Given the time it takes to recoup upfront costs, most Memphians don’t install solar panels at home to save money. But some of them do install solar panels to keep their power on during outages.

This summer, as storms battered Jacques Morrise’s neighborhood near Millington and knocked out power at nearby homes for days, Morrise’s lights didn’t flicker. The solar battery attached to the side of his house kicked in before he even noticed any trouble and carried him through days-long outages in the area.

Why Memphis lags behind in solar projects

And for someone living in an area that’s been hit recently by a barrage of severe weather and widespread outages, that was a game changer. 

“We mosey on like nothing happened,” he said.

Recently, Memphis Light, Gas and Water President and CEO Doug McGowen confirmed the utility’s plans to explore solar energy. Next year, MLGW will look at the feasibility of utility-owned solar power — the utility’s first step to generate renewable energy locally — and it’s already planning on enough battery storage to power 100,000 homes for four hours during outages. 

As MLGW considers solar power and batteries as a backup supply during outages, some Memphians are doing the same. 

Morrise had been eyeing solar panels for years, mostly because of his interest in the environment, but it wasn’t until 2021, after his retirement, that he decided the $62,000 investment was worth it. 

MLGW warns its customers that it takes at least 25 years to recover an investment into a solar panel system, which costs $16,000 to $23,000 on average, even with federal tax credits. But those figures don’t include the cost of batteries, which are necessary if a home is going to be off the grid, even if only during utility power outages. 

The batteries store excess energy generated by solar panels, which people can tap into at night, during overcast days or when their neighborhood is grappling with an electrical outage.

MLGW eyeing solar power, battery storage to meet energy demand

According to Morrise, one of his friends installed solar panels on her home around the same time as him, but she opted out of the added expense of battery storage. During the storm in which Morrise continued to have power while his neighbors did not, his friend was in the dark for four days despite her home’s solar system. 

“When I first thought about installing solar panels on our house, I knew only a couple of things,” Morrise said. “The Earth is heating up, at least partly because of human-created emissions of carbon dioxide, and I was tired of dragging out our portable generator to run essential appliances and a few lights every time the power went out for more than a few hours.”

Batteries were nonnegotiable for him, even though they doubled the cost of the project.

When severe weather is forecasted, Morrise said many systems will prioritize charging batteries for maximum backup power, and he can adjust the amount of power being reserved depending on how much backup electricity he wants available. 

Typically, that’s between 30% and 40%, but if he’s anticipating cloudy weather or extreme temperatures, he’ll bump it higher. When severe weather is forecasted, he turns on “Storm Guard” manually, but if the National Weather Service issues a severe weather warning, the system automatically maximizes the battery reserves. 

Unlike a generator that can take a minute to come online when the power goes out, he said his solar battery typically doesn’t let the lights blink. 

More than 90% of homeowners who have already installed solar panels or are considering it said saving money was a reason to do so. Lower bills were an even bigger incentive than environmental values in a Pew Research Center survey last year. 

The cost of residential solar systems has fallen by roughly half over the past decade, but in Memphis, saving money isn’t a big motivator. MLGW said in a statement that it’s hard for homeowners to justify the installation on economics alone, due to the upfront costs, the price of buying electricity from MLGW and Memphis’ average daily total of horizontal solar irradiance. 

MLGW power bills expected to increase in October

The cost of solar panels is still high, and the Tennessee Valley Authority doesn’t offer any financial incentives for residents considering installing solar. 

A year ago, Congress approved a 30% tax credit on solar systems installed over the next decade. It’ll drop to 26% in 2033, then 22% the next year before expiring in 2035, unless Congress renews it. The credit applies to all panels, labor costs and energy storage devices, among other expenses.

Bryan Jacob, the solar director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said some utilities incentivize battery storage as a way to build a more resilient grid. 

Green Mountain Power in Vermont, for instance, offers up to $10,500 for residents with solar panels to install batteries, too. Because of the utility’s investment in the batteries, they retain a right to some of the power stored in batteries across the system when they’re struggling to meet peak demand. 

So, if the utility’s in a crunch, it can tap into some of the solar power stored in residential batteries across the system to prevent widespread outages. 

So, you’re considering solar panels …