Southern Tier Solar Works Community Solar 2017 (607) 873-9220 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Southern Tier Solar Works Community Solar 2017

BRSC (607) 873-9220 SouthernTierSolarWorks.org

BINGHAMTON REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY COALITION

The Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition (BRSC) is a 501(c)3 not for profit grassroots community organization dedicated to building regional prosperity and resilience together with our community partners Southern Tier Solar Works (STSW), a program of BRSC, is part of RenewableNY's effort to help New York State transition to a clean energy future.

BRSC and STSW

• RenewableNY is a partnership including BRSC and Catskill

Mountainkeeper, and is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's NY-Sun initiative and Community Solar. NY-Sun will invest up to $1 billion in solar power through 2023 to expand solar installations statewide and help New York’s solar industry become self-sustaining.

• STSW harnesses financing from Green Jobs – Green NY (GJGNY), a

NYSERDA program that provides funding for energy assessments, low-cost financing for energy upgrades, and technical and financial

• support. GJGNY enables New Yorkers to undertake significant energy

improvements in homes, businesses and neighborhoods, making them more affordable, comfortable, and sustainable.

• GJGNY is working through Constituency-Based Organizations (CBOs) like

BRSC to bring the benefits of energy efficiency to entire neighborhoods, including residents, small businesses, and not-for-profits

Southern Tier Solar Works is a program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition

• Collaborate with community partners regionally and statewide to

engage with stakeholders to make New York’s Energy System the cleanest and most resilient in the U.S.

• Promote affordable energy efficiency and renewable energy

improvements –Save energy dollars –Create good local jobs –Boost the local economy –Increase health and safety –Reduce climate change

• Connect building owners with financing, certified contractors,

and provide creation to completion project support

Southern Tier Solar Works is a program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition

GOAL 1: Bring the regional clean energy market to scale, creating local economic, employment and environmental benefits. –Solarize and Energy Efficiency

• Since 2014, STSW has helped about 100 homeowners in

Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego go solar for almost 1000kw (1mw).

• 2016 Goal: 1mw of new solar on site
• 2016-2017 Community Shared Solar Goal: 1.25mw, equivalent to

175 homes and business

Southern Tier Solar Works is a program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition

GOAL 2: Clean energy education and careers.

–SUNY Best Clean Energy Series.

• collaboration with Senior energy leaders from NYSERDA, NYPA and

the Governor’s office presenting a wide range of programs

• Leaders from universities, municipalities, companies and
• rganizations presenting best practices.

–Create clean energy workforce pathway

• K-solar schools curriculum and professional development
• Workforce & education partnerships
• Energy Corps Internships

Southern Tier Solar Works is a program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition

What is Solarize and how does it work?

• 1. Community volunteers & staffed non-profit organization organize

community education campaigns 2 Competitively Selected, Certified Contractors

• 3. Below market rates with bulk purchase, single assessment,

streamlined process.

• 4. Deadline to enroll November 1 and sign a contract Nov. 22

Community Shared Solar

PROGRAM

Southern Tier Solar Works Financing Energy Efficiency

Why Energy Efficiency?

Energy Savings Boost the Local Economy

Greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help transition to cleaner forms of energy

Why Energy Efficiency?

✓ Improves health, safety and comfort of our homes

Improves air quality Addresses moisture problems Regulates indoor temperatures Enhances home ventilation Improves safety of combustion systems

A detailed Energy analysis to establish: 1) Combustion appliance Safety and Efficiency 2) Comfort, Health and Safety Levels 3) Whole House Air Infiltration Rates 4) Building Envelope Insulation Inspection 5) Fuel Consumption Analysis 6) Electrical Appliances Assessment 7) Addresses Adequate Mechanical Ventilation

Comprehensive Home Assessment

Combustion Health and Safety Testing

Checking Insulation Levels

Ventilation

Finding Leaks

Blower Door

Property Eligibility

• 1-4 unit residential

properties; primary residence and/or rental property

• Any heating fuel type

(Electric, gas, oil, propane…)

• Structure must be in New

York State

• 1. Give us your contact information and complete the

Home Energy Assessment section on our enrollment form (you must be the property owner, or ask your landlord complete the form).

