Farm Guide to Going Solar. 762 West Union Street, Suite C, Athens OH OWN-SOLAR

Transcription

1 Farm Guide to Going Solar 762 West Union Street, Suite C, Athens OH OWN-SOLAR

2 3 Why Solar? 4 Why Now? 5 Why Third Sun Solar? 6 How Solar Panels Work 8 Which Solar Panels are Best? 10 How Do I Know Whether Solar Will Work at My Farm? 12 Should I Go Off-Grid or Grid-Connected? 13 Does Solar Work During a Blackout? 15 Can I Net-Zero My Farm and Home? 16 How to Choose a Solar Installer 18 How We Size Your System 19 Can I Start Small & Expand Later? 20 What Else Should I Know? 22 How Much Does a Solar Electric System Cost? 24 Financing Solar 25 Designing New Builds for Solar

3 Why Solar? The sun rises every day. Sunlight is free solar fuel. Solar power offers you Reliability Control Independence A Strong Investment in Smarter Energy With solar, you can have long-term energy savings that grow over time. You can convert an expenditure in utility bills into a wiser investment in your farm, your family, and the planet. Solar technology offers the promise of abundant, clean, safe energy. That is why many people in agriculture, in government, in the sciences now see solar as the best, most responsible choice for meeting present and future energy needs. This is increasingly true across the political spectrum. People from all walks agree, it just makes good sense. A solar electric system connects to your existing utility meter. Solar provides the same quality of electricity for your operation that coal-fired, oil-fired, and nuclear power plants produce regionally and, solar can turn your electric meter backwards when the sun shines. Today, solar power is more affordable, efficient, and reliable than ever. Solar gives you: 30+ years of clean, consistent energy Protection from energy cost volatility Lower, more stable long-term energy costs Less dependence on your electric utility Solar puts you in charge of your power Solar also shows your commitment to making the Earth a smarter and better place, now and for our future generations. Be a pace-setter, a thought leader, and a great example to your family, friends & neighbors Invest in solar for your farm and family and for a strong Return on Investment (ROI) 3

4 Why Now? Solar panel prices have dropped almost 80% in the past five years, and have now stabilized. The solar industry is growing to scale, with huge amounts of solar being deployed worldwide. As the full cost of fossil fuel continues to rise, people increasingly see solar as the best hedge against rising energy expense. It is the smartest, easiest pathway to energy independence. Today s solar panels are highly engineered, have no moving parts, and function well for thirty years and more. Even people who installed solar when panel prices were higher now say they are glad they made the investment. Their utility bill savings have been dramatic, and they see their solar becoming even more valuable to them over time, as utility rates rise. If time-of-use metering comes in it already has in some states solar becomes even more valuable. With time-of-use metering, utilities charge more for power consumed during peak periods. Night-time power is cheaper; mid-afternoon power is most expensive. When does solar produces the most power? Mid-afternoon. That peak-period power production from your rooftop solar may become more and more valuable as utilities move in this direction. 4

5 Why Third Sun Solar? New suppliers have rushed into the solar market. We helped create that market in Ohio Third Sun Solar has been installing outstanding solar electric systems for over fourteen years, both in-state and nationally. While local and family-owned, we offer unmatched pricing due to our membership in a national solar purchasing co-operative. At Third Sun Solar, we support you with teams of dedicated experts: Our solar technicians customize your solar system Our financial experts ensure you benefit from the maximum incentives Your system is carefully tailored to your specific site, energy needs, space, and budget A Third Sun Solar installation provides decades of satisfaction and lower energy bills, while giving us all more energy independence one great system at a time. 5

6 How Solar Panels Work Solar panels convert light into electricity. NASA has used them in space for 50 years to power satellites and manned spacecraft. On Earth, solar panels create electricity that can be matched to the power coming from the grid, and work interactively with it. Sunlight on the surface of a solar panel creates free electrons streams of direct current (DC) electricity. An inverter converts the DC into AC, and the system feeds clean AC electricity to your building plus the grid. Solar electric systems can use one or more central inverters ( string inverters) Solar systems can also use a micro-inverters on each panel Our experts can explain the pros and cons of both approaches with you With solar, your electricity works just as it always has. Only now, you re making some of that power on your roof. Every kilowatt-hour of solar power you make is one kilowatt-hour you don t have to buy from the grid. And each kilowatt you put onto the grid gives you credit you can use whenever you need it. Owning your solar electric system gives you the power to make your own free electricity, with no fuel cost. The fuel is sunlight. Using utility power is more like renting, where the rent gets raised every year. 6

