Solar Tompkins: Accelerating the Adoption of Solar in Tompkins County

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1 Solar Tompkins: Accelerating the Adoption of Solar in Tompkins County

2 What is Solar Tompkins? Solar Tompkins is a non profit, community solar initiative focused on facilitating a large sustained increase in the rate of solar PV adoption in Tompkins County Our specific goal is to facilitate the installation of at least 300 solar PV systems (equivalent to over 2 MW) in the next year, which would roughly double the existing residential solar PV capacity installed to date in the county.

3 Solar PV is the mature, widely deployed technology that produces electricity, and can be roof or ground mounted. Our goal is also to have strong positive effects on the community and renewable energy companies

4 The Solar Tompkins program draws inspiration from successful Solarize projects across the country. The program seeks to eliminate the few remaining barriers to solar adoption by providing: (1) attractive lower than market pricing that decreases as more people go solar through the program (2) a simple process with vetted technology and installation partners (3 this year), (3) county wide educational outreach on the practicality of solar PV, and (4) a community wide program to build enthusiasm and generate the impetus for adoption now!

5 Why is a Program Like Solar Tompkins Needed? NY has a good solar resource, but the NY residential solar market is still growing slightly more slowly than other states and countries doubling its total amount of installed Solar PV every 20 months in recent years. We need a faster rate than this to be on any serious track of achieving the plan of 100% renewable energy by 2050, which is needed to address the serious problems we re facing

6 Adoption of Solar Varies, but is Widespread across the State

7 Tompkins County Ranks 7 th in NY for in total solar installations per capita County Number of Systems Watts installed per person Columbia Warren Rensselaer Montgomery Ulster Saratoga Tompkins

8 PV Installation Per Capita For All of NY Watts per Person Still Greatly Lags Germany

9 Its Clear We Can Do This Faster! Germany had enough solar in 2012 to power 3.44 million homes The United States had enough solar in 2012 to power 1.67 million homes Germany has about 3 times the installed solar of the US yet: Germany s solar resource is 33% less than the U.S. Germany s population is 1/4 th of the U.S. Germany s electric usage is 1/7 th of the U.S, and it s land area is 1/26 th of the U.S.

10 Jan Resetting Clock To 0 MW

11 June MW

12 Jan ,984 MW

13 June ,656 MW

14 Jan ,740 MW

15 July ,424 MW

16 Jan ,674 MW

17 June ,797 MW

18 Jan ,036 MW 860,000 systems In four years

19 Why Will It Work?

20 Rapid Drop in Solar Prices Across All Sectors

21 Price Drop has Made it Affordable and Accelerated Solar Installations 100 Installed Solar PV in NY (megawatts)

22 Other States Are Doing It! More solar PV has been installed in the US in the past 18 months than the previous 30 years combined. 3 Leading states doubled their total amount of installed solar PV in 2013 (CA, MA, NC) and 2 states came close (AZ, TX)

23 There are Advantages Now Solar panels are being produced quicker and cheaper than ever before. Incentives and tax breaks exist now, but not indefinitely and are decreasing. There are several great and affordable ways to acquire or finance a solar PV system. Now is the most important time to do your part in halting the worst aspects of climate change and reducing the other pollution associated with fossil fuels.

24 How Solar Power Works

25 Solar Works on Homes

26 Solar Works on Barns

27 Solar Works on Garages

28 Solar Works on Businesses

29 Solar Works on aframe

30 Solar Works on a Pole

31 Solar Even Works on Chicken Coops

32 Basic Components of a Solar System The panels convert sunlight directly into electricity South, SE, SW, West, or East Facing Panels are typically 5 to 6 feet long and 3 to 4 feet wide They weigh around 2 to 3 pounds per square foot They are rated to withstand a 1 inch hail stone traveling at 50 mph No Moving Parts Warrantied for 25 years

33 The inverter converts the direct current (DC) electricity from the solar panels into alternating current (AC) power that is compatible with the grid The inverter can be located outside, in a barn or garage, or inside next to your service panel depending on your site

34 Inverters can be centralized, with fewer larger units as we just saw, or there can be one per panel One common factor that can lower the efficiency of systems is partial shading. If partial shading is an issue at your house there are two great solutions offered: either microinverters or power optimizers.

