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2.6 kW expansion on an existing 4 kW Sunpower system, New Albany, OH
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2.6 kW expansion on an existing 4 kW Sunpower system, New Albany, OH
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4/14/2015

Third Sun Solar is proud to be part of a larger movement which is striving to redefine success in business so all companies compete to not only be the best in the world, but best for the world. Healthy profits don’t mean much without a healthy planet, and we run our business with that in mind. That’s why we’re proud to lead our fellow B Corps in working to improve the quality of life for our community as a 2015 Best for Environment honoree.

How are we Best for the Environment? We earned an environmental impact score in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations on the B Impact Assessment, a comprehensive assessment of a company’s impact on workers, the community and the environment. That means every day, along with our fellow honorees, we help create a healthier planet by taking the lead in advancing renewable energy usage, reducing carbon footprints, and cutting our resource use and waste stream.

A B Corp since 2012, we’re leading a global movement to redefine success in business so one day all companies compete to be not only the best in the world, but best for the world. We join over 1,200 other companies committed to using business as a force for good. Check them all out at bcorporation.net.

Taking people and planet as seriously as our profits is at the heart of our company’s mission. That’s why we have done things like:

• installed solar on our own offices to produce almost 70% of our company’s electricity through clean power;
• conducted a waste audit to see how we could cut down on our waste products even further;
• encouraged and assisted other businesses to take action to become B Corporations;
• sell a clean energy product every day with the mission to accelerate the shift to clean energy.

We couldn’t do all this without the support of our customers, our employees and our community. These are people like you who believe in our mission—people who prove that doing good is also good for business. Thank you helping us to succeed where it truly matters. We are proud to be Best for the Environment.

Please check out our fellow honorees—along with those who are Best for the World, Best for Workers and Best for Communities,—and help us spread the word. And contact us if you want to learn more about how your business or your employer can become a B Corp.

Third Sun Solar to Speak at Forum Designed to Explore Solar’s Future in Ohio

 

Athens, OH– Third Sun Solar’s president and co-founder, Geoff Greenfield, will be speaking at this year’s final Ohio Conservation Forum, this Friday, December 19^th.

The forum will explore Ohio’s current energy situation with a look back at the history and impact of solar in the state, as well as discussing what the future holds for renewable energy in Ohio. The forum will feature a panel of solar professionals, including Greenfield, as well as a guest from Green Energy Ohio, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally and economically sustainable energy policies and practices in Ohio.

The event will take place at 1 p.m on December 19^th at 1404 Goodale Boulevard, in Columbus. Those who are interested in attending are asked to RSVP to [email protected].

This symposium is a part of the Ohio Conservation Forums, an event put on by the Ohio League of Conservation Voters. The forums seek to stimulate education and discussion by joining experts with concerned citizens to discuss environmental and sustainability topics pertinent to the future of our state and its people.

The humble light bulb is evolving

The evolution in light bulbs has accelerated in the last couple of decades. It used to be that our only choice at home was the good ‘ole incandescent bulb. We did have some experience with the buzzing and flickering fluorescent lighting at work or in commercial spaces. Those negative experiences with fluorescents made it harder to transition to compact fluorescents (CFLs) when those started to hit the market in the 1990s. Also the price was much higher than incandescent, which became a bit of a barrier to switching over. Even thought CFLs are 90% more efficient and proven to save electricity and money, the switch was not easy.

Fast forward to today, and we have seen the adoption of CFLs become more and more widespread. The technology has improved, and manufacturers took feedback about the quality of the light to heart, making improvements in warmth of the light and reductions in flickering and warm up times. The price has come down considerably as consumer demand has picked up and manufacturers have achieved higher production scale. They can now easily be found at pretty much any store that sells light bulbs and the public has verifiable proof that they do save money and time. But the downside of fluorescents is that they contain toxic chemicals that pollute our environment when not disposed of properly, and if they break in the home can expose us to small amounts of toxins.

Now along comes the next technology improvement, LED lighting. This new lighting is more expensive than what we have had, but again much more efficient. And it does not have the downside of toxic elements. Comparatively, LEDs have a brighter light (higher lumens) than CFLs, they have a power factor of .9 meaning most of the power is converted into light (CFLs convert more of that power into heat) and they consume 30% less power than CFLs.

