FINANCING OPTIONS FOR SOLAR PV

Transcription

1 FINANCING OPTIONS FOR SOLAR PV February 5, 2013 Webinar Evergreen State Solar Partnership

2 HOUSEKEEPING During the Webinar: For technical assistance, call To ask questions, expand the Questions section of the webinar toolbar, type in your question, and click Send. After the Webinar: Materials at to:

3 EVERGREEN STATE SOLAR PARTNERSHIP Edmonds/Snohomish PUD Commerce NWSEED Solar WA Sustainable Connections Bellevue/Puget Sound Energy DOE SunShot Goal: make solar cost-competitive by 2020 Seattle/Municipal Utility Ellensburg/Municipal Utility

4 TODAY S AGENDA Introductions WA Solar Finance Fundamentals Tackling Up Front Costs Snohomish PUD Solar Express Ellensburg Community Solar Q&A

5 WHO S HERE? Suzanne Frew Snohomish PUD Linda Irvine Northwest SEED Gary Nystedt City of Ellensburg Tim Stearns WA Dept of Commerce

6 FINANCE FUNDAMENTALS Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Net Metering Washington Production Incentive Federal Tax Credit (30%)

7 I-937 RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD 15% new renewables by 2020 Residential systems are Distributed Generation double counted toward RPS goal Utility incentives for residential PV = Win Win reduces cost of PV for homeowners helps utility meet RPS mandate Absent utility incentives, there is no market for residential solar RECs in Washington State.

8 Spin the meter backwards NET METERING IN WA Retail value of electricity produced Systems up to 100 kw One of the most important, cost effective policies to help owners of solar PV recoup their investment IREC Report

9 WA STATE PRODUCTION INCENTIVE $0.15 $0.54 per kwh Payments end June 30, 2020 Maximum $5,000 per year Designed to Reward: immediate action selection of WA made products proper siting and installation RCW et seq. / WAC A major driver of residential solar in Washington

10 FUNDAMENTALS PAY BACK OVER TIME $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 Purchase Fed Tax Credit Prod Incentive Ends in 2020 $0 -$5,000 -$10,000 -$15,000 -$20,000 -$25, Incentives for a Made in WA PV System Federal Tax Credit: 30% system cost Yr. 1 Production Incentive: $0.54/kWh until 2020 Net Metering value: $0.08+/kWh for 25+ years -$30,000

11 TACKLING UPFRONT COSTS? Utility Loans and Rebates Benefits homeowners and utility Group Purchase Programs Community Solar or Group Purchase Public/Private Financing Public funds subsidize cost of private loan Third Party Ownership Expands the market for solar

12 PUBLIC/PRIVATE FINANCING Loan Loss Reserve Expands access to credit PSCCU Energy Smart loan For participants in Snohomish County, CPW, Kitsap Interest Rate Buy Down Reduces overall cost of loan Banner Bank Community Challenge Loan For participants in Community Energy Challenge

13 THIRD PARTY OWNERSHIP/FINANCING System owned by solar finance company Occupant pays monthly fee (PPA or lease) Value Proposition: Monthly fee Monthly Electric Savings > 70% of residential systems installed in CA, CO, AZ in 2012 Very limited in WA Expands access to solar for those who can t self-finance moving the market beyond early adopters

14 CONDITIONS FOR 3 RD PARTY State Incentives & Rebates Federal tax incentives Legality & no major regulatory barriers Interconnection standards, net metering & solar access

15 UTILITY FINANCING: SOLAR EXPRESS

16 SOLAR EXPRESS PROGRAM GOALS Renewable Energy Leadership! Promote solar as an energy resource Educate our community Build infrastructure within Snohomish County Reduce market barriers Support our Customers

17 SOLAR EXPRESS OVERVIEW Cash Incentives Available to all PUD Customers PV:$500/kW up to: $2,500 (residential) $10,000 (commercial) SHW:$500/system Eligibility PUD Customers Only Pre-approval required Minimum 15 year roof life remaining Solar Express Registered Installers Minimum 75% solar access Details available in program handbook

18 RESIDENTIAL LOANS For Residential Customers Only PV: up to $25,000 SHW: up to $14,000 Can be in addition to Energy Efficiency loans Secured by a lien on the property 2.9% for a maximum of 10 years Minimum credit score of 700 for all property owners

19 SOLAR EXPRESS FUNDING $360,000 $407,000 $320,887 $338,100 Incentives $110,000 $142,750 Loans $42,000 $78,

20 HOW IS CUSTOMER RE AT SNOPUD UNIQUE? Solar Express: Cash Incentive or Loan PUD counts the kwh savings PUD claims the RECs WA State Production Incentives applied to customer s account as earned.

21 SNOPUD S SOLAR GENERATORS Total net metered 1555 kw Total Solar Express 1160 kw

22 Thanks! Leslie Moynihan Program Manager, Customer Renewables

23 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park City of Ellensburg (approx utility customers ) Electricity Annual Usage 185 million kwh $11.7 million Natural Gas Annual Usage $9.5 million 9 million therms

24 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park Ellensburg s Conservation/Renewable Programs 1980 present $16 million in conservation projects 2004 present Community Solar Project 111 KW Small Wind Turbines 17.6 KW

25 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park 2004 Northwest Solar Summit identified solar barriers impacting the installation of solar systems

26 High Initial Cost $25 35,000

27 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park A New Marketing & Financing Concept Introduced People in the Community partner with the Utility to help fund the project In exchange for their financial support the Utility gives the Contributors a credit on their utility bill for the value of the electricity produced by the solar system

28 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park If a customer contributes 3% of the project funding The customer receives 3% kwhs produced by the solar project in the form of a solar credit on their utility bill The solar credit is given to the customer for 20 years (the length of the warrantee on the solar panels )

29 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park Every three months Utility solar credit on their utility bill based on the kwhs produced by the community system over that period (through 2031) Once a year State Solar Production Credit on their utility bill of $0.30/kWh based on the kwhs credited on their bill throughout the year. (through 2020)

30 95 Contributors contribution range from $250 to $15,000

31 High Visibility Site

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33 Ellensburg Community Renewable Park Polycrystalline Modules 58 kw Thin-Film Nano-Technology 54 kw

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36 Thanks! Gary Nystedt Resource Manager

37 BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER Expanding solar access across Washington will require: Standardizing and simplifying permitting, interconnection, zoning Loan products Mortgages Leasing Working together community by community Solarize Group Purchasing Community Solar Installations Bringing together a range of incentives Net metering Tax credits Production incentives

38 WASHINGTON IS OPEN FOR SOLAR BUSINESS! Questions? Comments? Send additional comments to: For further reading Residential Solar PV: Comparison of Financing Benefits, Innovations, and Options; Bethany Speer, NREL, Oct ESSP Financing Report will be posted at: