icon next to each of them.
You want clean energy. You've done your research and are ready to go solar. Don't do it alone. Commit to the new community-driven program created by Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition and Energy Trust of Oregon. Solarize Portland is the first of its kind, inspired by San Francisco's One Block Off the Grid project that organizes individuals who want to buy solar panel systems, allowing them to go through the process together to receive tremendous discounts and other group benefits. 1BOG does outreach into other cities, and Portland's own Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association became interested in the project. An initial inquiry with Energy Trust, who already had such a program in mind, led to the next step of enlisting Southeast Uplift's Sustainability Coordinator to help project manage a home-grown version of bulk buying solar systems.
Solarize Portland gathers an aggregation of buyers for the bulk purchase program. With a collective deal through Energy Trust, and with state and federal incentives, participants will save thousands of dollars on upfront costs with rebates that reach 80% of the total. (There's savings in numbers!)
The first of four program introduction sessions took place on Thursday, July 30 at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church. About 25 enthusiastic, informed attendees asked terrific questions of the Energy Trust's Residential Solar Project manager, Lizzie Rubado. Most people seemed quite knowledgeable about the basics of solar, but came to learn more about the community program. There are thousands of solar systems busy at work throughout Oregon, and Energy Trust funded 300 residential solar electric systems installations statewide in 2008. Portland's pilot project seems to have serious momentum, too, as Energy Trust's main goal is for solar to become more affordable, more accessible to the masses. The impact can be "really substantial in the Portland-metro area", notes Rubido.
The project has already secured a contractor, Portland-based Imagine Energy. Eleven companies responded to the project's RFP and while there was quite a range in company responses, not one had large volume solar installation experience in our area. Even so, Imagine Energy plans to install residential systems in waves of 25, beginning this September, and hope to have installed 75 systems throughout Portland by the end of November so participants can apply for this year's tax credits. If demand is high, a second contractor may be hired to handle the overflow. Southeast Uplift and Energy Trust are serving as project managers.
Solarize Portland will provide help throughout the entire process—and even assists in claiming tax credits after system installation. Program steps span:
- Educate - Informative sessions and workshops will be held throughout August.
- Evaluate sites - Energy Trust can assess your property for general project feasibility whether you are participating in the program or not; when you commit to Solarize Portland, you'll need to pay for a full assessment to evaluate your sun exposure, structure, wiring, and other areas that are affected by the installation.
- Pledge to install - Soft commitments are needed before the first week of September.
- Gather the troops - The more participants in the program, the lower the costs are for all.
- Sign contract - Make it real!
- Install - System installation begins in September. Residential installations can take a few as two days!
- Collect government incentives - Participants pay all upfront costs. Solarize Portland assists in the rebate process.
So, what about upfront costs and savings?
Rubido keenly observes some critical pain points affecting the potential consumer's decision-making process:
- How much will the system cost? (How much can I afford up front?)
- How much space is needed? (How much rooftop space do I have? How many improvements do I have to make to my existing structures to make it work?)
- How much energy do I need to produce?
Some of these answers are variable, of course, as each individual's situation is unique. For example, space and condition of structures (roof condition, sun exposure, electrical systems like wiring and panel configuration) need to be evaluated by the contractor to determine if the property can handle a solar system or if home upgrades need to occur before a system can be successfully installed. Heavy upfront costs that don't include the system can be serious barriers to program participation. "I'd like to install a solar system, but I know I first need a new roof, and I just don't have that kind of cash—and I can't qualify for a home improvement loan given my work situation right now", quips one of my neighbors when talking about the program at an informal gathering. Without property upgrades, Solarize Portland participants can expect to pay around $7200 per kWh (the average price per kWh in Portland in 2009 was $9500—more on kWh below) before receiving incentives and tax credits. Again, you'll not only get back 80% of upfront costs, but the total price per system goes down as more homes participate in the program, reinforcing the whole point of community bulk purchasing.
