend of mine that lives in Carlsbad, CA and drives a MINI-E did this blog post about fuel costs and solar systems, take a look:
http://electricmini.blogspot.com/2011/03/electric-fuel-is-100k-cheaper-than-gas.html
Maybe your wife will like the idea of an extra $100,000 in your retirement account when you cash out...
Tom