According to Sherwood, 2010 and a few years out, are looking to be especially good for solar thermal, thanks to incentives and the federal stimulus money.

Read the conversation

Note from the Editor: Investor-Owned Utilities: Going Solar and Staying Profitable

Last month I posted an article about some of the constraints that electric cooperatives face when considering more renewable-friendly policies.  Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) confront a somewhat different array of challenges because they are generally privately owned and state-regulated.  According to EIA data, IOUs account for 6% of all utilities, 42% of generation, 66% of sales and 67% of revenue in the United States, ultimately serving about 100 million customers. 

Like most private ventures, these utilities are profit-motivated, either distributing dividends to shareholders or reinvesting profits in their company. This for-profit structure has traditionally precluded many voluntary renewable energy incentives but, as state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) benchmarks are coming due, utilities are starting to find more innovative ways to purchase or otherwise support green power. As of this month, 29 states plus D.C. have an RPS that requires utilities and/or electricity suppliers to invest in renewable energy or buy renewable energy credits (RECs) to account for a certain percentage of their retail electricity sales.  Faced with these and other regulatory requirements, as well as the promise of possible profits, utilities must now decide if and how they will participate in the renewable energy industry. The situation is further complicated by electricity restructuring laws which may prohibit an electric distribution utility from owning generation assets, in which case the utility may have to consider other options.  [Continued in Newsletter]

State News in Detail

Northeast States

Connecticut DPUC issues favorable draft decision on meter aggregation; town and utility reach agreement

New York removes peak load limitation for net metering

Maine PUC adopts rules for community-based pilot program

Mid-Atlantic States

Delaware finalizes net metering changes, allowing grid-integrated vehicles to net-meter

D.C. PSC releases proposed rules for net metering          

Midwestern States

Illinois ICC adopts interconnection standards for large distributed generation facilities

Southern States

Louisiana PSC issues strawman RPS proposal

Mississippi net metering bill dies in committee

Western States

California increases aggregate participation cap

Montana PSC issues proposed interconnection standards for systems up to 10MW

Oregon PUC considers an array of Feed-in Tariff proposals

Other States

Hawaii PUC reaches decision on rate decoupling, increasing RPS Goal

Miscellaneous News and Events

NC report supportive of solar and wind increases

CPUC rejects fuel cell proposal

FERC seeks comments on integration of renewables

Download the full newsletter as a PDF:  March 2010 Connecting to the Grid

FORMAT

While customer-sited net metering and interconnection policies are primarily addressed at the state level, they are also becoming important on a regional basis. This newsletter has been designed to provide state-level policy updates and capture emerging regional trends. Connecting to the Grid is a free, electronic newsletter published each month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University. Click here to subscribe.

Editor: Laurel Varnado
NC Solar Center, NC State University

If you want the best news about what’s going on in the states and cities, Read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter (March 10, 2010)

I just returned from San Francisco, the land of delicious aromas, influential people, lush vegetation, and (currently) severe budget deficits.  Still, that doesn’t deter Danielle Murray and Jade Juhl with San Francisco’s Solar America City.  The City’s recent Special Project Award to develop innovative solar financing alternatives, like Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and PACE financing, for the affordable housing and small commercial communities is on track.  “We’ve got hurdles, but strong support from the Mayor,” said Juhl.

North Carolina Solar Center’s Laurel Varnado, editor of IREC’s Connecting to the Grid Newsletter and Kevin Fox, partner of Keyes and Fox, authored insightful articles about community solar in the March 2010 issue of Solar Today.   Like the PACE programs from 2009, community solar is quickly becoming one of the darlings of innovative solar models for the new decade.  Laurel’s piece, Investing in Solar as a Community, discusses that though municipal utilities have claimed early success with this model, acceptance is now coming from more traditional utilities and decision makers.  You can continue the conversation via Laurel’s blog.

In Getting the Policies Right, Fox suggests that by drawing on best practices from community solar programs, IREC is a natural to develop a community solar model, a natural extension and complement to its highly regarded and influential net metering and interconnection model rules.

There’s been a spate of really good webinars lately. IREC and our friends at VoteSolar hosted a webinar on March 8^th about jurisdictional issues and feed in tariffs.  Kevin Fox’s Power Point and an audio file of the webinar are available on the VoteSolar website.

The Solar Foundation’s Webinar Wednesday series features two more for March.  On March 17, the community solar conversation continues with IREC’s Kevin Fox, VoteSolar’s Gwen Rose and Andria Jacob from Solar Now.  On March 24, Jenn DeCesaro from DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program will discuss how utility ownership models are pushing the solar market.  There’s no fee for these webinars, and registering once will register you for all the webinars in the series.