7 Solar panels create clean electricity from sunlight. Solar electricity provides power for the home and farm. All your electric appliances operate as they always have. When your solar produces more electricity than your house is using, it pushes that extra power out to the grid. This spins your utility meter backwards, giving you credit for future use. 7

8 Which Solar Panels are Best? An overwhelming number of solar panel brands and models fill the market today. Each claims to be the best. Beyond basic differences in power output and aesthetics, brands can vary greatly in quality and durability. Top installers build their reputation by using the real best. Top installers take the long view and carefully select the equipment they install. They have specialists who study solar panel specifications, researching and testing to find the best in each price category. As importantly, they research each manufacturer s financial strength and bankability. With 25 year solar panel warranties, it is vital to source panels from companies that will be around to honor those promises. Great installers test, compare, and select the best panels for their customers. They can explain why they make those choices, and they offer enduring workmanship warranties. Great solar installers avoid taking shortcuts to make a little more profit. They have hundreds of satisfied customers, and will invite you to talk with past and current ones. Look for installers with a solid track record, and with NABCEP-certified installers and system designers on staff. (NABCEP is the gold-standard certification of the solar industry.) What About Other Important System Components? For a solar system to perform at its best, all components have to be top-quality, including: Racking and mounting hardware Inverter Wiring and conduits 8

9 9

10 How Do I Know Whether Solar Will Work at My Home? First, we use satellite imagery and your electric bill to assemble an initial review of your solar potential. We discuss system sizes, locations, and costs. When you re ready to move forward, we complete on-site engineering to finalize the system design. We review all system plans with you before installing, connecting, and commissioning your solar electric. We offer these guidelines to help you determine whether solar can work well for you: South-facing roof is best. Either the front or back of the structure faces directly south. Roof Orientation & Shading South-east facing can also work well. South-west facing too. A structure facing east-west can also work panels on the east side will get earlier sunlight, those on the west will get later. 10 A completely unshaded roof (or open ground) is best.. A lightly-shaded area can work we can position the solar panels to avoid shade. A heavily-shaded roof will not work for solar but we may be able to do a ground-mounted system in that case.

11 Roof Slope and Shape We can mount solar panels on virtually any type of roofing material. On a flat roof, solar panels can be easily mounted on ballasted racks that tilt them toward the sun. A 15-degree pitch works well. Our racking can tilt the solar panels slightly steeper to get the best sun exposure. A 30-degree roof pitch is ideal. We can flush-mount the solar panels for best sun exposure. Complex roof lines can also work well, depending upon the size and orientation of the different roof facets. Energy Offset The number of panels you choose is a function of available space, your energy needs, and budget. You may want to start small perhaps with a solar electric system that offsets 25% of your electric bill. You may want to cut your electric bill in half. We can build a system to offset 50% of your bill, and we can design a system for future expansion. Often, people want to reduce their electric bill by almost 100%, while keeping their grid connection. Given enough roof or ground space, we can do this. 11

12 Should I Go Off-Grid? What Does That Mean? Most early solar pioneers were truly off-grid. They relied upon solar, batteries, and often a generator to power their homes with no connection to the utility grid allowed. Our founders did that, raising two sons in an off-grid home in the hills of SE Ohio. Today, most solar customers net-meter and keep their grid connection even if they re making almost 100% of their electricity from solar. Here s why: A net-metered system costs less and produces more power With a grid connection you net-meter and export extra power back to the utility That extra power gives you credit for consuming grid power whenever you need it we have customers whose utility bills have gone from $300 to $7 a month Off-grid systems are more costly and require battery maintenance An off-grid customer has a use it or lose it situation on sunny days, the extra power may go to waste when loads are met and batteries are already topped off Each of us has our own goals. Protection from utility price hikes and the independence of home-made power from the sun is what drives most of us to go solar. For those with the desire and budget to fully disconnect and go off-grid, we have the expertise to install a robust, lasting system. And some folks want the best of both worlds a grid connected system with backup capacity. These are described on the next page. 12