Check out this handy chart to see the savings and benefits of LEDs over CFLs and over incandescent. Then head to your local hardware store and begin the process of replacing your most commonly used lighting with LEDs and then sit back and enjoy the money saving, super efficient and longer lasting light in your own home!

Thanks to National Builder Supply for the graphic.

Extending Our Gratitude

This is US Army Reserve Drill Sergeant, Mat O’Brien.

When he is not serving his country in uniform, he is serving the environment by ensuring solar installations go smoothly and safely as Third Sun Solar’s Material Handling Specialist.

Mat’s presence is sorely missed while he fulfills a month-long assignment as the Drill Sergeant with the 1st platoon Echo Company 3rd Battalion 60th infantry regiment at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, but we are very proud of him for his service to our country and extend our congratulations and gratitude to him and his platoon who will graduate on September 25th.

 

 

Thank you for your service, Mat, and thank you to all of the other men and women out there- and their families- who make many sacrifices to serve our country.

Athens’ Air Gets a Little Cleaner

This beautiful 7.92kW system recently went live in Athens, Ohio.

In addition to hedging against future rate increases and lowering the homeowners’ utility bills, these 33 panels will offset approximately 15,944 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 25 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that is what we call a good neighbor.

Contact us today by filling out an inquiry form on our homepage, or call 877-OWN-SOLAR to see what solar can do for your home and your neighbors’ health.

 

Since its inception in April 2012, SolarCurator.com has provided hundreds of hand-picked selections of global solar industry news and features blended with original commentary. Helmed by chief curator and veteran solar/high-tech editor-blogger Tom Cheyney, the site has become one of the go-to alternative media outlets in the industry, offering timely viewpoints and freshly culled content and ideas from throughout the global solar energy community.

Here is their commentary on the Solar Power World magazine’s “Time to Shine” video, followed by a link to the video:

Planting the solar crop

Solar Power World’s “A Time to Shine” video celebrates PV installers while promoting publication of top solar contractors list

As solar value proposition analogies go, this one’s a doozy. “I was explaining the concept of solar to a farmer, and I used the following analogy,” explains Mike Schmerl of Harvest Energy Solutions. “It’s a crop that he plants once, never waters, never fertilizes, that produces revenues for 30 years.”

The quote comes from the new Solar Power World video, “A Time To Shine,” which has been released in conjunction with the publication’s well-parsed 2014 Top 400 Solar Contractors directory list. Mike (whose company ranks 189 on the list) joins Bailey Wagner of Third Sun Solar (#135) and Joe Morinville of Energy Independent Solutions (#254) to talk on camera about their perspectives on the solar installation world.

Bailey’s youthful exuberance charms and inspires, as she enthuses about the multifaceted challenges of her job and the joy of helping people go solar. Her comments about one of the final topic titles, “In 2030,” made me smile. “I hope that by 2030 that solar is boring,” she opines. It sure isn’t there yet!

Athens, Ohio Solar Installer Listed Among Top National Firms

ATHENS, OHIO—Solar Power World magazine released their national 2014 Top 400 Solar Contractors list last week, noting the best-ranked solar electric system installers from across North America. Third Sun Solar ranked #135 of 400 nationally.

The 2014 Top Solar Contractors list includes many companies from high-growth solar states like California, Colorado, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Third Sun Solar was the highest-ranked of the five Ohio firms that made the list.

“Only a tiny fraction of the nation’s companies have demonstrated such remarkably consistent excellence, particularly in the difficult economic environment of the past few years,” noted Editorial Director Frank Andorka of Solar Power World. “This achievement puts [Third Sun Solar] in rarefied company.”

Watch the Video

 

To promote this year’s list, Solar Power World also produced a video featuring three regional solar companies, one of which was Third Sun Solar. In the video, three of Solar Power World’s 2014 Top Solar Contractors discuss their jobs, the industry and the future. The video is available here and also on YouTube (search Solar Power World on YouTube to find “A Time To Shine: 2014 Top Solar Contractors Discuss The Industry”).