Charting your solar course, in the April/May 2010 issue of Home Power Magazine, is a one of the most comprehensive, easy-to-understand articles about renewable energy training I’ve seen.  Don’t be intimidated by the 11-page article; consider it the preface as you begin to understand what a quality renewable energy training program should look like.

Finally, DSIRE reports on the latest in state incentives activities, from a nearly doubling of California’s aggregate cap on net metering (from 2.5% to 5%) to a fresh batch of funds from Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources for the Minnesota Solar Energy Legacy Program.

As always, thanks for reading.  I welcome your comments and suggestions.

P.S.  Feel free to share this newsletter through any social media networks.

Read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter, March 10, 2010

Combined with the existing rooftop array on the AWC Agriculture and Science building, the total solar installation at the college will be 5 megawatts, and will generate enough energy annually to cover 100% of the college’s energy needs.

The new 4.995 megawatt array will serve as a foundation for local education and workforce development in renewable energy technology and engineering. The main array will be joined by multiple testing and demonstration sites for manufacturers from around the world to test their latest products.

The unique characteristics of the planned array make the project truly historic.

“From the multiple technologies that will keep pace with changes in the industry, to the constant data that will be available both in the classroom and to manufacturers, this array has the potential to not only change the face of the economy in Yuma, but to impact solar education and research on a national and global level,” said AWC President Dr. Marc Nigliazzo.

The planned installation includes multiple photovoltaic technologies, including High Concentration, Low Concentration, Mono Crystalline, Poly Crystalline and Thin Film. The installation also incorporates single and dual axis tracking systems along with state of the art metering and inverter technology.

The main array is primarily scheduled to be sited on the eastern edge of the campus where it will have unlimited access to Yuma’s 354 annual solar generation days.  A new Renewable Energy Technology Center building will also be built in that area so that students, faculty and researchers have immediate access to the technologies.  One megawatt of the array will be in the form of a new parking lot adjacent to the campus’ main entrance and will feature 250 parking spaces shaded by solar technology.

Financial incentives from Arizona Public Service’s (APS)Renewable Energy Incentive Program are helping defray nearly half the cost of the solar system.  APS also has been working closely with AWC and PPA to bring the project to fruition. ”It takes a collaborative effort to ensure that the many benefits of renewable energy are leveraged in our community. This project takes us one step closer to creating a sustainable energy future for Arizona,” noted Andrea Bereznak, APS Community Development Manager.

Arizona Western College currently has in place green technology embedded curriculum in science, engineering, and career and technical programs.  Additionally, the College is working with local high schools and the local workforce development organization to deliver a weatherization program.  AWC will now begin its efforts to put in place cutting edge solar technology curriculum that will include the campus PV array and testing facilities as learning laboratories.  Development of the associate in science degree in renewable energy with transfer pathways to the baccalaureate degree is central to this curriculum development with anticipated availability of programs beginning fall semester 2011. AWC has strong partnerships with Northern Arizona University in Yuma and the University of Arizona co-located on the Yuma campus with articulated programs in numerous academic disciplines including engineering and environmental science.  These partnerships will continue to be the key to development of this state-of-the-art educational programming in the very near future.

Note:  This piece was submitted by Dr. Joann Linville, Vice President for Learning Services at Arizona Western College in Yuma, AZ.  If you have questions or want more information about this, contact Dr. Linville via email or at (928) 344-7609

I love San Francisco.  It’s indescribably beautiful, culturally alive in its mix of posh and quirky neighborhoods. People are unusually courteous and friendly, I believe, because they love living in San Francisco.  My own personal consumption of coffee baked goods and ice cream increases by several orders of magnitude when I’m there.  It’s a busy place, always lots going on.

This time was no exception.

I was aware of the city and state’s gloomy economics.  Statewide, the budget deficit was hovering around $19B while San Francisco’s deficit, north of $520M, is, by all accounts, the worst in its history.

The day before I arrived, parents, students, faculty, and school staffers throughout California staged a statewide ‘day of action’ to protest cuts to education funding.  The day I arrived, the big news was the lay offs for some 26,000 of its 40 hour/week employees, 15,000 of whom could get their jobs back if they went to a 37.5 hour work week and pocketed a smaller paycheck .

That’s the day I stopped in to visit Danielle Murray and Jade Juhl of SF Environment, a department of the City and County of San Francisco, and the home for San Francisco’s Solar America City Initiative.   We met, not surprisingly, for coffee, to talk about the work of Solar San Francisco (BTW, they’re two of those employees who get a shorter work week and a smaller paycheck).

Despite the glum financial environment, neither Danielle nor Jade was deterred.  “We know we’ve got some hurdles ahead, but we’ve got so much work to do,” said Murray.

