Solar Tompkins: Questions and Answers Event #2. October 20, 2014

Transcription

1 Solar Tompkins: Questions and Answers Event #2 October 20, 2014

2 Tonight s Agenda Update on Solar Tompkins program status and deadlines Review of commonly asked questions we have seen as people move forward and go solar Additional questions from you that are important, but also might pertain to other enrollees Break out in the back for one on one questions and problem solving

3 Early Work Formed Solar Tompkins Board of Directors to develop and administer program volunteer representatives from each of the 10 towns/city, one from Tompkins Planning Dept, and one from Cornell Cooperative Extension Had early meeting with potential installers, learned that the size, in terms of geography (over 300,000 acres) and number of installations ( ), did not fit solarize model easily How to achieve big goals and still make it easy for consumers while not hurting local installers? Wrestled with this for 6 months before moving ahead and hiring Program Director to work with installers to find solution Incredibly fortunate to find former installer with relationships in community

4 How This Has Worked People have enrolled in the Solar Tompkins program at educational community meetings or via the Solar Tompkins website. Enrolling has meant that you are seriously interested in looking at solar through the program, but it comes with no obligation or cost. We have asked everyone enrolling in the program to preliminarily select one of our installer partners to work with, and presented the rationale for that in detail at the meetings and online.

5 Success So Far We held 34 Solar Tompkins events across the county in June, July, and early August Of these, 22 were weekday evening or weekend community meetings, and the other 12 were brown bag lunches at places like Cornell University, Ithaca College, Tompkins County, City of Ithaca, Tompkins Community Action, and Cayuga Medical Center. Over 1,300 families enrolled in the Solar Tompkins program, exceeding our target. We ran general enrollment for 11 weeks from the program launch on May 27 th through the formal close of enrollment August 8 th.

6 Out of the 1313 enrollees, each installer partner was successful getting enrollees They received 344, 578, and 391 enrollees respectively Number of Enrollees Astrum Renovus Energy Taitem/ETM

7 300 families have decided to move forward with solar through the program so far. This is over 2.2 MW of solar and over 92% to our goal of doubling the amount of residential solar in Tompkins County this year Solar Tompkins Program Amount of Solar Amount of Solar Contracted for So Far (kw) Goal to Double Solar in Tompkins County (kw)

8 All three installer partners are in Tier 3 pricing (the best pricing tier).

9

10 Our contract signing deadline is November 1 st So, if you haven t moved forward yet, you do have a bit more time to meet with your installer partner, and review the options.

11 There is about 60% of the current $0.90/W incentive left block left (about 9MW)

12 Common FAQ #1 Can you review the financing possibilities that the installers are offering through the Solar Tompkins program, and the money flow for each? NYSERDA Smart Energy Loan (For project final cost only) AFCU Secured Home Loan (For project final cost or final cost plus tax credits) Enerbank Bridge Loan (For tax credits only) Leasing with Sungevity, NRG, or KiloWatt Financial (For entire project)

13 NYSERDA Loan NYSERDA Smart Energy Loan is for the final cost of purchasing a solar system after all incentives (up to $25,000). It is available at a fixed 3.49% APR and for 5, 10, or 15 year terms. Roof and ground mounted systems at solar sites 60% Total Solar Resource Fraction (TSRF) or better typically qualify for this loan by meeting NYSERDAs Program Cost Effectiveness Requirements with no down payment The application to prequalify is here ecovery/title/new%20york This NYSERDA loan can be paired with the Enerbank no interest 6 18 month bridge loan for the tax credits

14 Standard NYSERDA Loan Criteria

15 AFCU Home Loan AFCU Home Loan can be used for the final cost of purchasing a solar system after incentives, or for the final cost and the tax credits. Up to 90% of the current appraised value of your home can be borrowed, minus existing liens. The loan is available at a fixed 4.49% APR and for a 10 year term, and has no Program Cost Effectiveness Requirements. Your installer partner can walk you through the process, or you can contact AFCU directly by calling or ing Brian Kunk Czaplicki, Mortgage Loan Officer,

16 You pay interest only payments for the first 18 months. This gives ample time for any rebates and tax incentives to be applied to the loan balance. After 18 months, principal and interest payments are calculated based on the outstanding balance and the remaining term. No application or closing costs are charged, as long as the loan remains open for at least 36 months. Minimum requirements are you must own your home and have more than 10% equity in it You need to have at least a 550 FICO score with a monthly debt to income ratio of less than 40%

17 Common FAQ #2 We have had a site visit done, but I am still not sure if my home is a great fit for solar. What is the Total Solar Resource Fraction (TSRF) they showed me, and what should I look for in that regard? What other metrics do people look at?

18 TSRF is a number that tells us the amount of solar resource you are able to access (as a % of the ideal) at your site after orientation and shading is taken into account Projects at sites with TSRFs between 55% and 100% are common. NYSERDA likes to see 80% but I have seen projects down to 50% TSRF pencil for some families. Other metrics to look at may be payback, and new monthly cost vs your current monthly cost Please note that because of the fixed price per watt in the program, any size system with a given solar resource regardless of whether it meets 100% or 10% of your usage has the same economics

19 Common FAQ #3 How do the Federal and New York income tax credits for solar work again?

20 To see if you have tax liability, we recommend you look at your last years income tax filings. For the Federal income tax, please refer to pg 2 of Form 1040 on line 61. For the NY income tax, please refer to pg 3 of form IT 201 on line 46. The federal tax credit can be used for any residence, but the state tax credit is only allowed to be used for your primary residence. Tax credits can first be claimed when you file taxes for the year the system was completed, and the nointerest bridge loan financing is available if helpful to cover the tax credits until that point

21 The tax forms for filing will be shared with you by your installer partner when your project is completed and checked out. They will be IRS Form 5695 and New York State Form IT 255. The federal income tax credit can be spread out through 2014, 2015, and 2016, and the state income tax credit can be spread out over up to 5 years if needed. Tax credits come back a cash or avoided cash don t have to pay depending on withholding (important for paying off the Enerbank loan or part of the AFCU loan) Roof replacement and tree removal Include any labor costs properly allocable to the onsite preparation, assembly, or original installation of the residential energy efficient property and for piping or wiring to interconnect such property to the home. = Pg 3 Form 5695 We are working to clarify this, but it currently remains a question and we suggest contacting your tax preparation specialist. Most tax experts seem to advise again the inclusion of roof costs.

22 Common FAQ #4 How is the Solar Tompkins Rebate calculated again, and when will that come back?

23 Solar Tompkins Pricing Tiers

24 The Solar Tompkins rebate is the cost difference between your installer s Tier 1 pricing and the Tier they end up in, multiplied by your system size in watts. If your system is installed after November 1 st, the Solar Tompkins Rebate will come back to you as a check from your installer partner 4 weeks after system completion. If your system is installed before November 1 st, your rebate will come back 4 weeks after the November 1 st deadline.

25 Other FAQs Cost/W check Language of contracts (Language regarding incentives, structural reinforcement, tier rebate) Home and business combined situations Remote net metering situations Installation schedule Standardized checkout by all Installer Partners Upcoming community QA program

26 Reminder of Other Resources A video of one of our community solar meetings, a copy of the meeting presentation slides, and our handouts from the meetings are all available here meetingpresentation.html

27 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,