Cherrytree Group LLC Blog

Generating electrical power from natural resources is both desirable as a power source, and beneficial in protecting the environment and economy by shrinking our carbon footprint, and lessening our dependence on foreign sources of energy. Solar power development is currently supported by incentives, grants, and credits that subsidize system installation. However the shelf-life of these incentives is limited, expiring as of December 31, 2011.

Solar installations, which can be freestanding, mobile, or rooftop mounted systems on both commercial and residential property are subject to few, if any, permitting requirements than other renewable sources. Rooftop solar panel installations, in particular, have become viable as a renewable energy source.

Three important renewable energy incentives are

(a) Federal Grant -- The Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program allows the Federal government to provide a grant of 30% of the cost of a solar installation if construction begins by 12/31/11.

(b) State Incentives -- In Massachusetts, an owner of solar equipment earns Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC's) for each megawatt-hour of electricity produced. In January 2010, MA approved an SREC market and set a renewables portfolio standard requiring that, by December 2020, electricity suppliers that serve retail customers include 15% renewable energy in the electricity they sell. Electrical suppliers can provide renewable energy or buy SREC's to meet these standards. The market has established a price range of $285-$600 for each SREC.

(c) Depreciation -- the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 allows 100% depreciation in a single year for commercial solar installations, but this depreciation allowance expires on December 31, 2011.
These incentives, when structured correctly can offset almost 60% of the cost of installing a solar system. Additionally, the production of electricity provides revenue from the sale of the electricity produced and/or the reduction in electricity usage charges for power supplied to the grid.

Consequently, for owners of property looking to install a solar system, there are several options for financing:

(i) Self finance the installation of the system and capture the 1603 grant, SREC's, depreciation, and income/savings from the production of electricity to offset the capital investment;

(ii) Contract with a company that will pay for the system and installation in return for the rights to the 1603 grant, SREC's, depreciation, and income from the power generated by the system at a favorable cost; or

(iii) Contract with a company that will pay for the system and installation, and then lease the system back from them. Rights to the 1603 grant, SREC's, depreciation, and income may be negotiable.

As with any deal, the structure, agreements, and terms are paramount. However, current political support and incentives have made this an optimal time to be structuring, installing and financing solar installations. Contact the Cherrytree Group regarding your solar development endeavor.

Aritcle in NEREJ

New Jersey set new single-month records for installed solar capacity and number of installations in June, according to the state’s Governor, Chris Christie.

The achievement brings the State’s installed solar capacity to more than 380 MW generated from over 10,000 solar arrays statewide, a new milestone.

“Reaching 10,000 solar installations in New Jersey demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to continue to promote and expand the state’s solar industry and is a critical element of our long-term energy strategy,” said Governor Christie.

“This ground-breaking achievement is the latest example of New Jersey’s leadership as one of the largest and fastest growing solar energy markets in the United States.”

New Jersey is second in the nation in both installed solar capacity and number of installations; only California has more.

New Jersey has 10,086 solar energy array projects installed across the state providing over 380 MW of installed capacity, due in large part to the State’s Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Registration Program.

Projects
During June 2011 alone, 520 solar projects totaling over 40 MW of capacity were installed, representing the most projects and the largest amount of solar capacity installed in one month.

 “Solar energy is more than just a form of clean distributed generation. These projects provide an opportunity for the involved business to improve its bottom line and grow in New Jersey, stimulating economic development,” said Lee A. Solomon, President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Recognizing the critical nexus of environmental and economic benefits, Governor Christie has called for more solar projects on landfills and brownfields as an important element of his draft 2011 Energy Master Plan.

Last year, he signed legislation exempting solar panels from certain land use restrictions, identifying solar energy developments as an environmentally important land use.

Market
New Jersey had one of the strongest growth markets for solar energy installations in 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011.

For the first quarter of 2011, New Jersey installed 42 MW of solar, representing 49 percent growth over first quarter 2010. The state has primarily become a market for non-residential projects over 100 kW and most growth over the past few quarters has been in larger projects over 1MW.

In addition, New Jersey has the nation’s most robust and mature SREC market, along with the best availability for long-term SREC contracts, which make project financing much easier to obtain.

