LittleBoxSolar Initiative “Meet The Installer”

Boxborough-Littleton Solar Initiative

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Multipurpose Room

Littleton Town Offices41 Shattuck Street, Littleton, MA

7:00 PM

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Blanchard Elementary Gym

493 Mass. Avenue, Boxborough, MA

7:00 PM

“Meet The Installer” Agenda

• Welcome• Jo-Ann Dery – LittleBoxSolar Background• Jim Elkind – Solar 101• Rob DeBevoise – Program Specifics• Q & A• Meet the LittleBoxSolar Initiative volunteers

and New England Clean Energy

LittleBoxSolar InitiativeBackground

Solar Coaches:Francie Nolde, Boxborough

Richard Garrison, BoxboroughSarah Rambacher, Littleton

Jo-Ann Dery, Littleton

http://www.littleboxsolar.com/Like us on Facebook!

Launch of Boxborough-Littleton Solar Initiative

• Boxborough Energy Committee – 2014 to March 2015• Wrote RFP (Request for Proposal) for solar installer partner

• April 2015 Boxborough delayed RFP so Littleton could join• Support from Town Administrators and Selectmen, both towns• Solar Installer Selection Committee – 6 people; both towns

• “LittleBoxSolar” moniker for website• Circulated Notice of RFP 23 April 2015• Received 5 proposals

Selection Process

• Standard scoring template spreadsheet• Solar Design Associates• Selection committee• Criteria: Proposed equipment, Experience, Marketing

program, Proposal quality, References

• Three installers interviewed

• Final joint evaluation and selection

Selected Installer: New England Clean Energy

• Superb reputation for quality and service• 4.8 out of 5.0 on SolarReviews.com• 2012 Highest Customer Satisfaction Award – Mass Solar Info• Backed by strongest most complete warranty

• Extensive experience• Over 500 solar installations in central Mass• Experience with community solar programs

• Solarize Mass installer for Harvard, Acton, Shirley, Stow

• Local – based in Hudson• Familiar with Boxborough and Littleton

• Best overall price to value

LittleBoxSolar Approach

• New England Clean Energy partnering with LittleBoxSolar volunteers

• Information sessions, Cable TV, Open houses• Solar Initiative runs through 30 October 2015• Goal: 50 or more homes and businesses installing solar• The more contracts signed with New England Clean Energy

by the end of the Initiative, the greater the discount for all

How Solar Works

Jim Elkind, CEO

New England Clean Energy

Topics

• How solar electric systems work • Site assessment and design considerations• Conservation then renewables

How Solar Electric Works

Electric Panel

AC Disconnect

UtilityMeter

ElectricityGrid

Your Home or business

Production Meter and Portal

Panels and Optimizers

Inverter

Roof Attachment

Staggered for load distribution

PV Panels

Standard:• Canadian Solar 255/260 watt • 10/25/0 Year warranty• Standard Power Density: ~14.2 watts per ft2

• 17.75 kWh/ft2/year

High efficiency: • SunPower 327/335/345 • US Company• 25/25/25 Year warranty• Highest Power Density: >18.6 watts per ft2

• 25.1 kWh/ft2/year

Site Assessment

• Roof• Angle, Azimuth, Area, Age• Structure, Shade

• Ground• Soil conditions• Trench length• Shade

• Electrical Service• 100/200 amp?• Open breaker slots?• Fuses/Breakers?

• Internet access• Router/switch location?• Ports available?

What we look for

• Little to no shade from 9:00AM to 3:00 PM• Tilt angle 10° to 45°• When near ideal

• 1.2 kilowatt-hours per 1 watt of solar per year.• 7% - 10% more with SunPower panels

Roof “Quality”

South

GREAT! Maybe

• True south• Little to no shade• Probably one of the best solar roofs in Stow

• ~West facing• Potentially lots of shade• Need a pre-assessment to rule it in or

out

Azimuth 150°

Azimuth 240°

Roof “Quality” – What do you think?

South

Funky Roofs

Worcester, MA 5,040 Watt Roof Mount

24 Schüco 210-watt modules24 Enphase M190 Micro-inverters

Harvard, MA 4,070 Watt Roof Mount

22 Schüco 210-watt modules22 Enphase M190 Micro-inverters2 Panel Solar Hot Water System

Northborough32 Panels2 Solectria PVI-4000 invertersCompleted Summer 2011

System design

System Design - Mounting Options

Roof

Pole

Table

Snow On Panels?

A Typical Home

• Uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per year

• About 800-900 kilowatt-hours per month• The big energy users?