San Francisco became a DOE Solar America City in 2007, and in October 2009 received a Special Projects Award to develop innovative solar financing alternatives for small commercial systems, public schools, and affordable housing, and to help support San Francisco’s new PACE financing program, GreenFinanceSF.  Johanna Partin, Murray’s predecessor, put the Special Projects request together before she moved to the Mayor’s Office to act as his Director of Climate Protection Initiatives.

“Traditional Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have worked well for megawatt-plus sized power systems,” said Juhl.  “Tax credits, income generated from the sale of electricity to the customer, and lower relative transaction costs make larger systems more attractive to PPA providers, but it leaves a financing vacuum for smaller projects.  We’ve heard from commercial customers who would be able to utilize smaller systems in the 10-100 kW range that they want more financing options such as PPAs. We want to explore the potential to develop PPAs or other innovative financing models that can reach down to systems of this size.”

Another task of the City’s Special Project award is developing a solar financing model appropriate for the affordable housing community.

“This is a really unique and challenging assignment,” said Juhl.  “Affordable housing issues are inherently difficult because, at the least, there are typically multiple funders involved: federal, state, local.  There are also privately owned public housing providers.  The legal and tax structures are often complicated, and funding is tight for measures with high upfront costs, such as solar.”

Murray said that some local affordable housing partners are already conducting capital needs assessments on their properties, and she hopes solar might fit into those upgrades, particularly where roofs and heating systems are being replaced.  “We’re open to both solar PV and solar thermal technologies, but solar thermal is our focus,” she said.  “Affordable housing, like other multi-residential buildings, has the hot water load to make solar water heating financially viable, and it would make a large dent in their carbon emissions and move us closer to our city’s climate change goals.”

Both Juhl and Murray agree that the amount and quality of activities going on with the Solar America Cities across the U.S. is exceptional.

“There’s a lot of good work going on with a trend towards coordinated efforts between local and regional organizations, and Solar America Cities, to replicate best practices and results across the country.  These groups are working on critically relevant issues, such as expedited permitting,” said Juhl.  “The work of the Solar ABCs Initiative will be very useful for cities looking to standardize their solar permitting requirements.”

According to Murray, San Francisco’s solar PV permitting has been on the fast track for a while, and now, despite a 50% staffing cut in the buildings department (due to the drop in building and construction activity and the City’s financial woes), the city has turned its attention to solar thermal permitting.  Working with the Department of Building & Inspection and the City’s Solar Task Force, the Department of Environment is helping develop streamlined, standardized permit requirements and application processes for solar thermal, complimenting the work they’ve already done on solar PV. In January, the city also offered its building code inspectors an IREC solar thermal training with Christopher Warfel

What’s next?

“We’ll be working with our stakeholders to continue to address the vacuum in financing options for small commercial buildings, affordable housing, and public schools,” said Juhl.  “San Francisco public schools receive low-cost hydro power from our Public Utility Commission, but community members would like to see more solar on these buildings.  Finding a financing vehicle or other innovations that can help support or influence their decision to use solar will be a big accomplishment.”

The Department of Environment is also gearing up to roll out San Francisco’s PACE program, GreenFinanceSF, in April.  PACE financing allows property owners to borrow money for water and energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations. The amount borrowed is repaid through a special assessment on the property tax bill over a period of years (based on the expected lifetime of the improvement).  While San Francisco used a special Mello-Roos tax district to enable their program, in July 2008, California amended its state law to enable other cities and counties to offer PACE financing programs to property owners, similar to the existing programs in Berkeley and Sonoma County.

“We’ve got challenges on several levels,” said Murray, “and sometimes it’s hard to talk solar in a severe budget downturn, but here in San Francisco, we enjoy lots of public and mayoral support.  We’re luckier than most.”

The article focuses on renewable energy installation and system design training offerings, from on site workshops and programs to online courses to training at energy fairs and conferences.  There’s an extensive table, alphabetical by state, of more than 150 solar education providers, ranging from renewable energy specific training centers to university programs.  Schools and organizations that have ISPQ accredited training programs and ISPQ certified instructors are included in the table.  This piece alone is a phenomenal resource.

The author, David Del Vecchio suggests that when looking for an installer training program, potential students should consider those with both ISPQ accreditation and ISPQ-certified trainers, and/or NABCEP-certified installers.

