Financial barriers to the use of solar-industrial-process heat

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1981

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6874207· OSTI ID:6874207

Industry concerns about solar process heat, attitudes toward investment in solar process heat, and decision processes and factors are reported. Four cases were selected from among 30 potential solar process heat installations that had been carried through the design stage, and case was analyzed using discounted cash flow to determine what internal rate of return would be earned under current tax laws over 10 years. No case showed any significant rate of return from capital invested in the solar installation. Several possible changes in the cost of solar equipment, its tax treatment or methods of financing were tested through computer simulation. A heavy load of extra tax incentives can improve the return on an investment, but such action is not recommended because they are not found to induce adoption of solar process heat, and if they were effective, capital may be drawn away from applications such as conservation were the potential to improve the nation's energy dilemma is greater. Tax shelter financing through limited partnership may be available. (LEW)

• Research Organization: Mid-American Solar Energy Complex, Minneapolis, MN (USA); Western Reserve Associates, Cleveland, OH (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-79CS30150
• OSTI ID: 6874207
• Report Number(s): MASEC-SCR-81-011; ON: DE82013429
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
SOLAR PROCESS HEAT
CONSTRAINTS
ATTITUDES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DECISION MAKING
DEPRECIATION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
FINANCING
INDUSTRY
TAX CREDITS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
HEAT
PROCESS HEAT
SIMULATION
140905*
299001 - Energy Planning & Policy- Solar- (1989-)