Our friends at Pure Energies note the following about using a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) for solar. Our comments are italicized.

Home equity is the conventional means by which most people have purchased solar systems in the past. So what’s new in using home equity financing for solar?

Some home equity loan products are beginning to take into account the value the solar energy system adds to your home into their cumulative loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) calculations. This means more people would qualify for a loan with these products. If you’re interested in this, ask your banker or loan officer about it. More and more banks are getting on board with solar.

Maybe you’re thinking “how much VALUE does a solar system add to my home?” Solar is a relatively new commodity, and there has not been a lot of turnover yet in homes with solar, so the data is not very deep. But a number of studies over the last few years suggest that solar homes sell faster and for more money than non-solar homes. One summary in an appraisal journal article written a few years ago states that any energy improvement made to your home adds 20 times the yearly energy savings in value. So if you were to install double-paned windows that save you $300 a year in utility expenses, that adds $6,000 in value to your home.

If a solar system saves you $1,000 a year in energy, it adds $20,000 to the value of your home. Think about that. Few home improvements both add value to your home AND produce a valuable commodity year after year. With solar, you can be saving energy costs AND enhancing your home’s value over time. How many other investments do that?

Special Offer for Solar Champions: Double Down for Solar!

The summer months are a peak time for solar production, and should also be a great time for sharing the good news about solar with your friends and neighbors. September 23^rd is the Autumnal Equinox, the traditional time to celebrate the harvest and nature’s bounty. To recognize this time of year, we are doubling both our reward for Solar Champions and the discount for the folks you introduce us to that decide to go solar. Now through September 23, you can double the discount and double your reward for helping us grow solar!

At Third Sun Solar, our mission is to Accelerate the Shift to Clean Energy. Many of you, our solar customers, share that mission and have made the decision to act on it through the use of clean, efficient solar power. Our Solar Champion program gives you the opportunity to increase your impact by promoting solar and sharing what you have found with your friends, neighbors and family.

Our Solar Champion program rewards this good deed in two ways – with a Visa gift card (or charity donation) for you and a discount for your friend. For a LIMITED TIME ONLY, we are doubling our offer! Now is a great time to go solar, and more than ever, our country and planet need folks to make the switch.

From now through the Autumnal Equinox (September 23^rd) your solar referral is worth $500 for you and a $500 discount for your friend, neighbor, co worker, family member… even a stranger you met at the coffee shop.

Remember:

• Referrals must be registered at www.ThirdSunSolar.com and must not already be registered to be eligible. Click the solar Champion Badge on our website or call our office to register a referral.
• This special “double” offer only applies to new referrals made after August 8^th 2014 and for customers that sign a contingent contract before September 23^rd.
• Referral rewards will be paid upon customer payment of the final invoice, after completion of the installation.
• There are no limits to the rewards you can earn, but expansion projects are only eligible if we were NOT the original installer.

Amicus Solar Cooperative was founded in the fall of 2011. A small group of friendly solar installation companies decided it was time to form a national organization where independent businesses could support each other by sharing best practices and pooling their buying power. Amicus is a purchasing cooperative that is jointly owned and democratically managed by our member companies. We are 31 members, with 43 office locations in 22 states. Member companies are passing their enhanced purchasing power along to customers by offering best solar pricing on high-quality solar electric system installations. Third Sun Solar is a founding member.

SOLAR TAX LEASE FOR COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES.
A LOW-COST SOLAR ACQUISITION STRATEGY

LFC Capital, Inc., with more than $1.5 billion of equipment leasing experience, provides a low-cost way for commercial and industrial companies to own solar systems in 6 or 7 years.

A traditional operating lease with attractive purchase options and efficient use of tax benefits (aka tax lease) has long been used as an alternative method of financing equipment acquisitions. Now available from LFC for solar projects in all 50 states, it appeals to companies that cannot otherwise benefit from the federal energy ITC, or want energy savings and off-balance sheet treatment without the complexity and long-term entanglement with a power purchase agreement. Unlike other solar leases, LFC’s lease provides the lessee with more benefits (listed below) than just energy savings.

