Local Advocates Meet to Highlight Solar Opportunity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 3, 2017

Media Contacts:

Zadie Oleksiw, Vote Solar Communications Manager, Zadie@votesolar.org, 202-836-5754

Local Advocates Meet to Highlight Solar Opportunity

Community solar is a major opportunity to empower Connecticut’s low-income customers

New Haven, CT. – Today, local clean energy and housing advocates held a public event highlighting the benefits of shared solar and other low-income solar programs for customers and communities. The recently updated Low-Income Solar Access Guide was also released with a Connecticut-specific fact sheet, which includes program and policy developments over the last year that better serve low-income customers.

“The clean energy economy is soaring nationwide, and neighboring states like Massachusetts and New York are expanding solar access to all of their communities – and reaping wealthier and healthier communities as a result,” said Melanie Santiago-Mosier, Low-Income Program Director at Vote Solar. “Now, it’s Connecticut’s turn to harvest those benefits, and community solar is how we do that. We’re asking lawmakers to bring clean energy choices, lower utility bills, and cleaner air to everyone in Connecticut through community solar.”

A well-designed community solar program, which doesn’t yet exist in Connecticut, would unlock lower customer utility bills, greater control over energy choices, and serve to support a local clean energy economy. Two years ago the legislature authorized a pilot program for community solar, but the pilot has been delayed several times and has still not moved forward, while neighboring states have made significant gains and opened up statewide programs in that time. Community and rooftop solar also promote a healthier environment by reducing the need for generating power from fossil fuel plants.

“Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven isn’t just about rehabbing houses and making them energy efficient; it isn’t just about the folks who buy our houses; it is about the neighborhoods we serve, and everyone in them,” said Kathy Fay, Deputy Director of Design and Construction at Neighborhood Housing Service of New Haven. “Everyone, regardless of income, pays a portion of their electric bill into a fund that helps to bring solar to local communities. Community shared solar in Connecticut will make it possible for everyone to take advantage of the solar opportunity, regardless of whether it’s on their roof or around the corner.”

“Shared solar is a way to make the technology of clean renewable energy available to many, if not all, of Connecticut residents,” said Paula Panzarella, speaking for the New Haven Energy Task Force. “Clean renewable energy is a concern of everyone. Especially in the inner-cities, we are already living with an overload of pollutants, asthma and automobile exhaust. Shared clean energy facilities would allow city-dwelling and low-wage earners to have access to clean energy. Everyone pays into the funds to support the clean energy programs, and shared solar allows everyone to reap the benefits.”

“The Green Bank is working to ensure that all Connecticut residents and businesses have equitable access to energy savings through our programs, strategic partnerships, and outreach,” said Madeline Priest of the Connecticut Green Bank. “We are pleased to support the state’s shared clean energy program with financing availability to community solar developers. Solar is affordable, and Connecticut businesses and residents can be excited for the opportunity to save money by saving energy.”

 

Kathy Fay, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven

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About Vote Solar:

Vote Solar is a non-profit organization working to foster economic development and energy independence by bringing solar energy to the mainstream nationwide. Learn more at www.votesolar.org

Paying for Solar: Tips for Financing a Residential System

This article was originally posted on NeighborWorks America's website. NHS of New Haven is chartered member of the NeighborWorks network.

Paying for solar: tips for financing a residential system

Elaine Ulrich, program manager, Department of Energy | 7/28/2016 11:08:57 AM

Editor's note: Just like a renovated kitchen increases a home’s value, solar can do the same. The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative’s spotlight on solar and real estate highlights a variety of resources on the subject, including this blog post with useful information for anyone who is considering residential solar or is counseling someone who is. There also is information specific to homebuilders.

After you’ve made the decision to go solar, the next step is figuring out how to pay for it. Assuming you don’t have the cash to buy your solar energy system upfront, like the vast majority of Americans, there are a variety of financing options to help you hitch onto the solar bandwagon and start increasing the value of your home.

The simplest way to get capital to go solar is through a loan, which can save you anywhere from 40% to 70 percent over the lifetime of your solar panels. These loans are similar to most home improvement loans used to complete upgrades or renovations, such as finishing a basement or re-doing your kitchen. A variety of sources offer loans, including banks and solar installers.

HomeStyle Fannie Mae mortgage

A new type of loan is making solar energy accessible to even more people. Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle® Energy mortgage gives borrowers the ability to complete clean energy upgrades up to 15 percent of the as-completed appraised property value of the home. Borrowers are able to finance energy-efficient upgrades when purchasing or refinancing a home, eliminating the need for a subordinate lien, home equity line of credit, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan, or unsecured loan. The mortgage requires homeowners to attain a home energy report in order to show the value gained through energy savings over time is greater than the installation price tag. The HomeStyle Energy mortgage changes the solar loan landscape. It will encourage solar installation companies to revisit their loan practices, allowing for more competition within the industry and reducing soft costs—such as permitting and installation—for consumers. People buying homes or refinancing mortgages now can have the cost of a solar array wrapped into their mortgages without worrying about higher interest rates.

Regardless of the type of loan you secure, the solar on your roof is going to add value to your home. A recent study found that home buyers across the country have been willing to pay a premium of about $15,000 for a home with an average-sized solar array. Another study found homes with solar panels sell faster than those without.

Other options

If you’re unable to secure a loan to purchase a solar energy system, you still have other options. You can obtain a third-party owned system through a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) offered by some solar installers, whereby the installer owns and maintains your system. Solar leases require consumers to pay a fixed monthly payment that is calculated by assessing the amount of electricity the system is expected to produce. With solar PPAs, consumers buy the electricity generated by their rooftop system back from the installer at a set rate per kilowatt-hour. Although these arrangements are often offered with no money down, consumers don’t benefit from the rebates, tax breaks, and other incentives available to system owners. When the time comes to sell one of these homes, data shows that even though third-party owned systems add some complexity to the real estate transaction, the overall impacts are mostly neutral.

Financing is a big part of going solar, and several SunShot Initiative awardees are working to lower these costs. Incubator awardee Sungage Financial created a marketplace that provides homeowners with easy, online access to low-cost financing for solar equipment. Pilot programs in the Northeast have helped the company understand how to meet the needs of consumers, installers, and capital providers in order to successfully and efficiently deliver financing solutions. Additionally, work under kWh Analytics’ Incubator award uses data analytics to help investors understand the perceived technical and financial risks associated with solar, which will build investor confidence and enable more capital to enter the market for residential systems.

Consumers have a lot to consider when it comes to solar financing, but the end result is worth it: cleaner, more affordable energy that has the potential to greatly increase your home’s value.


The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort formed to aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, the Energy Department supports efforts by private companies, universities and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt hour. Learn more at energy.gov/sunshot.