Greening our Community Speaker Series Craig E. Forman June 19, 2017 1
Why Go Solar? Climate change is not a hoax! Save Money 2
Can I really make a difference by going solar? Absolutely Yes! Going solar is probably the single biggest thing you can do in your home to prevent global warming. The CO 2 emissions saved each year from one average-sized residential solar installation is roughly equal to removing one gas-powered automobile from the road for one year. Source: https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator 3
Start by thinking about your carbon footprint Schedule a free Home Energy Audit with Able Home Performance or another MassSave partner. www.newtonsaves.com 781-436-2639 4
How Solar Works (with Net Metering) 5
Understand your Electric Bill Your bill is split into: Monthly fixed customer charge $6.43 plus: Supplier Charges These are billed per kwh Delivery Charges Supplier charges go to the supplier of the electricity that you use. Most Eversource customers have a supplier rate that changes every 6 months. Delivery charges are set by whomever bills you (Eversource), and change occasionally. Current rates in per kwh in Newton (Eversource): Supplier: 10.32 Delivery: 10.29 = 21 / kwh total Eversource has requested to increase delivery charges by 7.9% in Jan, 2018. Electricity tends to rise in price overall by 2% to 4% per year. 6
How can a purchased solar system pay for itself? Financial Incentives (Federal and State) 7
Massachusetts a great place for solar! Massachusetts was the #4 state in 2013-2015 for solar installed power, and was #8 in 2016 Source: U.S. Solar Market Insight Executive Summary 2015 Year In Review www.greentechmedia.com/research/subscription/u.s.solar-market-insight 8
The high cost of electricity in Massachusetts We are here Source: http://www.energyxxi.org/map-2016-average-electricity-retail- 9
Financial Incentives (Federal and State) for system owners Tax Credits: Federal Tax Credit (through at least 2019) State Tax Credit No MA sales tax on solar purchase. MA 20-year property tax exemption for 20 years on solar system. MA Solar Loan Program (low to moderate income) 20% to 30% forgiveness. State SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Certificate) program. Ø Some of these could change at any time! The tax incentives for a new technology generally fall as the technology becomes more mainstream. 10
Tax Credits for Owners of new solar installations 30% Federal tax credit in the year the solar system is put into operation. You can also take the 30% tax credit on expensive work needed to make your solar system viable, like replacing your roof or taking down trees. 15% State tax credit from the Commonwealth of MA in the year the system is put online, subject to a maximum of $1000 credit. Ø Net result: Your net cost to purchase a $30,000 system is only $20,000: $30,000-30% Fed credit (-$9000) - State credit ($-1000) = $20,000 11
The state SREC program SREC = Solar Renewable Energy Credit. Solar system owners mint one SREC for each 1250 kwh produced from the solar system (was one SREC per 1000 kwh prior to 2017). Once in the SREC program, you can stay in for 10 years. The value of an SREC is subject to market forces, but the program has features to insure there will be a liquid market. SREC s are currently worth about $270 each. This reduces cost of ownership. The state SREC program is expected to END in Q1, 2018. The new system details are not yet finalized, but we know that it will be tied to the cost of electricity and will be less valuable (maybe 1/3 less) than SRECs. You must have your solar system OPERATIONAL before the SREC program ends in order to participate in it for the next 10 years. Don t Wait! 12
Purchase vs. PPA vs. Lease Who Owns It? How does it work? Who Gets the Financial Incentives? Purchase Resident owns system Resident buys solar system. All electricity produced is available to use at no cost. Resident PPA Power Purchase Agreement Solar Provider Owns System Resident pays nothing for and does not own the solar system. Electricity produced from solar is purchased from PPA provider at cost savings. Solar Provider Solar System Lease Solar Provider Owns System Resident leases solar system (monthly payments), but doesn t own the system. All electricity produced is available to use at no cost. Solar Provider 13
Which is best for me: Purchase or PPA? Both are equally good for the environment and will save you money. 14
Newton Goes Solar Program We have two solar partners, a PPA provider and a Customer Owned system provider. Our PPA Solar Partner Official launch was March 15. Our Customer Ownership Solar Partner Program now extended through GREEN EXPO (Oct 15). Both companies are offering great incentives through our program. Green Newton will receive a donation for every solar install. To get started: See www.newtongoessolar.org Call our hotline at 617-614-7892. 15
How are we doing so far? Initial goal was 50 new installations (total installed base in Newton was 670). Over 70 signed contracts (not all will result in installations). 7 completed installations. We have more signed PPA contracts than Customer Ownership contracts. We estimate that there are at least 5,000 homes that are very suitable for solar in Newton that have not yet gone solar. 16
Top Three Questions about Going Solar 1. Why should I go solar now? Why not just wait, because solar is getting cheaper all the time? 2. What all this talk about the Tesla solar roof? 3. Will going solar increase the value of my home? 17
Why not just wait for solar to get cheaper? PV Module Cost About 12% of Total System Cost Source: GTM Research / SEIA US Solar Market Insight 2016 YIR 18
What s up with the Tesla Solar Roof? Tesla Guidance Initial Estimate Actual First Model X Delivery 2013 2015 First Delivery Model 3 End of 2017? First Delivery Solar Roof Late 2017 - US? It s all about aesthetics. 19
What s up with the Tesla Solar Roof? 20
Will Going Solar increase the value of my home? YES, if you own the system! A 2015 study concludes that each dollar you spend on installed rooftop solar adds about the same amount in resale value for a typical installation. Source: Selling Into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes, 1/2015 Lawrence Berkeley Nat l Lab Study, Ben Hoen, et al. Includes data on 23,00 homes sold in CA and 7 other states including MA 21
Questions 22