MONETIZATION OF ITC: A PROBLEM FOR PRIVATELY OWNED COMPANIES

Most privately owned companies are S Corporations or LLCs. These are pass-thru tax entities, meaning the federal energy investment tax credit (ITC) as well as the company’s income is reported on the personal income tax returns of their owners. While many of these companies are profitable and financial strong, they are dissuaded from acquiring a solar system when the tax credit exceeds the amount of the owner’s tax (often for reasons unrelated to the company).

TAX LEASE SOLUTION

LFC, the Lessor, monetizes the ITC and provides a company, the Lessee, with lower monthly payments than otherwise available…and the payments are fully tax deductible. The same as leasing a company car!

BENEFITS

• All-in acquisition cost at a substantial discount from original invoice price.
• No up-front capital cost and low monthly payments improve Lessee’s cash flow.
• Lease payments subsidized by Lessor’s monetization of the ITC.
• Lessee options to own the solar system after 6 and 7 years.
• Up-front utility rebates and government incentive payments for Lessee.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) for Lessee.
• No complex accounting and tax records to set up and maintain.
• No construction period financing costs when advance lease commencement (subject to approval of contractor and project).

Mount Vernon News, Saturday August 2, 2014–by Henri Gendreau

HOWARD OH–The sun is shining on GrassyDell Farms.

On top of two large milking barns on Schenck Creek Road near Howard sit 130 solar panels.

“I think they look pretty good on the building myself,” said Dale Grassbaugh, of GrassyDell.

“I just think it’s something we need to do more of,” said Grassbaugh, who was partly inspired to install the panels by his son Doug, who put in solar panels on his property last year.

The panels on Grassbaugh’s barns were installed in March by Third Sun Solar, an Ohio-based company that has installed about 400 systems since its founding in 1997, said communications director Gerald Kelly.

“An interesting thing about farmers as business people, they tend to be long-term thinkers,” Kelly said. “Farmers don’t buy and ‘flip’ farms. They’re in it for the long haul.”

Kelly said that beside looking toward the future, farmers are used to making large purchases for equipment and dealing with market volatility. Those two mindsets come into play when factoring in the initial cost to install a solar electric system and dealing with fluctuations in energy costs.

Grassbaugh said his system is currently providing about two-thirds of his electricity and Kelly said the system would pay for itself in four to seven years. [Solar panels are warranted for 25 years and continue to produce significant amounts of power well beyond that.]

“It used to be ten years ago that people who put in solar were not allowed to connect to the utility grid,” Kelly said. Now, however, those who produce electricity from solar panels are able to sell extra energy produced back to utility companies. They also qualify for federal tax credits [due to expire in 2016].

A meter on GrassyDell Farms shows how much electricity is being [made, used, and shared with the grid]. “Right now I’m buying electricity,” Grassbaugh said on a sunny Tuesday. “A minute ago I was giving it back” [as the meter dial spun backwards].

In June, the Obama administration announced plans to curb climate change by targeting coal-fired power plants, which could increase electricity costs.

“As time goes one, they’re going to get tougher on pollution,” Grassbaugh said. The prospect of increased electricity costs can make solar energy a wise investment.

Grassbaugh stressed that the cost-effectiveness and energy savings depend a lot on the kind and size of system installed.

“Everybody has to look into it,” he said. “It’s just like everything else, like buying anything — you have to decide for yourself.”

Solar for Farmers

If you are involved in agriculture, be sure to take a look at our website devoted to solar for farmers. You can jump to it here, or point your browser to http://ohiofarmsolar.com.

 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Army today awarded the final round of solar technology contracts that will support a $7 billion renewable and alternative energy power production for Department of Defense installations Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC).

The U.S. Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, established the $7 billion MATOC primarily to use for Power Purchase Agreements involving renewable or alternative energy projects greater than 10 megawatts.

These contracts will support the Army’s achievement of its congressionally mandated energy goal of 25 percent production of energy from renewable sources by 2025, and improving installation energy security and sustainability.

