Pasadena business owner taps into solar power

Brett Barnard has 744 solar panels on the roofs on his two Pasadena businesses - STORBOX Self Storage business and The Wine Grotto. It’s the largest non-institutional photovoltaic solar array in the city. His 14-year-old son Cole is shown here in front of some of the panels.

By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Brett Barnard has solar panels — lots of ‘em.

In fact, the panels that sit atop his two Pasadena businesses — STORBOX Self Storage business and The Wine Grotto — make up the largest non-institutional photovoltaic solar array in Pasadena.

The system, completed six weeks ago by Torrance-based California Solar, includes 744 panels that deliver 230 kilowatts of power. It’s enough to provide nearly 100 percent of his annual energy needs.

“We’re planning to expand that with 70 more panels on a new building,” the South Pasadena resident said. “It will be a 43,600-square-foot building that will have five levels, three above ground and two below ground.”

The solar system didn’t come cheap.

“The total cost of the panels and installation was about $515,000,” Barnard said. “But I had also had the wrong kind of roofing system, so I had to put a whole different kind of roofing in. That cost me another $240,000, so the total was about $755,000.”

Fortunately, a significant portion of those costs were offset by federal, state and local incentive programs.

“It takes a fair amount of effort to learn about this and we shopped around and looked at 10 to 12 different installers,” Barnard said. “The federal government is offering a 30 percent tax credit, so the installation costs were covered, and the city also has an incentive program that pays you back for solar production.”

The incentive program is part of the Pasadena Solar Initiative, which aims to help Pasadena Water & Power customers install 14 megawatts of solar power by 2017. Under the program, eligible solar customers can get a cheaper net energy metering (NEM) rate until the aggregated capacity of all solar installations in the utility’s territory exceeds 5 percent of its system peak demand.

Barnard also plans to integrate a battery system into the mix once the 70 new panels are installed. California Solar owner Will Breiholz explained how that will work.

“This is a new trend,” he said. “When a business turns on its air conditioning or other equipment that can cause a spike in energy use. Utility companies check their meters every 15 minutes and whatever the peak use was is what they’ll charge someone for the month, even if they don’t get nearly that high for the rest of the month.”

The battery system will store energy that can later be used during peak times, so Barnard won’t draw have to draw that energy from the city’s power grid. That will help keep his rates down, Breiholz said.

The battery system will also ensure that power to the two business can continue — at least for a while — in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.

“Brett was also smart to do the new roofing system,” Breiholz said. “UV light is what kills your roof, and if you have a solar system that will last 35 to 40 years you don’t want to put that on top of a roof that might last another 10 years. He replaced his old roof with a single-ply roof that’s white and made out of a vinyl kind of material that you roll down. It’s a synthetic material that’s kind of like PVC, and it lasts forever.”

The solar panels also help shade the roof from unwanted sun-related damage, Breiholz said.

Self-storage facilities typically don’t use a lot of electricity. But The Wine Grotto does because the wines must be kept at an optimum temperature.

“I have about 600 clients who store their wines here,” Barnard said. “We have a total of about 200,000 square feet of space, including the self-storage space, 5,000 square feet of office space we lease and 13,000 square feet for the wine storage.” 

Brad Heavner, policy director for the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said self-storage facilities are prime candidates for solar arrays — not because they use a lot of electricity, but because they have plenty of roof space.

“It would be great because they could charge someone to use the space on their roof,” he said. “About 3 percent of the total residents and businesses in California have solar power.”

Source: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/environment-and-nature/20160612/pasadena-business-owner-taps-into-solar-power

Solar incentives not yet dead in east valley

Indio resident Paul Nelson has been unable to use his newly installed solar panels, seen on May 9, 2016, due to decisions made by the Imperial Irrigation District.

By Sammy Roth, The Desert Sun

Imperial Irrigation District officials hope to bring back a popular solar incentive program — but under terms that could make rooftop solar too expensive for most of the agency's Coachella and Imperial valley customers.

The district abruptly shut down its net metering program in February, saying it would no longer compensate solar-powered homes and businesses for the electricity they send onto the grid. The announcement infuriated solar companies and left hundreds of families scrambling to figure out whether they could still afford to go solar, even though many of them had already signed contracts with installers.

Irrigation district staffers have now proposed a compromise: They want to reopen net metering indefinitely, but under new financial terms. Homes and businesses that go solar under their tentative proposal — including the hundreds stuck in limbo — would receive something like 4 cents per kilowatt-hour for their solar generation, rather than the 12 cents homeowners receive now, district Energy Manager Vicken Kasarjian said.

