A home energy rating applies a number score to a home’s energy efficiency, using the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index.

The HERS Index is the nationally-recognized scoring system for measuring a home’s energy performance. The HERS Index Score can be described as a sort of miles-per-gallon (MPG) sticker for houses, with long-term energy performance rated on a scale of highly-wasteful (a high score) or energy effective (a lower score). You can learn more about getting a HERS Index Score for your home here. The index is administered by RESNET (the Residential Energy Services Network).

If you add solar — particularly if you can achieve net-zero status — you can dramatically improve your HERS score. This can raise your home’s resale value AND make it easier to get a mortgage. Lenders now know that energy-efficient homes — including those using solar — have a much lower mortgage default risk. 32% lower, according to a study by The University of North Carolina’s Center for Community Capital and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT). The combination of energy efficiency and solar raises your home’s profile as a low-risk investment. RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden said of the study, “This is a real game changer. The finding that the lower the HERS Score, the lower the mortgage risk should increase consumer, builder, lender, real estate agent and appraiser confidence.”

A widely-accepted guideline for solar impact on home resale value reasons that for every $1 your home saves in annual energy cost , its value rises by $20. Saving $1,500 a year by using solar panels could mean a $30,000 increase in home value.

Take a look at these illustrations of a worst and best HERS scores. The worst-case “150” score means the house is bleeding energy and money. The best-case “0” score means the home is net-zero, producing as much energy as it uses, eliminating its owner’s electric bill, saving over $2,000 each year. You can use the live-action scale here.

WORST CASE — BLEEDING WATTS AND DOLLARS

BEST CASE — PRODUCING ALL IT USES — TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE SAVINGS

Recently, we held a couple Open House events at our offices. We met with past customers and prospective customers, and stood back while our customers talked about their experience in going solar. We displayed some hardware, answered some questions, ate some snacks — then very much enjoyed getting this note a few days later:

Dear Third Sun:

Thank you for inviting us to your open house. Your invitation was especially generous because we were not your customers.

We enjoy meeting other homeowners and sharing experiences.

We’ve a net-zero, all-electric home with geothermal, passive solar, super insulation, and a 9 KW solar panel system. With a little effort, we could produce more electricity than we use. But we don’t want to lose our net meter.

Our president, Geoff, responded this way:

We are very glad you could come, almost as glad as we are that you went solar and built an exemplary home! While we would like to be the people that install systems for area families (because our jobs depend on it), our most important goal is that people learn about their options and make the move to solar (because our planet depends on it).

We know for certain that nothing is as inspiring and reassuring for someone considering solar than to chat with someone that has already made the switch.

Previous statements suggested that solar panels protect and prolong the life of roof surfaces. This seemed to be the only other benefit of installing solar panels on a roof surface. But a new study published in the journal Solar Energy states that installing solar panels on the surface of a building or structure may serve another purpose, in addition to producing clean renewable energy and prolonging roof life.

This study by a team of researchers led by Jan Kleissl, a professor of environmental engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering explain the cooling benefits provided by solar photovoltaic panels. “There are more efficient ways to passively cool buildings, such as reflective roof membranes. But, if you are considering installing solar photovoltaic, depending on your roof thermal properties, you can expect a large reduction in the amount of energy you use to cool your residence or business. For example, in winter, the panels would keep the sun from heating up the building. But at night, they would also keep in whatever heat accumulated inside. For warmer climates, the two effects essentially cancel each other out.” said Kleissl (ref). In other words, solar panels shield the rooftop in warm weather, reducing heat build-up. The panels lower the power usage inside the building for cooling, while also protecting roof surfaces from the long-term destructive effect of direct sunlight. All while producing lots of clean electricity with no emissions and no noise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This study is beneficial in understanding the huge reduction in energy use on hot days for some facilities explained by the shading benefit of PV systems. With the exponential growth in rooftop PV, it becomes more important to consider the effect of rooftop PV systems on building HVAC costs and longer roof life, on top of the environmental benefits.

Solar energy is on the rise. America has more than three times as much solar photovoltaic capacity today as in 2010, and more than 10 times as much as in 2007. In the first three months of 2013, solar power accounted for nearly half of the new electricity generating capacity in the United States. The price of solar energy is falling rapidly, and each year tens of thousands of additional Americans begin to reap the benefits of clean energy from the sun, generated right on the rooftops of their homes or places of business.

America’s solar energy revolution has been led by 12 states – the “Dazzling Dozen” – that have used public policies to open the door for solar energy and are reaping the rewards as a result.

The Dazzling Dozen states account for only 28 percent of the U.S. population but 85 percent of the nation’s installed solar electricity capacity. These 12 states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Vermont – possess strong policies that are enabling increasing numbers of homeowners, businesses, communities and utilities to “go solar.”

The pathway to a solar future laid out by the Dazzling Dozen is open to every state. By following their lead and implementing a new wave of public policies to expand access to solar energy, the United States can work toward the goal of getting at least 10 percent of our energy from the sun by 2030.

• Solar energy is good for the environment, consumers and the economy.
• Solar photovoltaics (PV) produce 96 percent less global warming pollution per unit of energy than coal-fired power plants over their entire life cycle, and 91 percent less global warming pollution than natural gas-fired power plants.
• Solar energy benefits consumers by reducing the need for expensive investments in long-distance transmission lines.
• Solar energy can lower electricity costs by providing power at times of peak demand.
• Solar energy costs are falling rapidly. The cost of installed solar energy systems fell by 27 percent during 2012, on top of a 20 percent decline between the beginning of 2010 and the end of 2011.

Solar energy creates local clean energy jobs that can’t be outsourced. More than 119,000 people currently work in America’s solar energy industry, most of them in jobs such as installation that are located in close proximity to the places where solar panels are installed.

Solar energy is on the rise – especially in states that have adopted strong public policies to encourage solar power.

• The amount of solar photovoltaic capacity in the United States has increased more than tenfold in the last six years.
• America’s solar energy revolution is being led by 12 states – the Dazzling Dozen – which have the highest per-capita solar electricity capacity* in the nation. These 12 states – Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, California, Delaware, Colorado, Vermont, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Maryland – account for 28 percent of the U.S. population and 21 percent of U.S. electricity consumption, but 85 percent of total U.S. solar electricity capacity and 87 percent of the solar photovoltaic capacity installed in 20

America’s leading solar states have adopted strong policies to encourage homeowners and businesses to “go solar.” Among the Dazzling Dozen states:

• 11 of the 12 have strong net metering policies. In nearly all of these states, consumers are compensated at the full retail rate for the excess electricity they supply to the grid. Net metering ensures that consumers receive reliable and fair compensation for the excess electricity they provide to the grid.

• 10 of the 12 have strong statewide interconnection policies. Good interconnection policies reduce the time and hassle required for individuals and companies to connect solar energy systems to the grid.

• 11 of the 12 have renewable electricity standards that set minimum requirements for the share of a utility’s electricity that must come from renewable sources, and 9 of them have solar carve-outs that set specific targets for solar or other forms of clean, distributed electricity.

• The vast majority of the states allow for creative financing options such as third-party power purchase agreements and property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing.

• States in the Dazzling Dozen are far more likely to have each of these key solar policies in place than other states, reinforcing the conclusion of U.S. Department of Energy research linking the presence of key solar policies to increases in solar energy deployment.

Strong public policies at every level of government can help unlock America’s potential for clean solar energy. To achieve America’s full solar potential:

• Local governments should adopt policies guaranteeing homeowners and businesses the right to generate power from the sunlight that strikes their properties and (where permitted) implement property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing programs to expand access to solar energy.
• Local governments with municipal utilities should promote solar energy by providing financial incentives – such as feed-in-tariffs – to customers and investing in community-scale and utility-scale solar projects. In addition, local governments should adopt solar-friendly zoning rules and streamlined permitting procedures to eliminate red tape and make it easier and cheaper for Americans to “go solar.”
• State governments should set ambitious goals for solar energy and adopt policies to meet them. State governments should also use their role as the primary regulators of electric utilities to encourage utility investments in solar energy, implement rate structures that maximize the benefits of solar energy to consumers, and support smart investments to move toward a more intelligent electric grid in which distributed sources of energy such as solar power play a larger role.
• The federal government should continue key tax credits for solar energy, encourage responsible development of prime solar resources on public lands in the American West, and support research, development and deployment efforts designed to reduce the cost of solar energy and smooth the incorporation of large amounts of solar energy into the electric grid.
• All levels of government should lead by example by installing solar energy technologies on government buildings.

We are sometimes asked, “why should I buy solar now? Prices have been falling, won’t they keep falling?” Well, prices cannot drop forever — and now may be the best time to buy. The cost of solar panels has fallen 80% over the past 5 years, driving some manufacturers out of business. Now, prices are stabilizing as the global glut in solar panels is easing. Those who are waiting for solar panel prices to drop further may miss the boat if they wait too long — as demand heats up (as it currently is) we may see prices rise.

Even with the recent price drop, we’ve had customers who added panels five years ago tell us, “We’re happy we acted when we did — our energy savings alone make solar a great investment.”

For more on this, see this story from Bloomberg News:

Solar-panel manufacturers are back on upswing

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013

BY EHREN GOOSSENS

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Solar industry manufacturers are rebounding from a two-year slump faster than technology companies recovered from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s.

The benchmark BI Global Large Solar Energy Index of 15 manufacturers, which slumped 87 percent from a February 2011 peak through November 2012, has regained 55 percent of its value in the past year. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite index reached its post-bubble low in October 2002 and regained 37 percent of its March 2000 peak value in the next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Suppliers including California’s SunPower Corp., which has gained more than fivefold this year, and China’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. are driving the rally as panel prices stabilize. Installations at power plants and on roofs will swell 40 percent this year from a 6.1 percent pace last year.

“The worst is probably behind us,” Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in an interview. “We’ve just gone through a big trough in solar supply.”

Investors poured $205 billion into clean-energy projects in the past year, soaking up some of the global oversupply of panels. The recovery will continue in 2014 with prices remaining stable, Chase said. Manufacturers are “a lot less depressed.”

Optimistic analysts

Analysts have become more optimistic about solar shares in recent months. The average rating for SunPower, the biggest U.S. supplier of poly-silicon-based solar panels, is 3.5, up from 2.4 in December and the highest in more than two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A 5 rating indicates investors should purchase the shares, and 1 means they should sell.