Today’s contract awards add 12 small businesses to the pool of qualified contractors who will be eligible to bid on future individual solar technology project task orders. Companies receiving contracts include Third Sun Solar of Athens, Ohio, the only Ohio small business that made the cut for this work. To pass muster for this assignment, Third Sun Solar had to complete a rigorous set of application procedures and be judged as a healthy, reputable company well-equipped to do work for the Department of Defense.

The MATOC involves third-party financed renewable energy acquisitions and involves no Army capital or Military Construction appropriation. The Army only purchases the power from contractors who own, operate or maintain the generating assets. The MATOC’s total estimated value of $7 billion refers to the total dollar value of energy available for purchase under all Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) task orders for their entire term (up to 30 years).

As renewable energy opportunities at Army installations are assessed and validated by the EITF, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, will issue a competitive task order RFP to the pre-qualified MATOC companies for the specific technologies. Task orders will specify the type and amount of energy to be supplied to the Army installation or other federal user as well as other pertinent information for the developer to prepare a response that meets the government’s requirements.

SOURCE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville

Part of what we do for our customers — and prospective customers — is keep an eye on solar market trends and market intelligence. We want to know where the value is in solar, and how to maximize that value for our customers. Often, that research reflects back upon us, and other companies that install solar in Ohio, showing us what customers think about, and look for, in a solar installer. So it is gratifying to see a survey like this, conducted by EnPhase and published in Renewable Energy World magazine.

When solar homeowners were asked, “Why did you select the installer you chose? (check all that apply,)” a huge 69% said that they chose their residential installer because they were the most trusted or highest rated installer, while just 56% of responders selected price. So price is certainly important, but trust and ratings are a much more common factor.

 

“It’s pretty clear that strengthening the trust of prospects and customers leads to solar sales and referrals, and reviews and other information found on the web are also important for acquiring and converting residential solar sales.” (Tor Valenza)

All of that said, it’s honest communication, follow-up and follow-through that win peoples’ trust. And maintaining focus. Each solar installation we do is the most important one we have ever done. That’s where our reputation comes from.

Tor Valenza a.k.a. “Solar Fred” is a solar marketing and communications consultant and the author of Solar Fred’s Guide to Solar Guerrilla Marketing. Sign up for the Solar Fred Marketing Newsletter, or contact him through UnThink Solar. You can also follow @SolarFred on Twitter.

The U.S. grid is the worst in the industrialized world (outages are up 285%!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power outages in the United States are up an astonishing 285% since 1984. The U.S. ranks last among the top nine Western industrialized nations in the average length of outages. That dismal performance costs American businesses as much as $150 billion every year according to the EIA.

“The U.S. electrical grid, once one of the world’s great marvels, is crumbling after decades of underinvestment,” trumpets Bloomberg BusinessWeek. “It’s… something of a relic, largely built after World War II from designs that date to Thomas Edison.”

Although talk of a smart grid has been around for years, many utilities are now starting in earnest on a huge infrastructure makeover. It could cost almost $500 billion before it’s completed, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.

Smart Grid News. Author Jesse Berst is the founder and Chief Analyst of SGN and Chairman of the Smart Cities Council, an industry coalition.

Here is an Op-Ed by David Brooks, a conservative columnist for The New York Times. In it, he comments upon The Beatles, creativity, and B Corporations (like Third Sun Solar) — how the confluence of creativity, capitalism and the desire to “do well by doing good” leads to a potent, positive force in American business culture. [Our emphasis added in bold.]

In the current issue of The Atlantic, Joshua Wolf Shenk has a fascinating description of how Paul McCartney and John Lennon created music together. McCartney was meticulous while Lennon was chaotic. McCartney emerged out of a sunny pop tradition. Lennon emerged out of an angst-ridden rebel tradition.

Lennon wrote the song “Help” while in the throes of depression. The song originally had a slow, moaning sound. McCartney suggested a lighthearted counter melody that, as Shenk writes, fundamentally changed and improved the nature of the piece.

Lennon and McCartney came from different traditions, but they had similar tastes. They brought different tendencies to the creative process but usually agreed when the mixture was right. This created the special tension in their relationship. They had a tendency to rip at each other, but each knew ultimately that he needed the other. Even just before his death, Lennon was apparently thinking of teaming up with McCartney once again.