“Solar energy—along with clean, in-state power generation from offshore wind, natural gas and nuclear, and new technologies such as alternatively fueled vehicles—is a key component of a greener, more affordable vision for New Jersey’s energy future,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.

“The draft 2011 Energy Master Plan reinforces the Christie Administration’s commitment to promoting solar where it makes both environmental and economic sense, expanding implementation of commercial and industrial solar projects.”

Original article – Solar Energy News

American Capital Energy, Inc. (ACE) was awarded a landfill contract to construct $85 million, 18.2 MW of solar generating facilities by Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative.

The project will convert town owned property and landfills in six Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard communities into solar farms which will produce approximately 25% of the energy needs of the participating communities.

Mark Sylvia, commissioner of the Mass. Department of Energy Resources, said, "This is a significant game-changing model."

The project is projected to save participating towns $1.42 million in energy costs in the first year.

Across the USA, every city and town has vacant capped landfills and brownfields which could be converted to solar facilities to produce solar electricity to power the grid, reduce carbon omissions and cut corporate and municipal energy costs. American Capital Energy, a Massachusetts based company and leading solar expert has completed over 35 large scale utility and brownfield projects since its founding in 2005.

Selected from more than 150 submissions ACE was the Engineering Procurement Construction firm that recently completed the Silver Lake Solar Facility for Western Mass. Electric Co.

Silver Lake is the redevelopment of 8 acres of brownfield floodplain land into a renewable energy facility.

The 1.8 MW Silver Lake facility is located in Pittsfield, Mass. accommodates a variety of complex permitting restrictions and is a shining example of what a public-private partnership can accomplish.

Silver Lake is the largest utility scale solar project completed to date in Mass. and consists of 6,500 ground mounted photovoltaic panels covering 8 acres.

As cities and towns across the country struggle with energy consumption and costs the conversion of these polluted open sites, brownfields, will produce not only much needed power but also help communities balance their budgets.

NERJ

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

The pilot program of Solarize Massachusetts will come to Scituate this month, as part of the statewide initiative to bring solar energy into the lives, homes, and businesses of South Shore residents.

Chosen as one of four communities throughout Massachusetts to participate, Scituate will host numerous presentations on the solar initiatives available to residents with the hopes that the coastal community will become greener than ever.

“We first started The Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program a number of years ago, and we’ve seen impressive numbers in terms of the number of solar systems installed in Massachusetts homes and businesses since then,” said Kate Plourd, the press representative for Mass CEC.

Scituate opted into the program early this year and was chosen at random to be the pilot town for this region.
Plourd hopes that the program’s success will dictate how else to deploy solar initiatives in other communities throughout Massachusetts, bringing more and more residents and businesses on board with the cleaner, greener, energy.

There has been significant growth of solar power in Massachusetts. This program is intended to educate homeowners and business owners about the ease of installing a solar system and the  financial benefits, both in utility bills and tax credits.

As part of the program, Scituate hosted a “Solar 101” meeting to discuss solar rebates, installation, and renewable energy tax credits.

There are three basic kinds of rebates available to locals – the Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program, the state tax credit, and the federal tax credit.

“Solarize Scituate” isn’t the only clean-energy initiative the town has its hands on right now.

With the soon-to-be-implemented Stretch Code mandates, which require more stringent, energy-efficient guidelines for new construction; a wind turbine to be installed in the fall; and with a large solar array being placed on the town’s capped landfill, Scituate will be relying on clean energy in no time.

“Between [all] those things … things are looking very green around Scituate,” she said.

Original article By Jessica Bartlett-Boston.com

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

The top state energy official in Massachusetts marked Earth Day this week by announcing a new solar power initiative. The pilot program is aimed at bringing the power of the sun to the masses.

A grassroots marketing effort will attempt to sell solar power house by house and business by business and through volume discount pricing attempting to overcome a chief drawback, the high cost of installing solar power systems. Richard Sullivan, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says the program called “Solarize Massachusetts” introduces a new business model for small scale solar projects for homes and businesses.

It is a way to aggregate and drive down the cost of installation.

Proponents of the program hope it will take solar energy in Massachusetts beyond the early adopters and reduce the need for substantial government rebates for solar. Sullivan says Massachusetts has one of the most ambitious clean energy programs in the country, but 80 percent of the roughly 22 billion dollars spent on energy annually in Massachusetts goes out of the state, most of it out of the country.