Jinko Solar Holding Co., the only Chinese solar manufacturer to report a profit in the second quarter, has an average rating of 3.7, up from 2.3 in May, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Its shares have more than tripled this year.

Investors have rushed back into shares of the biggest panel makers even before they’ve returned to profit. Yingli, which has more than doubled, is forecast to report narrowed losses compared with 2012. Canadian Solar Inc., which has risen almost sevenfold, is forecast to return to a profit of $27 million from a $195 million loss in 2012.

“…even if solar isn’t the lowest cost energy you can buy, and even if it doesn’t provide the best ROI, you should still buy solar for the same reason you need to have Bonds and T-Bills making up ~20% of your investment portfolio. It’s not about how you feel, it’s just the math. The math is the same for energy as for financial investments. You’ll get the best long term performance by investing in a mix of instruments.” Amory Lovins

Amory Bloch Lovins is an American physicist, environmental scientist, writer, and Chairman/Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades. Lovins is a McArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship winner and the author of Reinventing Fire, Natural Capitalism, Small is Profitable, and Factor Four.

Solar offers a fixed-cost hedge against future energy cost increases. It makes your future energy costs more predictable, and lower.

Are Solar Panels Worth It?

Solar energy systems have high up-front costs, but once installed, the fuel (the sun) is free forever. Due to the thirty-year system life and very low maintenance costs, once the system is purchased, the cost of energy is fixed at a known quantity. This compares with conventional electric energy costs, which have been rising at around 5% per year. We expect this number to rise even faster in the future. Is solar worth it? Well, conventional energy prices, with their dependence on fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) are subject to the volatility of those markets, as well as any future costs of environmental remediation or carbon emissions penalties.

Why Solar Is Smart

Several states have tiered energy prices in which the price per kWh of electrical energy consumption is lowest at night (when demand is lowest) and highest during the afternoon (when demand is highest). Because solar systems produce maximum energy during midday and afternoon hours, solar electric systems offset the highest-priced energy in a tiered pricing market. In Ohio, a solar electric system is a great bet on future adoption of tiered pricing in the Ohio electric utility and co-op markets. Solar is worth it. Install solar now, and if tiered pricing comes in, you’re equipped to offset the highest-cost energy and thereby save the most money on your electric bill.

Solar is a smart investment that rises each day with the sun. There are not many other investment vehicles showing returns as good as solar now, on a mid- to long-term basis. The savings from a smart move to solar now could add up to tens of thousands of dollars in the 10-25 year outlook, and if utility rates rise faster/more than projected in our financial models, the savings will be higher and ROI will arrive faster. Solar is worth it. Solar is a smart, secure power buy and a great long-term investment in your family, home & planet.

Veterans Group Cites National Security in Debate Over Changing Ohio’s Renewable Energy Standards
Ideastream.org, Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Opponents are lining up to voice their opinion on a proposal [SB58] to change Ohio’s energy efficiency laws. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, says the measure simply reforms existing policies, but others say the bill will weaken efficiency standards [spelled out in SB221].

[The Ohio Manufacturer’s Association has come out in opposition to SB58.]

Critics have slammed the proposed law, saying it’ll lead to higher utility bills and less investment in efficiency projects.

Zach Roberts, an Ohio Air National Guard veteran, has a different take on the issue. Roberts is now the Ohio director of Operation Free, a national campaign that gathers veterans to advocate for clean energy policies. The group says the advancement of clean energy is in the best interest of national security.

Roberts says reliable and long-lasting energy resources overseas is important for the safety of the troops. He adds that that same kind of reliability is needed on the state level.

“In the event we have catastrophes in Ohio, whether they’re man-made or nature, the National Guard is often times the first ones who are called to respond. We are part of the first responder community,” Robert’s said, “And it’s incredibly difficult for the National Guard to respond to domestic issues if we’re having our own issues with energy being supplied to the bases.”

Some say the bill could weaken the efficiency standards that utilities must follow. It also proposes a repeal of the Buy Ohio provision which requires utilities to obtain a certain amount of renewable energy from Ohio-based projects.

Roberts says these changes could destabilize the civilian grid on which military bases also rely.

Republican Sen. Cliff Hite represents the Findlay area which has several pending efficiency projects. He wants to hear about every possible outcome to changing the state’s energy policies because of the impact it could have on these projects.

Hite agrees that it’s important to reevaluate the state’s policies. With the major push for natural gas development and the recovering economy, Hite says the legislature should make sure the policies created in 2008 are still working with today’s changing energy environment.

“Are there cost savings for the taxpayers and the ratepayers in the state of Ohio? Have we made progress? Are many of these projects being beneficial? Are they creating jobs?” Hite said, “All these different things…This bill has definitely raised a lot of those questions and more. And we just need to get the bottom of it, find out exactly not only where we’re at, but where we want to go with this.”

As a veteran, Roberts says he’s also concerned about the amount of clean energy jobs that could be lost if the standards were to pass. He says these are jobs that members of the military can fit into after serving overseas.

When it comes to evaluating the dangers of solar, fire safety is one of several key reasons why experience, proper training and attention to detail matter when it comes to quality solar installations.