Read Charting Your Solar Course

Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy: A Resource for States provides an overview of:

• The multiple benefits of clean energy and why it is important to think about them
• The importance of and approaches to calculating or estimating energy savings as the foundation for deriving multiple benefits
• The different tools and approaches available for estimating energy systems, environmental — specifically greenhouse gas, air, and health — and economic benefits across varying levels of rigor
• State analyses to illustrate the use of multiple benefits to promote clean energy

Download Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy: A Resource for States

The Green Economy Post, a blog portal that provides site visitors with  green career information, recognized 10 women leaders in solar and wind energy.  You might recognize a name or two:  Marlene Brown, Jan Hamrin, Lisa Daniels, Karen Conover, Rachel Shimshak, Trudy Forsyth Sarah Wright. Congratulations, ladies, for all that you do.

At Green Economy Post, in honor of Women’s History Month, we celebrate women who are making great strides in the green economy and renewable energy – areas which will continue to have a tremendously positive impact in all our futures.

IREC’s Jane Weissman and NABCEP’s Ezra Auerbach will talk about workforce development for the April 28th webinar.

Here are the seminars for March:

3.17.10 Community Purchases: An Emerging Method for Solar Purchases Speaker: Kevin Fox, IREC; Gwen Rose, Vote Solar Initiative; Andria Jacob, Solar Now!

3.24.10 Utilities Driving Solar: How Utility Ownership Models are Pushing the Market Speaker: Jenn DeCesaro, Solar Energy Technologies Program, DOE

Register for The Solar Foundation’s Wednesday Webinar Series, every Wed. 2-3pm EST.  

COLORADO - Holy Cross Trims Renewable Rebate Levels
Holy Cross Energy, a cooperative utility serving portions of Colorado, recently announced change to its renewable-energy rebate program. Rebates have been reduced from $2.00 per watt to $1.50 per watt, and the maximum incentive has been reduced from $12,000 to $9,000.

MARYLAND – New PV Grant Program Debuts
The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has opened a grant program that provides an incentive of $1,000 per kilowatt (kW) to public entities that install PV systems on multiple sites. The program targets public entities with a portfolio of suitable, customer-owned project sites and requires that the host enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a solar service provider. There are no explicit project size limits, but the MEA prefers that individual systems are 100 kW or greater in capacity, and that project portfolios are 500 kW or greater in aggregate capacity.

MINNESOTA – Xcel Energy Launches PV Rebate Program
Xcel Energy, which has operated a PV rebate program in Colorado for several years, has opened the Solar*Rewards program to Minnesota customers. This program offers an up-front incentive of $2.25 per watt to both residential and non-residential customers for PV systems up to 40 kilowatts (kW).  In return for the incentive, the customer is required to enter into a 20-year agreement that grants the utility ownership of the renewable energy certificates (RECs) produced by the system. Participants remain eligible to participate in net metering.

MINNESOTA – Fresh Batch of Solar Grants Available
The Solar Energy Legacy program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, provides grants to local governments for solar projects in parks and on trails of regional or statewide significance. The grants provide up to 75% of the cost of a qualifying photovoltaic (PV), solar water heating, or solar space heating project, with a maximum grant of $150,000. The deadline for grant applications under the current solicitation is May 28, 2010.

NEVADA – Pot Sweetened for Utility Renewables Rebates
Under the RenewableGenerations program, NV Energy, Nevada’s largest investor-owned utility, provides rebates for PV, wind and small hydro. In January 2010, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved new regulations for program, including changes to the application process and a new “step system” for reservations. NV Energy has announced the details of the revised program, featuring higher incentive levels and higher maximum incentives. NV Energy is currently accepting applications for wind and small hydro rebates, and will begin accepting applications for PV rebates on March 24, 2010.

NEW YORK – LIPA PV Rebate Structure Revised
Effective March 1, 2010, the Long Island Power Authority’s (LIPA) PV rebate program began operating under a declining block structure, whereby rebates automatically decline by $0.25 per watt with each additional megawatt (MW) of approved applications. This structure is currently authorized to provide funding for a total of four blocks (4 MW). Each 1-MW block includes all residential, commercial, and non-profit and government applications in aggregate. LIPA has also revised current rebate levels, reducing rebates for residential installations slightly from $2.75 per watt to $2.50 per watt, and modifying its tiered rebates for non-residential installations in such a way that some larger projects will now be eligible for somewhat larger rebates.

OREGON – New Legislation Impacts RPS
On March 4, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed new legislation (HB 3674) that makes existing biomass and municipal solid waste facilities eligible for compliance with Oregon’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Generally, renewable electricity generation facilities – including biomass facilities – that become operational on or after January 1, 1995, are eligible for Oregon’s RPS. Under the new law, pre-1995 biomass and municipal solid waste facilities are eligible for RPS compliance beginning in 2026.  Renewable energy certificates (RECs) from these facilities may be purchased prior to 2026, but may not be used for compliance until 2026. The current RPS (25% by 2025) will not be impacted by this legislation.