• Check the appropriate household income box
• Residential building type (number of units, 1-4)
• Do you have central AC?
• 2. Receive your “Reservation Number” within days.
• 3. Contact a BPI certified home performance contractor

from the approved list provided (these are different than the solar contractors)

How to Apply

GJGNY Median Family Income for 2016: Otsego County

(Other counties see income chart on HPwES Household income guidelines)

Median $60,600 ≤ $121,200 ≤$151,500 ≤$181,800 ≤$212,100 ≤$242,400

Single Unit

Audit; ≤ 3,500 SF

Free $50 $100 $150 $200

2 - 4 Units Audit; Single Unit ≥ 3,500 SF

Free $80 $160 $240 $320

Free or Reduced Cost Assessment

Schedule your energy assessment Review your energy report Choose Improvements Apply for financing and grants

Get your work done, now!

I applied…what’s next?

Southern Tier Solar Works

BRSC

Why go solar NOW?

• Historically low price
• Fixed rates v. increasing utility rates
• State and Federal incentives are at

an all time high

• Both state and Federal incentives

are on the way down

The Big Picture

PROTECT our air, water, and food supply. REDUCE carbon emissions that lead to climate change.

The SOLAR Resource

YEARLY solar energy supply (5 billion years left!)

FOREVER supply of fossil fuel

Yearly World Energy Consumption

30 Years of Solar Data

The Southern Tier gets 73% of the amount of sun that San Diego gets

NREL.gov: 30 year average of kWh/m^2 per year San Diego, CA………..…..2044 kWh/m^2/year Binghamton, NY…………..1496 kWh/m^2/year Seattle, WA……………......1387 kWh/m^2/year Sunniest City in Germany...1250 kWh/m^2/year

Wide-Spread Use of Solar Power is Possible

0.07% of land area covered with solar cells would power the entire planet

Two Ways to Use Solar Energy

• Solar Electricity is made with “photovoltaic” (PV) panels.
• Solar hot water collectors are boxes with copper tubing, aluminum

frame and glass cover

Solar Electric System Solar Hot Water Heater

Photovoltaic modules switch inverter

PV modules are made into “solar arrays”

• r solar electric systems.

Is solar energy for me?

Do you have roof space facing south? If not, do you have yard space for ground-mounted panels? Is your sunny roof space unobstructed by trees or buildings most of the day? Is your current electric bill higher than you’d like?

An East or West facing roof will work if the slope is less than 30 degrees Our primary concern is that shading is minimal

Send us your electric bill (all pages) showing yearly use graph

Where Do I Put my Solar Panels?

Pole-Top

Roof-mount in Binghamton, NY (makes 4500 kWh per year)

Roof-mount

Ground Mount

• nsite or on
• ur solar

farms

Southern Tier Solar Works: Making Solar Power Simple

• 1. Get Educated (attend a workshop, visit the website)
• 2. Sign up (at workshop, on web-site, call STSW!)
• 3. Get Others to Join (talk to your friends and neighbors)
• 4. Free Solar Site Evaluation (by an installer partner)
• 5. Sign Contract (Easy financing or leasing available!)
• 6. Get Your System Installed or Connected (2-4 months start

to finish).

For on-site systems

On-Site Purchase Example for illustration only

Cost will vary by system size, panel type and adders If you want a 7 kilowatt system

$22,750 Cost at $3.25/W = $3.25 x 7000 W

• $2,800 NYSERDA incentive ($.40/W)

$19,950 Amount to pay or finance

• $5985 Federal Tax Credit* (30%)
• $4987 State Tax Credit* (25% up to 5k)

$8977 Net Cost to you *Ask a tax professional or your accountant to make

sure you qualify for the tax credits.

Financing

You do NOT need a lot of money to start going solar!

The Process (on-site)

• Your chosen contractor gets preliminary information, does

the site assessment and gives you a quote.

• Upon your approval, the installer will arrange to lock in

your NYSERDA incentive, and will do what follows:

• recommend the financing product they think will work

best for you. Credit check and loan or lease paperwork is done.

• processes the NYSERDA grant, interconnection and

permitting paperwork.