Now, how much power do consumers need to produce to make this system work for them? The goal is to produce 100% of your annual energy consumption—not more, because the utility will not pay you for unused energy production. "No one does this anyway." Rubido goes on to state that residential consumers typically create between 30% and 60% of their total power use in a given year, which is A LOT. In figuring out how big of a system you need, she explains to the Mt. Tabor group that the "rule of thumb" is for 1000 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year generated in our climate zone allows for 1000 watts of capacity requiring 100 square feet of rooftop space. The net metering program for the entire year allows households to use what they produce.
Solarize Portland predicts that an individual's system will pay for itself in four years. Recent studies state that solar electricity systems increase the value of a residential property 2 to 10%.
Solarize Portland may sound like a terrific way to reduce your carbon footprint even more that you already do, but please note that this is NOT a conservation program by any stretch. Sure, hydro and gas usage is being swapped for the sun's power, but the program doesn't affect overall consumption of resources (only you can do that!). Remember that you'll be spending a lot of money upfront to save later on your utility bill, but the only benefit to producing more energy than your household can use is that the value of that energy is donated to low-income energy assistance programs. That's something to feel good about, too.
Still interested in joining in heeding the solar call? Be sure to attend the introductory session, as well as the topic specific sessions in August. A tour of some of Portland's solar homes is also scheduled for August's end.
Intro session:
Thursday, August 20
Sellwood-Moreland
7 to 8 p.m.
SMILE Station
8210 SE 13th Avenue
Topic specific sessions at the Lucky Lab, Tuesdays in August, from 5:30-7 p.m.:
August 18 - Technical nuts and bolts
August 25 - Net metering and understanding your bill
For more information, see:
http://www.southeastuplift.org/whats_happening/news/help-us-solarize-se-portland
http://www.solarizeportland.org/
Contact
Tim O'Neal
Sustainability Coordinator
Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition
503.232.0010×313
tim@southeastuplift.org
Kudos to Mt Tabor Neighborhood Association for initiating such a great program. Can't wait to see the results of this first effort and then see it implemented in other neighborhoods.
I'm confused about some things in this article. I've had a solar system on my house for 4 years now. We produce about 30-40% of the total energy we use, but we don't produce any energy at night when the lights are on, and we often don't use the energy we produce during the day, so we sell it back to our utility. Even if we produced 100% of our total energy use, we wouldn't actually use it all because of the time we are away from home during the day. I also don't know what "value of that energy is donated to low-income energy assistance programs" refers to. Please clarify these points, as I think this is very confusing.
Energy is only donated to the low-income assistance program if you produce more energy in a year's time than you use in that same period. For example, if your system produced 4,000 kW hours in a year and you consumed a total of 3,500 kW hours in that same year, the excess 500 kW hours would be donated. On a day to day basis, your meter keeps a running tab of energy produced vs. energy consumed. You are only billed for the difference.
Thanks, Tim - and, now I'm a bit confused, Barbara - I take it you mean that you aren't immediately using energy produced off your own panels during the day, but that you sell that, and buy the energy - and more - back at night?
I called upon Lizzie R, Energy Trust project manager, for additional clarifications, who talked more about net-metering - "the system that allows solar energy system owners to treat the utility grid like an energy checking account." Apparently, when "your solar electric system is producing more energy than your home is using, that excess electricity is fed back into the utility grid, and you make a "deposit" of kilowatt-hours into your utility account. When your solar electric system isn't producing all the energy you need, you pull your kilowatt-hours from the grid like normal, resulting in a "debit" in your account. At the end of the month, you only owe for the net amount (which is why this is called net-metering)." Make senses, right? She goes on: "If, at the end of the month, your deposits are greater than your debits, you carry a credit onto your next month's bill. This may happen for several months in a row during the summer which results in a steadily increasing credit in your account. When winter rolls around, you start using up those credits because we get less sunshine. This is how folks can produce 100% of their annual electricity needs without actually producing 100% of what they need at any given time. You have a whole year in which to use up your "credits." However, if you install a system that produces more than 100% of the electricity you use in an entire year (and that would be a lot!), the value of the overage is contributed to a low-income energy assistance program."
Thanks, Lizzie!
Wow. That's really interesting. Thanks for the additional information.