We can point you to several solar system fires that have occurred on commercial solar systems. ALL of these fires were preventable. But an unfortunate set of factors came together to spark the fires. In general, all of these fires can be attributed to a combination of two or more of these three elements:

1. Inadequate solar installation standards (NEC and others)
2. Inexperienced solar designers and/or installers
3. Severe pressure to cut costs

The solar industry has grown so fast that it has outpaced development of industry standards. Unfortunately, there are far too few standards all across the board (from National Electric Code issues and building code issues to development of standards for solar performance predictions, solar system reliability, and solar financial accounting).

This lack of standards means safety and quality are in the hands of the designers and installers of solar systems. Worse yet, it also means that potential customers have very few means with which to evaluate the veracity of competing claims from everyone peddling solar, and very little protection from incompetence.

Couple the above with the massive number of new solar companies entering the market with little or no depth of experience, and you have the recipe for problems.

Having been in the business of building solar systems since 1997, we foresaw a lot of these problems unfolding. These issues have been an ongoing topic of internal company discussion for us.

At Third Sun Solar we are passionate about solar energy, and solar PV is our sole line of business. So we take the long term health of the solar industry very seriously. Our president, Geoff Greenfield, sits on the NABCEP board of directors (NABCEP is one of the original bodies working to develop industry standards and best practices for solar) and we have engaged wherever we can in supporting solar industry best practices. We have long partnerships with some of the solar industry’s most experienced veterans and we are constantly striving to learn from everyone’s mistakes and improve our game.

We have given local fire departments solar-specific training on actual solar installations and we have been following development of solar fire code issues in CA since they got started. We’ll continue to do so.

Eventually, the standards will be put in place to alleviate these concerns, but that is yet several years away. Meanwhile, we are confident that our attention to detail, strict refusal to cut corners, and our devotion to safety and quality have always and will continue to bridge the gap between where the industry is today and where it needs to be in terms of solar safety, reliability and quality. The simple fact is, a well-designed, well-constructed solar power system poses no more risk of fire than any other commercial building component. Know your solar installer. Hire an experienced solar company and get good advice when installing solar.

The year 2013 will be remembered as the year that utilities in the United States crossed the Rubicon of renewable energy. At first glance you might think this is a purely partisan matter, one of liberals and conservatives scoring points off each other; however, it is actually the result of our republican (with a small ‘r’) form of government, wherein the profound wisdom of our founding fathers once again proves its worth. Frankly, what has happened should make each and every American proud.

Here’s what’s going on, and it’s quintessentially an American phenomenon.

No matter what our illustrious Congress desires or attempts, and regardless what our current President intends, at the end of every American day, the sun sets on 50 states and a handful of territories that are free and independent governments. Thus, even though we have a federal tax code, a FERC, and an EPA, it is still at the state level that the majority of business gets done. It is at the state level where new business is created and new technology is put into play. It’s also where power plants are built and operated. Like it or not, most U.S. electrical generation is a state-level activity. That’s where the money is spent and where jobs are created.

So unless the federal government, executive, legislative or judicial branch outright makes illegal some commercial activity, the states are going to do what they think is good for that state.

And lo and behold, the states have decided renewable energy is good.

Hence, despite what the last presidential election rhetoric sounded like, and despite what the current Congress is saying about renewable energy, the simple economics of wind, solar and other clean technology speaks for itself. Thus, in a free-market capitalist nation like America, we are seeing more and more states, businesses, and Americans freely choosing renewable energy.

A growing number of American utilities are facilitating this progress at the state level because it’s what the citizens, voters and taxpayers in those states have decided is best for them, their state and their country. No one is threatening to secede from the United State over renewable energy. Rather, we engaged in expanding renewable energy resources because it is the American thing to do.

Therefore, despite the continuing gridlock in Congress, the states are mostly exercising their liberty and moving ahead with their own renewable energy build-out, not so much as part of a larger transition away from coal to natural gas, but to diversify the energy sector and enhance local and national security.

The examples are truly indicative of Americans doing what we do best; namely, the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

Even more interestingly, despite the continued Congressional opposition to wind and solar, mainly on the Republican side of the House of Representatives, a growing number of Republican states are acting independently and ignoring Congressional Republicans who have forgotten to look and see what’s happening at home. Many current, substantial, and compelling examples abound.

For example Georgia, a bastion of traditionally ultra-conservative ideology with a near super-majority of Republicans in its state government, just saw all five of its statewide elected, conservative Republican Public Service Commissioners vote unanimously in favor of allowing Georgia Power, the nation’s largest public utility, to purchase 210 MW of solar energy. And then just eight months after that vote, they ordered GA Power to add another 525 MW, as a hedge against fuel and regulatory risk in order to protect the state and its economy and jobs.

Just prior to that move in Georgia, another ultra-conservative state, North Carolina, defeated a conservative-led attempt to repeal its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). That defeat was followed by the Governor of North Carolina declaring June 2013 as “Solar Energy Month.” All that occurring with that state’s largest utility, Duke, supporting the continuation of the RPS.