• Then the installation is done and you have been

solarized!

1. Purchase: Loans up to 20 years

• Banks
• NYSERDA (15 years)

2. 20 year lease

• SunPower

Financing Options

Financing

GJGNY loans encourage home energy upgrades:

• Low->No down-payments
• Loan amounts range from $3,000-$25,000 (from $1,500

for lower income households)

• Fixed rate unsecured loan terms available: 5, 10 or 15

years

Loan Qualifications

Both loans have the same general qualifying criteria:

• A satisfactory credit score (alternatively, a

demonstrated history of satisfactory energy bill and mortgage payment)

• Acceptable levels of income relative to outstanding

debt obligations

• No bankruptcies, foreclosures, or repossession

within the past 2 years

• No outstanding liens or judgments in excess of

$2500

NYSERDA Loans*

On Bill Recovery

• 3.49% interest
• Loan paid through on monthly utility bill and stays

with the home

• Available for customers of major utilities
• Rigorous energy savings payback criteria will exclude

some projects Energy Smart loan

• Up to 3.99% interest or 3.49% on autopay

* Interest rates rise to 7.99% for solar, effective Sept. 1, 2016

Leasing

• Terms vary by installer, system size, location among other

variables.

• Typically 20-year agreements with 0 upfront and monthly

lease payments. Prepayment is an option. This doesn’t affect your credit rating.

• Even if you cannot take the federal tax credit you get its

effective value.

• System performance is guaranteed, and installer is

responsible for maintenance. You don’t own it.

• If you sell your house the lease is transferable if the buyer

agrees.

Sunpower Lease Example

• 20 year lease
• 25 year product and production

warrantee

• high efficiency, high production

per area

• $0 down (down-payments reduce
• verall cost).

Community Shared Solar for All

Isaac Baker, Co-Director, Community Solar Isaac@cooppower.coop 413-522-9981

+

Co-op Power is…

▪ A Multi-Racial, Multi-Class Movement

for Justice and Sustainability

48

Hampshire Community Energy Co-op Franklin Community Energy Co-op Southern Vermont Community Energy Co-op Boston Metro East Community Energy Co-op Blackstone Valley CEC (Worcester) Hampden Community Energy Co-op NY Community Energy Co-op (Coming soon)

Co-op Power Co-op Power is… A Decentralized Network of Local Communities

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Leadership Team

Lynn Benander, CEO Yanir Stein, CFO

Community Solar Co-Directors

Isaac Baker Ben Underwood River Strong

Legal Team

Jill Winans, McCauley Lyman Eli Moulton, Merritt, Merritt & Moulton Don McCauley, McCauley Lyman

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• State of the art

technology

• Financing options for

people with limited resources

• Community-led

planning High Market Demand

Core Principles

• Local installers
• Local ownership
• Local control

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Model 1

“Owner-Member” Tax Credit: To Members Project Size: Small or Large Accessibility: > Moderate

• Income. Low Income w/ peer

financing. Electricity Discount:

• Significant. 20-40% over 20

years.

Model 2

“Subscriber-Pay as You Go” Tax Credit: To Investors Project Size: Large. 500 kW+ bundled with others Accessibility: Low and Moderate Incomes. Electricity Discount: Good. 10-20% over 20 years.

Cooperatively-Owned Shared Solar

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Takeaway:

Co-ops make shared ownership of renewable energy assets possible ▪ Virtually no size restrictions ▪ Securities Issues Addressed and Avoided ▪ Flexible Financing Structure — communities decide

who participates and how.

▪ Flexible lending is required to support LMI

participation

▪ Partnerships with Local Non-Profit Organizations

▪ Authentic Ownership Available To All

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How can I join a Solar Farm?

• Membership

Sign up today to get in the queue Provide us with a recent NYSEG bill

• Landowners

Provide us with the street address and size of your property Flat, cleared land is best Viability will depend on the capacity of existing utility service there

• Investors

Let us know you are interested and we will contact you once details are available.