13 Does Solar Work in a Blackout? Yes it can, but only if properly configured. The system must automatically disconnect from the grid and it must feature some level of onsite energy management. The automatic disconnect is required to protect utility workers who may be out repairing the outage. Power feeding onto the grid from a solar array could electrocute someone. All of our systems have this safety disconnect feature built in. Our most popular inverter has an outlet to provide a limited amount of solar power while the sun is shining. It lets you power essential items without storage by regulating the available solar power output to keep the electrical flow stable. It provides 1,500 watts under sunshine. For larger energy needs and blackout power, we can provide battery-based systems and/or automatic backup generators. We help you choose among these options, recommending the right amount of energy storage capacity. We walk you through the options and install the perfect solution for your household needs and goals. When it comes to energy management, we offer effective solutions and will help you choose the best option to meet your needs. 13

14 14

15 Can I Net-Zero My Farm? A "Net-Zero" farm is one that produces as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis.using solar and net-metering, for every kilowatt-hour of electricity it takes off the grid, it puts a kilowatt-hour back on. Using power wisely is always important, and successful net-zero projects focus on energy efficiency as well as solar. We are net-zero experts at Third Sun Solar, and walk our talk with a net-zero headquarters building. Today, we are seeing people add enough solar to their rooftop to also power electric vehicles. Charge! Among those leading the charge toward net-zero facilities are the U.S. armed forces. The Department of Defense sees energy conservation and renewable energy as smart long-term financial strategies. The same can be true for your farm s finances. 15

16 How to Choose a Solar Installer The most important decision you can make with regards to solar is who builds it. With solar panels becoming commodities, the real key is the quality of the installation. Here are some points of comparison for choosing the best installer: How long have they been in business? How many projects have they done? Do they provide references? When you call those references, what do they say? Do they have repeat customers? Do their customers tend to stick with them? Does the installer have NABCEP certificate holders on staff? Are they BBB certified? How long is the workmanship warranty? Do they use licensed electricians? Do they carefully evaluate the condition of your roof before putting solar on it? Will they tell you if solar will not work well for you (due to roof condition, shading, or other factors)? Or will they install it anyway, take the money and run? Geoff and Michelle Greenfield, founders of Third Sun Solar, above. Below, our installation crew at work on a Cincinnati-area home. 16

17 Third Sun Solar project on Smokey s Garage, 33kW 17

18 How We Size Your System A properly-sized solar electric system is a function of three factors: How much energy do you typically use? How much available space do you have? (rooftop or open ground) What is your budget? A good solar installer will have system designers who designers who will optimize these variables find the sweet spot for your system the best size for your available electric needs, space and budget. By right-sizing your system, a good installer will shorten your payback period. 18

19 Can I Start Small and Expand Later? Yes many of our customer do exactly that. We have built many expansion systems where our customer starts small (say, with a 10kW solar electric system) then, after a year or so, when they see the utility savings, they expand their system to get them closer to net-zero. We can plan for expansion by up-sizing your inverter and other components at the start. That will save you money when the time comes. 19

20 What Else Should I Know? Solar is a very stable technology. When properly installed, it will produce lots of clean electricity for 30-plus years. There is very little maintenance with solar. Because the panels are solid state, with no moving parts, there is little to wear out. A solar panel's ability to generate free electrons (electricity) does decrease very slightly over time at a rate of about one-half of one percent per year. We account for this in our design and modeling process and it is part of the manufacturer warranty terms. While solar panels have long warranties (25 years), the electronics in the inverters may fail over this period. While we expect them to last the life of the project, we are honest and realistic with our customers and consider the potential replacement of inverters as part of the long-term financial analysis. 20 Larger solar electric systems have a shorter pay-back period they produce enough electricity to pay for themselves quickly. Smaller systems take longer to pay off. But regardless of system size, the X-factor is the rate you pay on your utility bill. As electric rates rise (as most expect they will) your solar pay-back will shorten. The more and faster the rates rise, the faster your solar will pay itself off.

21 Will utility rates rise? For most people, it is not a question of if, but how far and how fast. That is a huge factor in solar becoming mainstream. In markets where electric rates have already risen like California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland solar companies are struggling to keep up with demand. Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SCRECs) are another component of your economic payback. Every 1,000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity you generate creates one SREC, and you can sell these to utilities who must buy them from you or build their own solar plants to meet state standards set by law. SRECs prices vary they are sold through long term contracts and on spot markets, and the prices fluctuate. We will provide all the information you need to understand this part of solar payback, and make it easy to tap into this solar income above and beyond the savings on your electric bill. 21

