Solar Thermal Leasing

Last edit

Summary: rearrange, tidy up

Changed:

< Connecticut Inaugurates Solar Program For Homeowners
< in News Departments > Policy Watch
< by SI Staff on Tuesday 19 August 2008
< Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently announced the state's Solar Lease Program, whereby the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) provides a combination of rebates and tax credits to lower the cost of leasing solar systems.
< Administrator AFC First Financial Corp. has completed the paperwork for what will be the first residential solar lease under the program. The 5.88 kW system, being installed on a home in Simsbury, Conn., by Solar Works Inc., is the first of an anticipated 1,000 residential solar photovoltaic systems to be put in service under the program in the next three years.
< Homeowners with qualifying credit and whose household income is less than or equal to 150% of the median income in their area are eligible for the program. This is the first time a ratepayer-funded organization such as the CCEF has partnered with financial institutions to leverage federal tax credits in order to make renewable energy more affordable. CCEF is investing $38.6 million in the program.
< CT Solar Leasing LLC will finance the purchase and installation of the systems. By owning these systems, CT Solar Leasing can take advantage of federal business tax incentives presently unavailable to consumers. With the CCEF's Solar PV Rebate Program and the federal tax incentives, there is no need for a down payment.
< SOURCE: AFC First Financial
< I could see EAC, Clean NS and Solar NS join forces to 'lobby' and promote this type of a program, with the backing of the industry partners here. It could be run through an existing CEDIF with a renewables mandate (like Scotian Windfields, eh?), and then any biz tax incentives are captured. Certainly Conserve NS would have a ready ear, although the final decision at the provincial level...

to

> Shawna Henderson writes:
> This page is for discussion of how Solar Nova Scotia and strategic partners can promote and lobby for a provincial solar thermal leasing program for homeowners, so they don't have the up-front costs yet reap the benefits. Some of the solar thermal folks offer leases, but it's obviously based on approved financing, which limits the availability to those who have good credit. For those who really need it, at the low end of the income scale, a provincially-backed program would help make it more accessible.
> Of course, the overarching goal is to bring the market up to a size where the system costs go down.
> ==2008-08-19==
> Connecticut Inaugurates Solar Program For Homeowners: text
> [http://www.windowsi.com/MarketTrade/MarketInfoDetail.aspx?InfoId=15985 here] and
> [http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1780 here] and
> [http://www.solarindustrymag.com/print.php?plugin:content.1780 here].
> Shawna writes: I could see EAC, Clean NS and Solar NS join forces to 'lobby' and promote this type of a program, with the backing of the industry partners here. It could be run through an existing CEDIF with a renewables mandate (like Scotian Windfields, eh?), and then any biz tax incentives are captured. Certainly Conserve NS would have a ready ear, although the final decision at the provincial level...

Added:

> ==2008-08-20==
> Solar Water Heater Push Across British Columbia. Text
> [http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.1893 here] and
> [http://www.aer-online.com/print.php?plugin:content.1893 here].

Deleted:

< -------
< Ah - sure! I missed the first part of this discussion - what's the focus here? This isn't the FAQ right?
< -dan
< -------
< no, not the FAQ, although there would be some good stuff generated for the FAQ out of any wiki this crowd was involved in!
< The wiki is for discussion of how SNS and strategic partners can promote and lobby for a provincial solar thermal leasing program for homeowners, so they don't have the up-front costs yet reap the benefits. Some of the solar thermal folks offer leases, but it's obviously based on approved financing, which limits the availability to those who have good credit. For those who really need it, at the low end of the income scale, a provincially-backed program would help make it more accessible.
< Of course, the overarching goal is to bring the market up to a size where the system costs go down.
< Shawna Henderson

Changed:

< I know of one program being started in the US where you pay for a solar system through your property taxes over 20 yrs. This way you don't have to worry about recouping the installed costs in the case you move 2 years down the road, the next home owner would take on the payments. As well you don't have to come up with the capital costs. This could be setup for low income households as well. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/07/california-adop.html.

to

> Aaron writes:
> I know of one program being started in the US where you pay for a solar system through your property taxes over 20 yrs. This way you don't have to worry about recouping the installed costs in the case you move 2 years down the road, the next home owner would take on the payments. As well you don't have to come up with the capital costs. This could be setup for low income households as well. More information [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/07/california-adop.html here].