Shenk uses the story to illustrate the myth of the lone genius, to show that many acts of genius are the products of teams or pairs, engaged in collaboration and “co-opetition.” And we have all known fertile opposites who completed each other — when they weren’t trying to destroy each other.

But the Lennon-McCartney story also illustrates the key feature of creativity; it is the joining of the unlike to create harmony. Creativity rarely flows out of an act of complete originality. It is rarely a virgin birth. It is usually the clash of two value systems or traditions, which, in collision, create a transcendent third thing.

Shakespeare combined the Greek honor code (thou shalt avenge the murder of thy father) with the Christian mercy code (thou shalt not kill) to create the torn figure of Hamlet. Picasso combined the traditions of European art with the traditions of African masks. Saul Bellow combined the strictness of the Jewish conscience with the free-floating go-getter-ness of the American drive for success.

Sometimes creativity happens in pairs, duos like Lennon and McCartney who bring clashing worldviews but similar tastes. But sometimes it happens in one person, in someone who contains contradictions and who works furiously to resolve the tensions within.

When you see creative people like that, you see that they don’t flee from the contradictions; they embrace dialectics and dualism. They cultivate what Roger Martin called the opposable mind — the ability to hold two opposing ideas at the same time.

If they are religious, they seek to live among the secular. If they are intellectual, they go off into the hurly-burly of business and politics. Creative people often want to be strangers in a strange land. They want to live in dissimilar environments to maximize the creative tensions between different parts of themselves.

Today we live in a distinct sort of creative environment. People don’t so much live in the contradiction between competing worldviews. We live in a period of disillusion and distrust of institutions.

This has created two reactions. Some monads withdraw back into the purity of their own subcultures. But others push themselves into the rotting institutions they want to reinvent. If you are looking for people who are going to be creative in the current climate, I’d look for people who are disillusioned with politics even as they go into it; who are disenchanted with contemporary worship, even as they join the church; who are disgusted by finance even as they work in finance. These people believe in the goals of their systems but detest how they function. They contain the anxious contradictions between disillusionment and hope.

This creative process is furthest along, I’d say, in the world of B corporations. There are many people today who are disillusioned both with the world of traditional charity and traditional capitalism. Many charities have been warmheartedly but wastefully throwing money at problems, without good management or market discipline. Capitalists have been obsessed with the short-term maximization of shareholder return without much concern for long-term prosperity or other stakeholders.

B corporations are a way to transcend the contradictions between the ineffective parts of the social sector and myopic capitalism. Kyle Westaway, a lawyer in this field and the author of the forthcoming “Profit & Purpose,” notes that benefit corporation legal structures have been established in 22 states over the last four years. The 300 or so companies that have registered in this way, like Patagonia [and] Method [and Third Sun Solar], can’t be sued if they fail to maximize profits in order to focus on other concerns. They are seeking to reinvent both capitalism and do-gooder-ism, and living in the contradiction between these traditions.

This suggests a final truth about creativity: that, in every dialectic, there is a search for creative synthesis. Or, as Albert Einstein put it, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.”

<End of Op-Ed>

That last statement from Albert Einstein is where solar comes in. We cannot solve the problem of reliance upon dirty fossil fuels by digging and burning more of them. We can solve the problem — gradually, one rooftop at a time — by taking it to a different level, by incorporating clean, renewable energy into the mix, and by slowly but definitively breaking our addiction to deadly fuel sources. We won’t solve the problem in my lifetime. But if we start now, we will solve it in our kids’ lifetime. Creatively, cooperatively, and by joining the unlike to create harmony.

You can read the full Op-Ed here.

Who is buying solar in Central Ohio these days?

Homeowners and farmers are going solar in growing numbers, for good reasons. For homeowners, solar puts their rooftop to work supplying clean energy for the home. Carefully-installed solar panels produce surprising amounts of electricity in Central Ohio and throughout the state. A quality solar installer will mount the right number of panels, in the right location, correctly tied into your home electric panel and your utility meter. With Net-metering, your utility will credit you on your bill for every kilowatt-hour of solar power you put back onto the grid, in effect, sharing it with your neighbors. This can shave your monthly bill down from, say, $125 per month to below $10 per month. The amount you no longer pay the utility is your solar investment, and once the system is paid down, you are making free electricity.