Many Republican states are doing exactly the opposite of what the Republican Party in the House of Representatives in Congress claims to stand against. Legislators at the State level are actively and aggressively working toward nonpartisan solutions to move into the 21st Century in a way that’s best for Americans. These are bold, intelligent, and careful moves that make America better, stronger, leaner, cleaner and ready for a better and brighter future using more and more wind and solar. As it stands today, the state of our union, although in a state of perpetual gridlock at the Congressional level, is doing pretty darn well at the state level in the area of renewable energy. It is clearly the states that are leading the charge on the renewable energy front. And that’s the way it should be.

Just as it was the morals, values and concerns for the individual that informed our founding fathers and guided their political compass toward a republican form of government for the United States, so it is that we are now seeing the states inform our Congress, our Judiciary and our President on how to proceed with renewable energy. If only Congress would see and listen.

U.S. utilities are already in the game. They understand it can work, and they know they can make it work. While many may have been slow to start, they are speeding up. We are seeing that every day American utilities are increasingly becoming part of the solution rather than the problem. This is, again, due in large part to the fact that utilities operate at the state level, where they are still accountable to local folks — the people that they must serve.

In the end, despite the detour from rationality that the most recent national election cycle took, and despite the detour that Congress is currently still on, the renewable energy industry in America is actually back on track. Most particularly, the states are back on track. Once Congress gets on board with the states and supports the utilities in their combined effort to improve our energy infrastructure with wind and solar, our democracy will once again prove itself to be the closest thing to divine action mere mortals could ever conceive, just as our founding fathers envisioned.

Lee Peterson
October 07, 2013
Original story here

Energy is a funny thing. We all need it, but it’s one of the few products for which historically we’ve had no control over the source or cost. For decades we’ve turned on our lights, operated equipment, paid utility bills and accepted that as reality. In the past decade an increased scrutiny on energy consumption and cost has led to an efficiency revolution. U.S. commercial and industrial buildings represent 50 percent of all energy consumption in the country, which is a tremendous cost to both a corporation’s bottom line and the environment.

But there’s good news for retailers. Solar energy is a viable energy source for commercial and industrial buildings and the technology continues to evolve. Developing solar energy technology was a huge priority of former U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. While in office he worked with the Department of Energy to launch the SunShot Initiative, an effort to advance solar technology. Chu believes that solar will soon rival other forms of energy in terms of cost per watt.

Through the increased focus on technological advancements and manufacturing efficiencies, renewable energy sources make up a greater percentage of the U.S. energy mix every year. In 2011, renewables made up nearly 10 percent of the energy generated by electric utilities, significantly reducing the percentage generated by carbon-intensive alternatives. In fact, in 2011, wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) were two of the fastest growing electric generation technologies, with cumulative installed solar PV capacity growing more than 86 percent from the previous year.

This is all well and good, but what does it mean for retailers, and how should they capitalize on this growing opportunity? Solar energy has grown exponentially in the past several years while prices are falling, making it a viable option for commercial properties – such as major retailers – looking to reduce their costs and impacts on the environment. For a commercial power user, say a business with plenty of rooftop space, the cost of generating electricity via solar panels is now on par with what the business would need to pay in retail electricity prices in many areas of the country. In that sense, grid parity has been achieved for commercial-scale installations. To meet or beat existing retail prices, the facility needs to be in a state with strong financial incentives and must be able to take advantage of those tax incentives. Let’s delve a little deeper.

Affordability and Efficiency: The cost of solar PV cells per watt has dropped from $76.67 in 1977 to just under a dollar in 2013 and installation prices dropped 7 percent in the past decade. These drops make solar technology financially realistic for many leading retailers, and also create a message of strong environmental stewardship.

Tax Incentives: One of the ways integrating solar energy into the mix is made affordable is through state and federal incentives. There are a variety of incentives available for corporations, from financing to tax credits to selling the clean power attributes.

One benefit that is immeasurable, but incredibly important, is brand reputation. Customers are placing a greater importance on environmental responsibility. In fact, a recent Nielsen report, “The Global, Socially-Conscious Consumer,” confirms that the majority of consumers today express a general preference for companies making a positive difference in the world. Retailers can’t afford to lose customers to competitors over something as simple as integrating solar power into their energy portfolio.

If a retailer is interested in integrating solar power, there are several things to consider before installation:

Roof space: Does the roof of the facility have space to accommodate enough solar panels to achieve a significant ROI? And does the roof have the structural integrity for long-term success?

Incentives: Identify what incentives are available federally and locally. Some are capped at a certain annual allocation, so ensure that they haven’t been used up.

Financing: Does a lease or a power purchase agreement make more financial sense?

Sell-back: Does the local utility allow customers to sell the electricity generated from solar at a reasonable price?

Solar is emerging as a viable energy source that has the potential to significantly impact a businesses’ environmental footprint, bottom line and reputation. With the myriad challenges retailers face today, solar energy is quickly transitioning from a novelty to a core element of energy management. Retailers can no longer afford to not rethink how they source energy.

