P U B L I C R O O F T O P R E V O L U T I O N

P U T T I N G T H E S O L A R S H I N E O N C I T Y B U I L D I N G S

John Farrell Director of Democratic Energy

June 9, 2015

3 G O A L SFind muni solar…

3 G O A L SCelebrate success

3 G O A L SBreak barriers

P O L L : H O W M A N Y B R O W S E R TA B S A R E O P E N O N Y O U R C O M P U T E R ?

• 1 - just this

• 2-4 - email, news site, and this

• 5-10 - doing a little research while I listen

• 11+ - I can hear you talking, but I can’t find the slides

H U G E S O L A R P O T E N T I A L

Residential and Commercial roofs

L O C A L S O L A R P O T E N T I A L

50% or more 25 to 50% 10 to 25%

25-50%

50%+

15-25%

P O T E N T I A L P E R C E N T O F P O W E R F R O M L O C A L R O O F T O P

S O L A R

8500

590

750

30,000

16,000

7200

11,000

1800

990

360012,000

780

7000

8200

510011,000

190026,0002400

7300

5100

360

26001100

1200

800

14004800

1800

32,000

5000

580

970

2300

4100

4400

2900

7200

6800

2800

7100

11,000

11,000

550010,000

12,000

20

1140700

4000

Percent of Sales1-5%5-10%10% or moreSource: http://www.ilsr.org/commercial-roofop-revolution/

*No incentives

D I S T R I B U T E D S O L A R P O T E N T I A L AT PA R I T Y * B Y 2 0 2 2

(Megawatts, residential & commercial)

26,000

4400

12,000

Percent of Sales1-5%5-10%10% or moreSource: http://www.ilsr.org/commercial-roofop-revolution/

*No incentives

20 MW9,977 MW397 MW

D I S T R I B U T E D S O L A R P O T E N T I A L AT PA R I T Y * B Y 2 0 2 2

(Megawatts, residential & commercial)

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

$0.00

$2.50

$5.00

$7.50

$10.00

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Weighted Avg. Cost ($/W)

Cumulative Capacity (MW)

SOLAR INSTALLS DRIVE RAPID PRICE DECLINE

C I T Y S O L A R P O T E N T I A L

“Instead of looking at solar as a frivolous

amenity, look at it as an investment”

Robert Hinson, Renewable Energy Coordinator with the City of Raleigh, NC

Listen to the full podcast: http://www.ilsr.org/duking-it-out-over-municipal-solar-in-raleigh/

P O L L : H O W M U C H S O L A R O N K A N S A S C I T Y R O O F T O P S ?

• 2 MW

• 25 MW

• 70 MW

• 200 MW

Kansas City, MO

70 MW

Source: Mid-America Regional Council

Currently: 1.5 MW

Source: Tom Anderson and City of Minneapolis

Minneapolis, MN

18 MW

KANSAS CITY SOLAR OPPORTUNITY

70megawatts

electricity bill savings$8.7 million

1,400 jobs

economic impact$175 million

B R E A K I N G B A R R I E R S

P O L L : W H AT ’ S T H E B I G G E S T B A R R I E R T O M U N I C I PA L S O L A R ?

• COST/FINANCING

• SHADE, STRUCTURAL LIMITS

• BUREAUCRACY

• STATE RULES, E.G. NET METERING

B R E A K I N G B A R R I E R S

C O S T

Co

st p

er k

ilow

att-

hour

0¢

5¢

10¢

15¢

20¢

Solar purchase method

Self-financed Lease, opt. 1 Lease, opt. 2 PPA* Private sector

P E R V E R S E TA X P O L I C Y M A K E S M U N I C I PA L S O L A R C O S T M O R E

Incentives do not

apply to tax-exempt

cities

Depreciation only Tax credit only

Tax credit and

depreciation

Transaction costs

Tax credit and

depreciation

Transaction costs

Transaction costs

15.5¢14.1¢ 13.7¢

12.3¢11.2¢

Federal tax credit = 30% off Depreciation = ~24% off

*PPA not legal in 25 states

Cost per kilowatt-hour

-$100,000

$0

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

$700,000

$800,000

$900,000

Raleigh Lancaster New Bedford

Self-Financed

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

Leased

LIFETIME VALUE OF SOLAR PROJECT TO CITY (30 YEARS)

T H E T R U M P C A R D ?

Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

3 R D PA R T Y T R U M P C A R D

COST PHYSICAL AESTHETIC EXPERTISEBUREAU-CRACY

POLICY

P O L L : H O W M A N Y S TAT E S A L L O W P O W E R P U R C H A S E A G R E E M E N T S ?

• 5

• 14

• 25

• 36

• All of them

Allows 3rd parties

DC

S TAT E S U P P O R T F O R S O L A R T H I R D PA R T Y O W N E R S H I P

Source: DSIRE & ILSR, Apr. 2015 Ban or no official policy

via power purchase agreements

5 G I G A W AT T S O F M U N I C I PA L S O L A R !

B R E A K I N G B A R R I E R S

P O L I C Y

N E T M E T E R I N GCan offset energy use with a solar array connected to

the same meter

A G G R E G AT E N E T M E T E R I N G

Source: Aggregate Net Metering: Opportunities for Local Governments (North Carolina Solar Center, 2013)

Available*

Not available to any sector

No net metering policy

*For some electric customers

N/A for local governments

Allowing electric customers to offset energy use at all meters/buildings with solar at any

meter/building

V I R T U A L N E T M E T E R I N G

Virtual Net Metering EligibilityCalifornia Multi-tenant properties, local governments

Colorado IOU customers; solar gardens

Connecticut Municipal customers only

Illinois Utility choice to offer

Maine All customers

MarylandAllowed for agricultural customers, non-profit organizations, and municipal governments or their affiliates

Massachusetts All customers

Minnesota Community solar; Xcel Energy only

New Hampshire All customers

Rhode Island Local and state governments

Vermont All customers

Allowing electric customers to offset energy use at all meters/buildings with solar

anywhere nearby

B R E A K I N G B A R R I E R S

O T H E R

P H Y S I C A L

Credit: Wally Gobetz via Flickr

Shading 20%

Structural limitations

20%

Source: Rooftop Photovoltaics Market Penetration Scenarios (NREL, 2008)

410 MW potential

2 MW installed

New York City

Muni Solar

Shading 20%

Structural limitations

20%

There’s a lot more in here

A E S T H E T I C / H I S T O R I C

Credit: MCAD Library via Flickr

“[At least two major national solar installers] do not believe that solar

guidelines for historic districts are too onerous

for installers.”

Source: Solar Panels and Historic Preservation. (National Trust for Historic Preservation, undated)

T E C H N I C A L / L E G A L E X P E R T I S E

Credit: Janet Lindenmuth via Flickr

E X P E R T I S E / L E G A L

We saw how much it cost to buy it from SolarCity and we saw how much we were paying for it from SCE…if it’s lower to buy it from

this guy…then buy it from this guy.

Jason Caudle, Deputy City Manager with the City of Lancaster, CA

Listen to the full podcast: http://bit.ly/ILSR-Lancaster-podcast

B U R E A U C R A C Y

Credit: net_efekt via Flickr

Credit: Ian Anderson via Flickr

S P I L L O V E R B E N E F I T S

C O P Y C AT

Credit: miconian via Flickrhttp://bit.ly/VoteSolarContagious

Solar on municipal buildings leads to

more solar installed in the

community

E X P E R I E N C E

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

$0.00

$2.50

$5.00

$7.50

$10.00

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Weighted Avg. Cost ($/W)

Cumulative Capacity (MW)

Solar on municipal buildings gives

installers and city staff expertise to drive down costs

L O C A L R U L E S

Denver Solar permitting fee = $50 Online permitting

Minimal wait time

Kansas City

Experience with municipal solar

helps cities lower barriers to solar

S TAT E R U L E S

Lawsuit over municipal solar led to

legalization of power purchase agreements

for entire state

Dubuque, IA

S U M M A R Y

5 G I G A W AT T S O F M U N I C I PA L S O L A R !

T H A N K Y O U !

21%

http://www.ilsr.org/public-rooftop-revolution/

@johnffarrell

www.ilsr.org

“It was a story more of financing than it was a story of engineering or

construction”Jason Caudle, Deputy City Manager with the City of

Lancaster, CA