Since 2006, incentive programs have helped increase solar power by 20 fold in Massachusetts. The state has 45 megawatts of solar power installed and another 40 megawatts under contract for installation. By statute, 250 megawatts of solar power is to be installed by 2017.

The effort to increase adoption of solar power will begin this year in four pilot communities Hatfield, Harvard, Scituate and Winchester. These were selected at random from geographic regions and each meets certain criteria under the state's Green Communities Program.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, partnering with the state to run the pilot program, is seeking bids from companies willing to provide homeowners and businesses with a turnkey solar power system on a tiered price schedule that lowers the costs for multiple installations. Existing state and federal renewable energy credits would also be available for purchasing the solar power systems.

The director for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center says funding is available for up to 400 projects.

Funding for the solarization pilot project comes from a clean energy surcharge on Massachusetts utility bills and from the sale of renewable energy credits.

Original news story can be seen and heard WAMC Northeast Public Radio - Paul Tuthill

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

California Governor signs 33% renewable energy standard into law; Iowa approves solar, wind tax credits; CO passes hydro bill; NY announces fuel cell incentives; Oregon mandates 5% biodiesel.

California Governor Jerry Brown today signed into law a bill that raises the bar on the state's renewable energy standard (RES).

The bill requires the state's pubicly-owned utilities to produce or purchase 33% renewable energy by 2020. Previously, the mandate was 20% by 2010.

This new RES is the most ambitious in the US by far. It was signed into law today at the opening of a new SunPower/Flextronics solar manufacturing facility in California. The facility is expected to create more than 100 renewable energy jobs.  

Iowa Senate Approves Solar, Wind Tax Credits

Solar and wind energy tax credits passed through the Iowa Senate this month. The credits equal 30% of the cost of construction or installation, subject to a maximum credit of $15,000 for commercial or agricultural construction.
If signed into law, the tax credits would be refundable or alternatively applied against tax liabilities for the following tax year. They will also be retroactive to Jan. 1.

According to a recent American Wind Energy Association report, Iowa now leads the US in wind power production. The state produces roughly 15% of its electricity with windpower, up from 7% in 2008. 

Colorado Passes Bipartisan Hydro Bill
 
The Colorado House by a 65-0 vote passed an amended version of a hydroelectric power bill (HB1083), which now moves to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk awaiting his signature to become law.

It passed unanimously through two committee hearings, two votes in the House and a vote in the Senate - more than 180 votes cast, and not one in opposition. The bill adds hydroelectric and pumped-hydro operations to the list of new energy technologies that the Public Utilities Commission can consider.

The bill is seen as a first step in bringing an $800 million pumped hydro project to Colorado. TransCanada is considering building the project, known as South Slope. 

New York Announces Fuel Cell Incentives

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced an incentive program for businesses, hospitals or other large power consumers interested in installing fuel cells.

The technology allows users to generate some of their own power from clean energy, using less energy from the electric grid.

NYSERDA's Customer-Sited Tier Fuel Cell Program will provide up to $21.6 million through 2015. The program provides an incentive toward the cost of fuel cell installation, plus payments over the first three years of operation based on power produced.

Companies can collect a total payment of up to $1 million for fuel cells, based on the size of the project. Funding is awarded to applications received on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 
Oregon Mandates 5% Biodiesel Blend

On April 1, Oregon became the second US state to require that most diesel fuel contain at least 5% biodiesel (B5).
 
The state already had a 2% biodiesel (B2) requirement. Oregon's B5 requirement was scheduled to be triggered when the in-state production capacity reached 15 million gallons annually, which the biodiesel plants recently accomplished. The requirement will generate about 25 million gallons of biodiesel demand annually.

Minnesota was the first state to pass a B2 biodiesel requirement, which has since increased to B5. The state's required volume of biodiesel is scheduled to rise to B10 by 2012, and B20 by 2015.

Washington and Pennsylvania both have a B2 requirement in effect. Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New Mexico have all passed similar legislation that hasn't yet taken effect.


Original article can be seen on SustainableBusiness.com News