Deleted:

< Aaron

Added:

> Shawna writes:

Deleted:

< Shawna
< _________
< from SH
< Solar Water Heater Push Across British Columbia
< in Thermal News > Projects
< by AER Staff on Wednesday 20 August 2008
< email the content item print the content item
< The provincial government of British Columbia is investing C$5 million in a program designed to encourage the installation of solar hot water heaters.
< The SolarBC program, which is administered by the nonprofit B.C. Sustainable Energy Association, will divide the funds among six projects:
< * SolarBC Residential Retrofit, which provides financial incentives to homeowners to install solar water heaters;
< * Local Government Solar Thermal Project, which targets municipal buildings;
< * First Nations Solar Project, which will provide 500 systems to tribal territories across the province;
< * Social Housing Solar Project, which addresses the affordable housing sector;
< * Solar for Schools Project, which will provide 50% funding for solar hot water installations on up to 50 schools across the province; and
< * Solar Communities, which will select five communities for the promotion of solar water heaters.
< SOURCE: British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

Shawna Henderson writes:

This page is for discussion of how Solar Nova Scotia and strategic partners can promote and lobby for a provincial solar thermal leasing program for homeowners, so they don't have the up-front costs yet reap the benefits. Some of the solar thermal folks offer leases, but it's obviously based on approved financing, which limits the availability to those who have good credit. For those who really need it, at the low end of the income scale, a provincially-backed program would help make it more accessible.

Of course, the overarching goal is to bring the market up to a size where the system costs go down.

2008-08-19

Connecticut Inaugurates Solar Program For Homeowners: text here and here and here.

Shawna writes: I could see EAC, Clean NS and Solar NS join forces to 'lobby' and promote this type of a program, with the backing of the industry partners here. It could be run through an existing CEDIF with a renewables mandate (like Scotian Windfields, eh?), and then any biz tax incentives are captured. Certainly Conserve NS would have a ready ear, although the final decision at the provincial level...

Perhaps credit union would be interested in the financing end of it? Other financial institutions might surprise us...

ever the optimist...

Shawna

2008-08-20

Solar Water Heater Push Across British Columbia. Text here and here.

Derek:

Absolutely, as one who started with PV - because I had to - I spend a lot of time telling people that they really don't want to add PV to their grid-attached home when they could get so much more for their money with thermal.

Aaron writes:

I know of one program being started in the US where you pay for a solar system through your property taxes over 20 yrs. This way you don't have to worry about recouping the installed costs in the case you move 2 years down the road, the next home owner would take on the payments. As well you don't have to come up with the capital costs. This could be setup for low income households as well. More information here.

Scotian Windfields has been working on a "Solar Utility" called 1st STEP (Solar Thermal Energy Provider). With this program, you sign a long term contract to buy solar thermal heat (usually fixed at the current energy price) from the provider, Scotian would then buy the solar thermal system and install it on your building and maintain it over the term of the contract. Typically systems have to be 25 or more collectors to make it worthwhile for them. There are at least two other companies successfully doing this in Canada already.

Shawna writes:

So, while 1st STEP wouldn't work for individual homeowners b/c of the minimum number of collectors, it could work for a set of rowhouses or a big condo/strata title development , and the hot water generated could concievably be piped to the individual units, who could apply as a co-op or have the solar thermal system included in a condo agreement.

Tying this into new developments, esp. the co-housing groups that are in the works could make it completely feasible to go to a higher solar thermal capacity for space and water heating on a small 'district' system. WOuld be interesting to engage Dave Stewart in a discussion about how this impacts the costs of a seasonal energy storage system. Certainly opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities to tie geothermal and solar together in small community systems.