September 26, 2013
By Brad Ouderkirk
http://www.greenretaildecisions.com/news/2013/09/26/renewable-energy-for-commercial-properties

Solar Panel Installation on the Rise in Ohio

Updated: Monday, October 7 2013, 07:52 PM EDT — ABC6 solar story

COLUMBUS (Andrew Michael) — Solar panel installations are on the rise in Ohio. The state is ranked eleventh in the nation in installations and leading the boom are baby boomers who now see solar investment possibilities. Marlin Languis lives in northwest Columbus and had his solar unit installed in June. He said he’s wanted to make the jump to solar for five years, and decided to now because the price is right and technology has improved drastically. Improvement to batteries in the panels allows excess electric to flows back out to the power grid. [Ed. Note: solar panels do not have batteries, but battery backup can be added during or after installation. Net metering rules allow solar panels to be linked to the grid and to push excess power onto the grid for others to share–earning the solar owner credit on his or her electric bill.]

Organizations like Green Energy Ohio help homeowners understand all the incentives and the rules with renewable energy. Officials say it takes about 10 years to make a return on investment after switching to solar energy.

See the video here.

Why buy solar now? Solar power is currently the fastest-growing industry in the USA, and solar on homes has become a very hot sector. New, much lower solar prices are catching homeowners’ interest, with the price of solar panels dropping 80% in the past 6 years. Looming trade sanctions against China for selling solar panels below cost in the US could force prices up soon, if punitive tariffs are applied.

Solar on the roof is now the best energy source financially for many homeowners. Low prices combined with a great tax incentive make the climate ideal now to go solar at home. The Federal Tax Credit for renewable energy (paying back 30% of the system cost) is currently in law through 2016, but is under attack from some lawmakers.

So now may be the best time ever to save money by producing your own energy. Stop paying a utility company. It is both smart and timely to install solar now.

Going solar is easy. We make a free analysis of your home to gauge sun exposure, shading, roof conditions, and existing electrical service. We look at a recent utility bill to see how much power you use, and when. We match your available space, electricity needs, and budget to find your solar sweet spot – the best system size for you, with the best pay-back. You want to make the most clean power for the least money – and that is what we can do for you.

Our Smart Solar Finance options – offered by a respected New England bank with expertise in renewable energy lending – offer no or low money down, good rates, and no pre-payment penalties. Our customers often apply the Federal Tax Credit refund directly to pay down their solar system, lowering their monthly payments. Home solar can produce positive cash flow from day one, as soon as it’s turned on.

Chances are, you can finance your solar panels for less than you currently pay on your electric bill. And once the system is paid off, the fuel is free – it rises every morning!

 

Over the past several years, we have had a number of prospective customers tell us they specifically wanted Helios solar panels. We understood why — Helios panels are made in the USA, and even closer to home for Ohio, in Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest. We support the drive to use American-made solar panels and other Made in USA solar components, but we also work very hard to protect the long-term interests of our customers. After all, a PV solar clean energy system will be productive for more than 25 years, and that 25-year warranty needs to be backed by a healthy company with a good long-term outlook.

In evaluating solar panels and related equipment, we employ three main filters:

• Quality of the solar technology platform
• Specific solar performance indicators coupled with industry reputation
• Financial stability of the solar manufacturer

Our concern with Helios was that third filter. Sadly, with Helios declaring bankruptcy, our advice to customers has been validated.

We choose only the top performers to build our reputation upon. Our network of national peer companies amplifies our internal ability to vet and process the best available solar products. We are well-connected by virtue of our 14 years of industry leadership as well as our president’s positions on the NABCEP and SolarTECH boards of directors. We have interviewed executives and key science and operations officers at all of the solar manufacturers that we recommend and we monitor the real world performance of their equipment at multiple test sites around the world.

We do not recommend a product lightly. As a case in point, we are proud to have warned against using Solyndra, due to its unproven technology as well as the instability of its parent company. We had many customers asking for Solyndra solar panels when they were the “hot new thing.” We’re proud to have held those customers off by advising them, “that technology is not yet proven in the real world—we’re not using them. If and when they prove to be everything they claim, we’ll consider using them.” They never did, and despite government backing, Solyndra went under—and gave the entire industry a black eye.

Now, Wisconsin’s Helios Solar Works has “temporarily suspended operations” at its 50-megawatt capacity c-Si solar panel factory in Menomonee Valley and filed for receivership, according to Milwaukee Public Radio. Helios Solar was a member of CASM, the SolarWorld-led consortium that brought an epic trade case to the U.S. Department of Commerce and succeeded in placing an approximate 30 percent tariff (anti-dumping and countervailing duties) on PV modules with Chinese-made solar cells.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the Commerce Department determined that Chinese manufacturers were not only guilty of illegally dumping solar cells and panels into the U.S. market, but that they also benefit from more than a dozen illegal subsidy programs.

Regarding the Preliminary Judgment by the Department of Commerce: This is a positive step forward for U.S. solar companies and the prospect of a stronger American solar manufacturing industry that can help more Americans back to work.

Our best solar advice to you: spend time choosing an experienced solar installer who will advise you and guide you toward the best solution for your energy needs, unique site characteristics, and budget.

As an Ohio solar developer, we keep a close eye on states and markets where solar has developed faster or sooner, like California. Here is a re-post from Bloomberg News, 9/13/2013:

Solar panels are the next granite countertops: an amenity for new homes that’s becoming a standard option for buyers in U.S. markets.