• Pools• Air conditioning• Hot Tubs• Electric dryers• Electric heaters/heat• Old refrigerators/freezers

• On a good roof, an 8 kilowatt solar system would meet the demand

Reduce Before Renewables

• Rethink your energy usage• What do you really need?• Home Energy Audit*

• Fix the building envelope• Air seal• Weatherize• Insulate

• Change behavior• Turn off lights• Switch to compact fluorescents or LEDs• Use a clothes line

* http://www.lelwd.com/images/uploads/HomEnergyBrochure-1.pdf

LittleBoxSolar InitiativeHow It Works

Doug McCartney & Rob DeBevoise

New England Clean Energy

Meet The Team

Doug McCartney Director of Sales

Lacey AyresSolar Advisor

Elizabeth MichaudSolar Advisor

Tracy CournoyerSales Administrator

Roy Van CleefSolar Consultant

Rick LamotheSolar Consultant

Rob DeBevoiseSolar Consultant

Kevin GeboSolar Consultant

Incentives and Benefits

• 30% federal tax credit• $1,000 state tax credit• Solar generation credits (excess power sent back to grid)• SREC income• No impact on property tax for 20 years• Increased property value• Producing your own clean energy• Doing the right thing for the planet!

Excess Solar Generation

• When your solar system is producing electricity greater than your household usage, that excess solar electricity will be delivered through your meter back to the grid.

• You will be credited for that excess solar generation at 8.3 cents/kWh*

* A Distribution Charge on Solar based on system size also applies

Make Money with SRECs

• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate• Electricity utilities in Massachusetts are required to secure a portion

of their electricity from solar generators.• An SREC represents the “solar” aspect of the electricity that was

produced NOT the electricity itself.• SRECs apply to all solar production, including electricity you use and

electricity sent to the grid. • SREC’s are sold to utilities so they can meet their solar requirement

SREC Value

• SREC’s can be sold quarterly for a period of 10 years (40 quarters).• An SREC is 1,000kWh of solar generation. • A 5,000 Watt system = ~5-6 SRECs per year.• The value of the SREC is determined by the market.• The supply is determined by the number of solar installations

producing SRECs in MA.• Utility SREC requirement increases each year (about 30%) following a

formula that takes into account previous year’s supply. • We are currently using $230 per SREC in our estimates.

How do SRECs work?

• At contract signing we set you up with an SREC broker (aggregator).

• Install production meter.• Receive a check in the mail every 3 months,

for 10 years, for your solar generation.• First check is about 7 months after the system

goes live.

Great Pricing …. Getting better

Dollar per Watt value of systems through tiers 1-5

Tier 1 2 3 4 5

Kilowatts Contracted with New England Clean Energy

1 - 25 25.1 - 50 50.1 - 100 100.1 - 200 200.1+

Number of systems* >5 5-10 10-20 20-40 40+

Standard Option Cost per Watt

$4.38 $4.33 $4.28 $4.19 $4.14*Using 5,000 Watts as an average system size.

A 5kW system at tier one has a starting price of $21,900 (5,000 x $4.38)

Potential adders

Site Specific Additions to Base Price

Flat Rate Increased Cost

$ / system

Size Dependent

Increased Cost ($/W)

Vent pipe move 550 Rafter deficiency 0.18Multiple roof installation 0.09Cash Payment -0.08High efficiency SunPower 327 Watt panels 1.06High efficiency SunPower 335 Watt (all black) panels 1.31

High efficiency SunPower 345 Watt panels 1.21Pole mounted system (12 or 15 panels per pole) 2.00

Stadium mount (16 panels per unit) 1.00Generator transfer switch 950

List of adders to the base price if necessary

** Note that the table above lists only the most common adders

Let’s get to Tier 5!

Total Watts Contractedwith New England

Clean Energy

Tier 11 - 25 kW

Tier 225.1 - 50 kW

Tier 350.1 - 100 kW

Tier 4100.1 - 200

kW

Tier 5200+ kW

Sample Loan Cost5,000 W System* $21,900 $21,650 $21,400 $20,950 $20,700

Federal Tax credit $6,570 $6,495 $6,420 $6,285 $6,210

State tax credit $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

Net System Cost $14,331 $14,155 $13,980 $13,665 $13,490

Cash Break-Even After Discount (Years)** 8.3 8.2 8.1 7.9 7.8

* 20 x 255 W modules with string inverter ** Assumes SRECs at $0.23/kWh ***Assumes 95% TSRF

Long Term Benefits for You

Assumptions: • SRECs at $0.23/kWh• 50% of solar fed back to the grid• No increase in electricity rates

Net system cost (5,000 W) at tier 3 $13,980

25 Year electricity savings $16,941

10 Year SREC income $13,225

Money In Your Pocket $30,166

Approx. Property Value Increase $15,000

Gross Financial Benefit $45,166

Long Term Benefits for the Planet

Affordable Solar

• Low $1,000 deposit to get started• Financing of your system available• 5, 10, 15, 20 year financing

• Backed by DCU (Digital Federal Credit Union)

• Can be "in the black" almost immediately• Electricity savings + SREC income cover monthly

loan payments

You Can Make A Difference

• Sign up to schedule a free solar site evaluation• Volunteer to help• Spread the word

• Social media• Yard signs• Tell your friends and neighbors

• Get more information about the Initiative at www.littleboxsolar.com

Get Started

• Step 1: Request a free solar site evaluation • Go to NewEnglandCleanEnergy.com • OR call 978-56-SOLAR or toll free 844-567-9900

• Step 2: Site Review, Site Visit, System Design• Step 3: Sign documents

• $1,000 non refundable deposit• Step 4: Installation

• Permitting• Construction• Interconnection to the grid

• Step 5: Make your own, clean, electricity!