For many of us, these technical points and financial analysis model are of less interest than the opportunity to take control of our power and make a positive step toward a cleaner, more sustainable planet. No matter which comes first — the financials or the environmental commitment — solar makes sense across the board.

With utility rates rising, an investment today in a solar electric system offers predictable long-term energy costs and a strong hedge against energy rate inflation. A homeowner can often see a 7-9% internal rate of return on their solar investment, a far better return than many investments currently offer. And the higher and faster your electric bill rates rise, the higher the IRR and the faster your return on investment.

Farmers are also buying into solar in a big way lately. Why is that? Our experience has been that farmers, as businesspeople, tend to plan on a longer cycle than many other kinds of businesses. They plan years in advance, and they understand how major investments in equipment can multiply profit potentials. Among the long-term costs farmers seek to manage are their energy costs, which can be high with energy-intensive tasks as milk pumping, refrigeration, grain drying and grinding, barn lighting and fans. Solar can eliminate the volatility of energy costs; for farmers, who deal with volatility in many aspects of their operations, eliminating one area of uncertainty is worth more than money. Peace of mind is priceless.

In most places, no.

But it depends on where you live and how they appraise for property tax purposes. In Ohio (where we are) there are protections in place — Ohio has two solar property tax exemptions: one for solar electric systems up to 250 kilowatts, and a payment in lieu of property tax for systems greater than 250 kW. (250kW is a large, commercial-scale system — it would certainly not fit on any house I’ve ever lived in!)

In June 2010, Ohio enacted legislation granting these exemptions from public utility tangible and real property taxes. Prior to this exemption, property taxes were cited as a major barrier for renewable-energy deployment in Ohio, as a renewable-energy facility that sold electricity to a third party was considered a “public utility” for tax purposes.

In Cleveland and Cincinnati, they actually abate property taxes for adding green energy like solar.

More than 30 U.S. states (and Puerto Rico) offer some form of property tax incentive for solar installations. In the majority of these states, the incentive follows a simple model that excludes the added value of solar-energy equipment in the valuation of the property for taxation purposes. Although most property tax incentives do not have an expiration date, a handful of states allow the tax break only for a limited period, ranging from five years in Iowa and North Dakota to 25 years in Hawaii. With a few exceptions, these policies apply to all sectors, and both to solar-thermal systems and solar-electric systems (and passive solar, in some cases). Some states specify that a system must produce energy for on-site use to qualify.

In addition, several states authorize, but do not require, local governments to provide property tax incentives for solar. New Hampshire, for example, allows cities and towns to offer exemptions from local property taxes for certain renewables. The Office of Energy and Planning web site lists more than 80 municipalities that offer the exemption for one or more types of renewable-energy systems. New York’s exemption, on the other hand, is valid unless a local government opts out of the exemption, as opposed to the more common practice of requiring governments to opt in to grant an exemption. Other states with a “local option” policy include Alaska, Colorado, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia. Maryland, which requires a solar property tax exemption, allows counties to offer a property tax credit for solar systems for up to three years. Several counties in Maryland now offer such credits.

Due to the recent growth in large-scale solar and other renewables, a few states have developed separate policies for utility-scale renewables to preserve at least a portion of property tax revenue for local governments, or to assess such systems at a value comparable to a non-renewable energy facility. Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Nevada provide a partial abatement of property tax attributable to the solar facility using various assessment methods. Customer-sited installations, on the other hand, qualify for a full exemption in Arizona, Montana and Nevada, and, if authorized by the applicable local government, in Colorado. North Carolina’s property tax incentive, established in 1977, stipulates that solar heating and cooling systems not be assessed at more than the value of a conventional system. In 2008, North Carolina created a new incentive for solar-electric systems by exempting 80% of the appraised value of the system from property tax.

In California, they do not allow property tax increases resulting from adding solar (California Revenue and Taxation code codified this change in section 73, way back in 1980). Other tax jurisdictions vary.

Thanks to dsireusa.org and the U.S. Dept. of Energy for this info.