At least six of 10 largest U.S. home builders, led by KB Home, include the photovoltaic devices in new construction, according to supplier SunPower Corp. (SPWR) Two California towns are mandating installations, and demand for the systems that generate electricity at home will jump 56 percent nationwide this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“In the next six months, home builders in California and the expensive-energy states will be going solar as a standard, and just incorporating it into the cost of the house like any other feature,” Jim Petersen, chief executive officer of the PetersenDean Inc., the largest privately held U.S. roofing and solar contractor, said in an interview.

Lashing panels to roofs during construction is about 20 percent cheaper than after a house is built. Homeowners who can afford the extra $10,000 to $20,000 cost in return for free power threaten the business of traditional utilities such as Edison International of California or Kansas’ Westar Energy Inc.

Power companies are losing business because they can’t cut their rates in line with the tumbling prices of residential solar systems. Those cost about $4.93 a watt in the first quarter, down 16 percent from a year earlier, according to the Washington-based solar association. That was sparked by the 18 percent slump in prices for solar panels and related hardware in the same period.

Mortgage Embed

A 3-kilowatt system, enough to power a typical mid-size home, costs less than $15,000 and can be rolled into a mortgage, said Tom Werner, CEO of San Jose, California-based SunPower.

“You embed it into your home mortgage, you’re cash-flow positive month one,” he said.

That’s similar to how some buyers decided to pay $5,000 or $10,000 for a kitchen counter top that would be from natural materials and would outlast a Formica-style top.

“You’re going to see a transition from novelty, to granite counter tops, to mainstream option,” Werner said in an interview. “We’re rapidly passing the equivalent of a ‘counter tops decision’ to a ‘no-brainer.’ You just do it.”

As more homes generate their own power, typically with the help of state or federal subsidies, they’re buying less electricity from traditional utilities.

Jeopardizing Grid

PG&E Corp., California’s biggest, has said this jeopardizes the power grid because there’s less revenue to maintain the infrastructure. In response, utilities are raising rates, a burden that’s a slightly heavier burden for people without solar power. In California they may eventually pass on as much as $1.3 billion in annual costs to customers who don’t have panels.

The price crunch has also clobbered many manufacturers, pushing some of the biggest in Germany and China to protect themselves from creditors and restructure debt over the past two years, including Solar Millennium AG and Q-Cells SE.

PetersenDean installed photovoltaic systems on about 7.5 percent of the 100,000 roofs it built last year. CEO Petersen said he expects that figure to double this year.

“We’ve picked up at least a dozen new subdivisions since mid-March, and all of them have incorporated it into the cost of construction,” he said.

KB Home (KBH) has built about 1,800 homes with rooftop solar since 2011, according to Steve Ruffner, president of the company’s Southern California unit. It’s currently developing 22 communities in the most populous state that include panels as a standard feature, he said.

Arizona Offers

“Our buyers told us that’s the way they wanted to go,” Ruffner said in an interview. “Selling solar to the consumer is the value in the process, because they can put that in their mortgage.” The company delivered almost 3,300 homes in total during in the six months through May and expects to surpass that in the second half of its fiscal year.

KB sells solar as an option on homes in Nevada, Texas and Colorado and plans to offer it in Arizona beginning next month.

Megan McGrath, a real estate analyst with Stamford, Connecticut-based MKM Partners LLC, said building new homes with panels is still mainly a California phenomenon.

“It’s not as big of a deal elsewhere,” she said. Builders in other states haven’t seen significant demand for energy-efficient homes, so “it’s not really an important part of your strategy.”

10,000 Homes

About 494 megawatts of panels were installed atop new and existing U.S. homes in 2012, according to the solar trade group. That figure is expected to swell to 770 megawatts this year as prices continue to slide and may reach 2,175 megawatts in 2016.

SunPower has supplied components for more than 10,000 U.S. homes, including 4,000 built last year in California, the biggest solar state. As many as one in five homes built in the state this year will have solar, Werner said.

R. Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, California, pushed through legislation in March requiring the equivalent of at least 1 kilowatt of solar power on all new homes starting next year. About 97 percent of city buildings are considered “net zero,” producing as much power as they consume, he said.

The entire city, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, may be net-zero within three years, he said. Sebastopol, California, a town about 55 miles north of San Francisco, passed a similar measure in May that applies to new residential and commercial buildings.

“Economically, there’s absolutely no reason not to do this,” Parris said. “Solar is the only way to go.”

Any thoughts on solar panel obsolescence, solar panel upgrades, etc. – i.e. 25-30 year lifetime is great, but do you anticipate material or other advances to provide a justifiable upgrade projection in 7, 10 or 15 years?

The solar industry is still evolving. Solar modules of the format we are currently using (crystalline cells sandwiched between glass sheets and framed by aluminum) are here to stay for at least the next decade if not the next three decades. The performance of the cells has pretty much been maxed out. The real advances now are simply bringing the cost of manufacturing down. So yes, in 7 or 10 years there will be lower cost solar panels, but I strongly doubt they would have sufficiently improved performance to justify a change-out or upgrade.

Our industry does not yet have sufficient standards in place to make solar panels mix and matchable or plug and play commodity items. Each project is still a custom project and the specific panels are matched to the specific inverters. There are about 600 different makes and models of solar panels and they are all different electrically and in their physical dimensions. So swapping one out for a “better” one in the future will likely not be possible.