22 How Much Does a Solar Electric System Cost? That is the big question for most buyers. Can I afford to go solar? With solar costs now much more affordable, it may be smarter to ask can I afford not to? Here are some approximate numbers for residential solar. Please keep in mind that these are only examples each system is custom-designed to your energy needs, available space and budget: 9kW solar electric system could zero-out the electric bill on an average Ohio home. Initial cost would be in the range of $22-26k, and after the 30% federal tax credit, net cost would be in the range of $15-18k, with lifetime utility savings of over $60,000 31kW solar electric system might cut a farm s monthly bill in half. Initial cost would be in the range of $85-89k, and after the 30% federal tax credit, net cost would be in the range of $59-62k, with lifetime utility savings of over $160,000 60kW solar electric system could zero-out the electric bill on many Ohio farms. Initial cost would be in the range of $ k, and after the 30% federal tax credit, net cost would be in the range of $ k, with lifetime utility savings of over $300,000 Remember the 30% federal tax credit for renewable energy systems is set to expire. It was put into law years ago when systems were much more expensive; with much lower prices now, it is a great opportunity. Use this federal tax incentive while you can. 22

23 Prices Are Lower Now Here is a snapshot of solar pricing as of March Recently, we quoted a homeowner $25,990 for a 9.12kW rooftop solar electric system. 3 years ago, we quoted $49,263 for a smaller 7.2kW system on the same rooftop. Today s system price is now only 52% of what it was a few years ago! Each system is customized to the site, so prices vary. But this is a good example of where solar pricing is now. For larger solar electric systems, we ve been providing these example numbers to area farmers. We re building agricultural solar systems at a good pace now; farmers tend to think longerterm with their investments and are seeing great long-term value in solar kW solar electric system on barn roof (or commercial roof) Produces 23,600kWh of electricity, first year, with annual.5% degrade Panels are warranted to produce at least 80% of that at year 25 $57,750 base price--$40,425 after tax credit--$23,244 with MACRS accelerated depreciation o Add 20kW automatic generator backup, add $9,000 o Add 820kWh automatic battery backup, add $15,600 Annual utility savings $2,600 at current rates Lifetime utility savings $129,000 at 4% annual rate rise Lifetime operations & maintenance cost $15,400 (replace inverters at ~ year 15) Lifetime fuel cost $0 it rises every morning! 23

24 Financing Solar Federal USDA Renewable Energy REAP grants REAP is a federally funded grant and loan guarantee program to assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses in purchasing and installing renewable energy systems and energy efficiency measures. The Farm Bill (Agricultural Act of 2014) provides $50 million of program funding annually for the next 5 years. Applications compete on a state level and can be put in a national pool at year end. This is an ongoing program with specific application windows. First window for REAP Grants with carry-over funds closed on July 7, 2014 Notice of Final Rulemaking is in clearance with anticipated publication in fall 2014 Second grant window closes April 30, 2015 We can submit applications any time of the year; funding selections are made at least once a year. Once an application has been submitted, projects can be started and completed while the grant is pending. You can contact Third Sun Solar for all application materials and project development. Other Federal grant programs for solar The US Department of Energy DOE Section 1703 loan program for agricultural equipment is open, along with other federal financing resources for solar energy systems from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Housing & Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs. Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Mortgage Loan Corporation ( Freddie Mac ), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Small Business Administration programs are also available. An investment in solar can produce a 7-9% Internal Rate of Return (IRR), a measure of payback. With interest rates still low, not many investments perform as well these days. 24

25 Designing a New Build for Solar We install most solar electric systems on existing structures. But often, we are approached by people planning to build, who ask How can I build to make the best use of solar? Here are some answers. To set yourself up ideally for solar, plan for Energy efficiency. Use Energy-Star rated appliances, windows, and insulation. Roof orientation as close to 180 due south as possible, with a large area uninterrupted by dormers, skylights, chimneys or vents. This can be any side of the house, barn, or other out-building. Roof tilt of degrees. Roof truss spacing of 4 feet or less. Roofing material of virtually any kind. We can mount panels most cost-effectively, with no roof penetrations, on Standing Seam Metal. Conduit run of 250 feet or less for solar electric lines. Built-in metal conduit from the attic to a location near the electrical service panel typically 1-inch conduit. Large service disconnect as a point of connection for solar. With adequate roof or ground space, we can oversize the inverter and conduit for future solar expansion. We have expanded many of our customers systems once they ve seen great financial results from an initial, smaller system. 25

26 762 West Union Street, Suite C, Athens OH OWN-SOLAR