Southern Tier Solar Works is here to help you go solar!

info@SouthernTierSolarWorks.org www.SouthernTierSolarWorks.org

facebook.com/STSWNY Phone: (607) 873-9220

The following slides are for showing if needed for Q&A

Snow

Yes, Snow shuts down your solar array (blocks light) BUT

• Your system will be sized larger to take this into account
• There is very little sun in the winter to miss out on.

December = 5% of yearly sun January = 5% of yearly sun February = 6% of yearly sun So if you have snow sitting for 3 weeks, you are missing very little production! Stay off your roof in the winter.

Is solar energy for me Solar Farm?

• A community shared solar farm is deployed remotely
• n property owned or leased by the host organization,

so you don’t have to install it on your property, or own property at all.

• As a member, the value of your electricity usage is
• ffset by power produced on the farm.
• You can either own a share in the array over its life

and fix your energy costs for 20 years, or sign up for a pay-as-you go customer, rather like a CSA or farm share.

• You have no responsibility for system operation or

maintenance.

• It is possible to sell your share if you move out of the

load zone.

Rural Project – Tax Equity Financed

■ Size: 595 kW; Cost: $1.8 M ■ Ownership: Cooperatively Owned ■ Off-taker(s): 33% plant; 67% community ■ Financing: 35% tax equity; 30%

debt; 35% member pre- payments

■ Tax Credit: Distributed to tax

equity investors

Location: Greenfield, MA Biodiesel Plant

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Thank you!

Isaac Baker Co-Director, Community Solar Co-op Power www.cooppower.coop Isaac@cooppower.coop

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Delaware County Electric Cooperative Customers

• All electric coop members are eligible for NYSERDA incentives,

as well as NY and US tax credits.

• Net metered excess electricity is valued at DCEC’s wholesale

avoided cost, which is much lower than the retail rate required of investor owned utilities by the Public Service Commission.

• Therefore it is financially prudent to produce little excess energy,

and size your system at 75% of your average load.

• Systems under 15kw are allowed without individual review.
• Full details of DCEC’s policy are

at http://www.dce.coop/content/member-owned-distributed-genera tion.

.

Grant

Assisted Home Performance with Energy Star

• Eligibility is dependent on household

income and size.

• For a single-family home, grants are

available to cover 50% of total costs, up to $5,000.

County 1 person 2 person 4 person Broome & Tioga $36,640 $45,904 $67,504

GJGNY Median Family Income for 2016: Chenango County

(Other counties see income chart on HPwES Household income guidelines)

Median $56,200 ≤ $112,400 ≤$140,500 ≤$168,600 ≤$196,700 ≤$224,800

Single Unit

Audit; ≤ 3,500 SF

Free $50 $100 $150 $200

2 - 4 Units Audit; Single Unit ≥ 3,500 SF

Free $80 $160 $240 $320

Free or Reduced Cost Assessment

GJGNY Median Family Income for 2016: Delaware County

(Other counties see income chart on HPwES Household income guidelines)

Median $57,500 ≤ $115,000 ≤$143,750 ≤$172,500 ≤$201,250 ≤$230,000

Single Unit

Audit; ≤ 3,500 SF

Free $50 $100 $150 $200

2 - 4 Units Audit; Single Unit ≥ 3,500 SF

Free $80 $160 $240 $320

Free or Reduced Cost Assessment

(other counties slides 54-57)

GJGNY Median Family Income for 2016: Broome and Tioga Counties

(Other counties see income chart on HPwES Household income guidelines)

Median $62,900 ≤ $125,800 ≤$157,250 ≤$188,700 ≤$220,150 ≤$251,600

Single Unit

Audit; ≤ 3,500 SF

Free $50 $100 $150 $200

2 - 4 Units Audit; Single Unit ≥ 3,500 SF

Free $80 $160 $240 $320

Free or Reduced Cost Assessment

Information for Renters/Landlords

• Owner/Landlord/Renter of 1-4 unit building
• If tenant income falls within 60-80% AMI range then the

landlord can qualify for Assisted HPwES incentives

• Tenants of all income levels can provide program

information to building owners & financial info to the program lender

• Building owners may qualify for program for both their

home and rental units

• Utility bill for a property must be in building owner’s

name in order to qualify for On-Bill Recovery loan financing

Appliances and Lighting

What many people do to improve efficiency