The most likely upgrade you could expect would be improved inverter controls which would allow your system to keep running during grid troubles. Given the large number of inverters already deployed, I foresee such improvements being made available as retrofits to existing inverters.

Yes, there could be some step changes in performance improvement in the next ten years. But from what I’ve seen repeatedly since 2006 is that the overall economics of the package don’t improve. If the project makes sense to do now, you should just do it. Those customers I know who waited for something better to come along now generally regret that decision. They could have been saving money all along.

 

Inverter warranties are 10-15 years, depending on the make and model. Inverter replacement costs are hard to forecast 15 years out. The inverter manufacturers are just now starting a price war similar to what the solar panel manufacturers went through over the past three years. So costs for equivalent models will likely fall considerably over the next 15 years. However, more and more value-added features are getting built into inverters, so those additional features will likely offset the price reductions going forward.

We had this question from a customer: Given that there isn’t too much rain to help with the cleaning, what is the typical solar panel maintenance attention that you would anticipate – is solar panel cleaning just typically wetting them down with hoses, or hand scrubbing? Dust obviously and a lot of birds out there. Every other day, once a week, once a month? What is the accessibility (between panels, etc.).

And here is our answer: For most of our customers there is little to no maintenance whatsoever, other than a weekly or monthly check of the production numbers to make sure the system is still operating. They make no noise either on or off, so unless someone pays attention to the monitoring alerts you won’t notice if the system goes offline. We can have the system set up to send automatic email alerts to us and you so such events won’t get missed.

Washing: In the Midwest, with lots of rain, it is typically not cost effective to wash modules. In CA, however, it is generally considered cost effective to wash modules one to two times per year. First wash is best done in late May, early June. Second wash is optional, depending on rain. A good spray from a hose is usually sufficient.

Random birds are not much problem. But if birds make a habit of visiting one spot, then that spot will need some scrubbing.

Solar panel accessibility depends on your goals and priorities. The CA fire code requires walking space all around the edges and a few pathways between arrays. But this still leaves large portions in which individual solar panels would be hard to reach. The panels are usually butted tightly up against each other. Our trained installers can walk on them, but I would not want an untrained or inexperienced person walking on them. So, you should stand in the walkways and spray with a strong hose.

Alternatively, it is possible to purchase automated washing systems, but whether or not they’re cost effective depends a lot on the design detail. Suffice it to say, this is something easily solved and not too costly.

We all use electricity. For too long we have ignored issues about where electricity comes from, and believed that electricity is best made by others, by experts, by “the powers that be.” Now we are entering a new era in which we can take control of our future, including the important choice of how our electricity is generated.

I am proud to be part of the growing solar power industry. Every day, companies like Third Sun Solar are busy building new clean solar power plants, including solar for homes, businesses, universities, government buildings, military facilities, hospitals, and libraries.

Solar technology is simple, reliable and efficient. There are no moving parts. The panels are solid state, modular, and scalable. More panels make more power. To make a certain amount of electricity, you might need 10 solar panels in the desert southwest and 12 in Ohio, or 15 in upstate New York. The state with the most solar is California; second is New Jersey. Germany is a shining example of a modern industrial nation that is well on its way to a clean renewable power grid. The point is, solar can work anywhere the sun shines. There is NO TECHNICAL BARRIER to a solar powered U.S.A.

Solar panels also make sense financially. Costs of solar panels have dropped by 80% since 2007. With long term financing, a solar system can cost less than conventional retail power, with free fuel. There is NO ECONOMIC BARRIER to a solar powered U.S.A.

My company and many of my friends in the solar industry are hard at work turning on system after system for folks that are choosing clean energy. But there are many entrenched interests that benefit from perpetuating the status quo—generating our electricity by burning coal, oil, and natural gas, and pouring pollution up into our delicate atmosphere. Aging, inefficient and highly-polluting power plants are being kept online simply to maximize profit, and for no other good reason. This has to stop. There is a very REAL POLITICAL BARRIER to a solar powered U.S.A.

At Third Sun Solar, our company mission is to accelerate the shift to clean energy. We need to move forward, installing clean solar and wind power as quickly as we can, while also retiring the dirtiest, oldest power plants as quickly as we can.

We salute and support Environment Ohio in calling on Senator Sherrod Brown to support the EPA’s new Carbon Rule.

“What about solar during a utility failure?”

For safety, grid interactive solar systems are designed to immediately disconnect and shut off if a utility grid failure is sensed. The system will automatically restart a few minutes after grid power is restored. As a result, no power will be available from the solar panels during utility outages. This protects utility workers who may be out working on power lines.

With new SMA transformerless inverters, a solar system can provide limited daytime power during a blackout. These inverters can be connected to household loads — like a fridge, lights, computers — and make up to 1,500 watts available while the sun shines.

Solar energy systems can provide around-the-clock, independent backup power during utility outages if they are connected to an appropriately-sized battery bank to absorb and store the energy they produce. Natural gas and propane generators are another option for backup power. We have installed solar panels and a generator on numerous jobs, when secure power is an absolute must-have.