35 Systems are all grid connected, and don t require any storage Through net metering you are given credit for electricity your solar system produces at the full retail rate allowing you to build up a credit in the summer to use back in the winter NYSEG will replace your analog meter with a digital meter to keep track of both the amount of electricity you consume from the grid and the amount your solar system provides to the grid

36 Optional Components Web based monitoring can be added to any system Monitoring systems allow you to see the production of your system on a daily, monthly, or annual basis It also allows the installer partners to track your system and help identify any issues in the unlikely event they arise

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40 Adding Energy Efficiency to the Picture When you work with the Solar Tompkins program, our partners will talk with you about your current electric usage and about ways to increase efficiency if you wish By reducing your electricity loads if you wish, you can go with a smaller PV system to meet all your needs. If you re thinking about your whole house energy beyond electricity today, you can talk to our Partners about that as well, and whole house energy audits/assessments can help

41 Basic Options for Going Solar Purchase Upfront cash investment Low interest loan Lease Details of each option will be addressed below.

42 How You Can Work With the Solar Tompkins Program

43 How Solar Tompkins Works Express your interest in the program at an educational community meeting, or via the Solar Tompkins website by "enrolling" in the program with no obligation (required to participate in the program). We ask that everyone enrolling in the program preliminarily select one of our Installer Partners to work with. We do this because: All of our Installer Partners' pricing and offering is listed on our website and comparable upfront, so you can see everything they will offer you without the need to request a separate quote. Working with one Installer Partner avoids the 3 companies duplicating a lot of work, and this cost savings along with the cost savings we bring through the Solar Tompkins program outreach and education campaign are the basis for the 20% below market pricing we are able to offer through the program.

44 Get a basic site review including assessments of shading and location suitability leading to a discounted solar installation price quote from one of our Installer Partners with no obligation. Sign a contract to have your new solar system installed. Get others to join As more people signup and decide to go solar through the Solar Tompkins program, the price for your system will decrease. Your system will be installed in a timely fashion. You will start producing clean electricity and save on your electricity costs for years to come.

45 Examples of Site Suitability and Shading

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51 Behind the Scenes Solar Tompkins Volunteers Tompkins County and CCETC on our Board Students from SUNY Cortland's Sustainable Energy Systems Master's Program Student volunteers from this exciting program will be providing key help by improving the information we provide to our Installer Partners on everyone that enrolls in the Solar Tompkins program.

52 Solar Tompkins 3 Installer Partners Astrum Solar is a large residential solar installation company headquartered on the East Coast with experience in 19 community solar programs. They have two offices in New York one upstate near Rochester and one downstate, and they will be handling up to 1.05 MW roughly 131 to 175 homes in the program.

53 Renovus Energy is a rapidly growing local solar installation company founded in 2003 to provide greater access to high quality clean energy systems to Tompkins County and the surrounding area. They will be handling up to 1 MW roughly 125 to 167 homes in the program.

54 Taitem/ETM Taitem/ETM is a consortium of Taitem Engineering a local consulting engineering firm specializing in sustainable design, energy consulting services, and renewable energy systems founded in 1989 and ETM Solar Works a local solar installation firm from Binghamton NY that has been in business for over 20 years. They will be handling up to 360 kw roughly 45 to 60 homes in the program.

55 Why 3 Installer Partners? To make sure when can meet the needs of a large county To be as inclusive as possible while still maintaining a simple effective Solarize process To maximize the number and type of offerings available to participants in the program while still maintaining a simple effective Solarize process These 3 partners each bring something unique to the table, for example: Astrum: Larger regional company focused solely on residential solar, large economies of scale Renovus Energy: Full service renewable energy company, local rapidly growing company Taitem/ETM: Engineering specialties in house, long local experience in the Ithaca and Binghamton markets

56 Purchase Pricing Summary Before Incentives

57 Example Purchase

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61 Example Adder: Frame Ground Mounted System For the same 7 kw system if you need a groundmounted system, which is the largest common adder, with an average of 150 ft trenching back to your home or out building: The final cost is $10,351 OR a $102/month low interest loan

62 Leasing Pricing Summary After Incentives

63 Example Lease System For the same 7 kw system if you need a roof system, the average lease cost with a fixed monthly payment is $60 80/month. For that 7kW as an average ground mounted system, it would be $86 100/month lease

64 Economics Summary For purchases, you are typically looking at a 6 7 year payback and an IRR of 17% for roof systems, and 9 10 year payback and an IRR of 10% for ground systems For loans or leases you are typically locking in similar or lower guaranteed monthly electric bills with no upfront costs for clean solar electricity Provides cheaper electricity from a cleaner source and be guaranteed price stability over the coming decades

65 What are the Important Dates? The program launched May 27, 2014, and educational events and enrollment in the program will run through July 31, Contract signing deadline October 1, Installations will proceed as rapidly as possible after a contract is signed, starting in August 2014 and going through 2015.

66 Questions and Contact Info Questions? More information is available on our website Please also feel free to contact us directly with any questions or interest Melissa Kemp, Solar Tompkins Program Director,