That plan is still subject to approval from the Imperial Irrigation District's board of directors, which could decide it's not interested. Last month, the board rejected a staff proposal that would have reopened the original net metering program to some of the customers stuck in limbo. At the time, board member Stephen Benson said he has "a problem with the idea of solar."

In a meeting with The Desert Sun's editorial board on Wednesday, district General Manager Kevin Kelley referred to Benson's statement as an "unfortunate remark." Kelley said he hopes the district's board will approve the new proposal.

"We knew that in California, in the hottest part of the state, we couldn't simply turn our back on rooftop solar," Kelley said. "We're actually anxious to get this back in front of the board, and to be a leader."

But the new proposal is already raising alarm bells for the solar industry. Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said cutting the compensation rate for homeowners from 12 cents to 4 cents would essentially make solar three times more expensive.

"That would significantly slow down, if not pretty much kill the rooftop solar market. You can't take the economic profile of solar and reduce it by a third, and expect the market to just rebound overnight," she said.

The rooftop solar industry fought successfully to prevent Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric from making similar changes to their net metering programs. Edison had proposed to lower its compensation rate from around 15 cents per kilowatt-hour to 8 cents — a change that was ultimately rejectedby the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Imperial Irrigation District doesn't need approval from the utilities commission, because its a publicly owned rather than an investor-owned utility. And district officials are wary of net metering. They believe the program forces non-solar customers to subsidize their solar-powered neighbors, and they don't think that's fair — hence their proposal to slash the compensation rate.

Kelley said the district lost $9 million in revenue due to rooftop solar in 2015. If the agency just continued the old net metering program, he said, it could lose so much revenue it would be forced to raise electricity rates for everyone, so it could afford to keep the grid running. Right now, the district's residential electricity rates — 11.69 cents per kilowatt-hour — are significantly lower than Southern California Edison's residential rates.

"Solar is a burden. It has benefits, but it's a burden for the system," Kasarjian, the district's energy manager, said Wednesday.

Clean energy advocates, though, say rooftop solar benefits everyone in ways that utilities aren't taking into account. Those benefits include limiting the need for expensive new power plants and reducing strain on the grid, which can help utilities avoid costly maintenance. Solar panels can also displace fossil fuels, the main cause of climate change and a serious contributor to local air pollution.

Just last week, the left-leaning Brookings Institution released a paper suggesting that rooftop solar is more likely to be a net benefit than a net cost to all energy consumers. Meanwhile, the Natural Resources Defense Council and SolarCity — a major environmental group and a national solar installer, respectively — released a study finding that rooftop solar is saving all Nevadans between $7 million and $14 million per year.

"That's the piece that they're missing. They're missing that rooftop solar provides value to the utility and all ratepayers," said Del Chiaro, from the California solar trade group.

District officials still need to work out the details of their new solar proposal. On Tuesday, they'll ask the board of directors for permission to develop a new net metering program, which they hope to finalize by July.

“You think we can control the board? They may say no to the whole thing," Kasarjian said.

Since the district announced it was shutting down net metering on February 29, it's experienced a surge in applications from homes and businesses hoping to turn on their solar panels: nearly 1,200 in all. If the board agrees to develop a new net metering program, those customers would be able to enroll in that program — if they still want to go solar under the less favorable economic terms.

Meanwhile, hundreds of customers who got in line before February 29 are still waiting for permission to turn on their systems. District officials say it simply takes time to process interconnection applications, and that they'll continue to process applications in the order they're received. Kasarjian said the district planned to approve 250 applications on Wednesday, which would leave 235 customers in the queue.

Nate Otto, founder of Hot Purple Energy in Palm Springs, said he has about 15 completed installations "sitting there in limbo" in Imperial Irrigation District territory, unable to connect to the grid and unsure how much money the'll save if they do. He's not sure what those homes will do if the district doesn't reopen some form of net metering. If worst comes to worst, he said, he might buy the systems back from those customers.

"Some of them haven't paid, and I haven't drilled them either," he said. "I'm not going to leave them out there and say, 'That's too bad.'"

Imperial Irrigation District customers who are already enrolled in net metering haven't been affected by any of the changes, and are still being compensated for the electricity they generate.

Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2016/06/01/solar-incentives-not-yet-dead-east-valley/85263124/

New exhibition pavilions at Intersolar North America showcase early-stage and mid-stage solar companies

Intersolar North America, the most attended solar industry exhibition and conference dedicated to the North American market, will showcase two exhibition pavilions at this year's event that highlight innovative start-up and mid-stage companies. 

After a successful debut at last year's event, the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) will once again host the California Pavilion, featuring member companies in the solar and energy storage industries. 

Pavilion to highlight solar software, finance and storage startups

New to this year's exhibition is the Powerhouse Pavilion, hosted by Powerhouse – the world's first and only incubator and accelerator dedicated to solar. The Powerhouse Pavilion will highlight solar software, finance and storage startups.

In addition to showcasing products from established companies, Intersolar North America highlights groundbreaking products and services from start-up, early and mid-stage companies. 

As the first major solar industry event of the year in North America, Intersolar will unveil the next-generation products to help reduce costs, boost efficiency and drive the solar market forward. The event will feature more than 500 exhibitors and host an expected 18,000 visitors.

The CALSEIA California Pavilion, located on the first level of Moscone West, will allow attendees to connect with solar and energy storage companies from one of the country's leading markets. 

The expanded pavilion will educate attendees on the latest trends shaping the California solar and energy storage economy, and offer access to CALSEIA representatives to learn more about the organization's policy initiatives in the state and get involved. 

“The companies exhibiting in the California Pavilion represent a cross section of CALSEIA's member companies that are working together to ensure the continued growth of California's solar industry,” said Kelsea Jones, membership and marketing director for CALSEIA. 

“From the diverse to the ingenious, and from the entrepreneurial to the enduring, California is the playing field where the new gets tested and the old gets perfected.”

Solar Foundation to discuss job creation within the solar industry

The Solar Foundation joins Intersolar North America exhibition for the first time this year. Known for its annual National Solar Jobs Census, the organization is dedicated to delivering analysis and actionable information to inform solar policy decisions across the country. 

Representatives from The Solar Foundation will discuss job creation within the solar industry and new programs to maintain, grow, develop, and train the solar workforce. Through a new initiative, The Solar Foundation will collaborate with Intersolar and CALSEIA to produce a white paper focused on the potential solar workforce opportunities and challenges that come with solar-plus-storage system configurations, which will be published and presented at this year's event.

“America's booming solar industry is now a major job creator and a key driver of economic growth,” said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of The Solar Foundation. 

“We are excited to come to Intersolar and share our ongoing research on the rapid increase in solar jobs nationwide as well as our initiatives on workforce development and solar jobs training.”

The Intersolar North America exhibition will be held July 12–14 at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco and is co-located with both ees North America, the platform to connect stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market, and SEMICON West, the world's marketplace for microelectronics innovation.

Source: http://www.solarserver.com/solar-magazine/solar-news/current/2016/kw20/new-exhibition-pavilions-at-intersolar-north-america-showcase-early-stage-and-mid-stage-solar-companies.html

California Continues to Make Big Strides on Solar

Building on a foundation of pioneering green policy, a new bill would make rooftop solar affordable for thousands more Californians. 

By Julian Notaro, The American Prospect

California, the country’s solar energy pioneer, continues to lead the way in protections for solar consumers, thanks to a strong political and public consensus on the importance of renewable energy. A proposal working its way through the California State Assembly would curb the ability of municipal utilities to control net metering, a policy that allows consumers to sell surplus energy generated by rooftop solar systems back to the electric grid at retail rates.

Last year, solar customers in the northern California town of Turlock saw their bills soar after the municipal utility, Turlock Irrigation District Water and Power, eliminated net metering entirely. The change priced some Turlock consumers out of solar altogether; the measure would prohibit these types of changes. The bill passed the State Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee overwhelmingly, 10 to 2. The change would affect nearly 50 of the state’s 81 utilities. Under California law, larger, investor-owned utilities are already required to offer retail rate net metering.

A recent National Renewable Energy Foundation study found that up to 74 percent of California’s total electricity usage could be generated by rooftop solar power. But the state only derives 2.4 percent of its energy from rooftop solar systems. To meet that goal, California would have to implement additional regulatory reforms, such as establishing statewide interconnection standards that allow Californians to connect to the grid no matter where they live, and clarifying the solar system installation permitting process to eliminate hidden fees. 

Pro-solar environmental advocacy groups like Vote Solar, a nonprofit grassroots group with offices in California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, has joined with other advocacy groups like the California Solar Energy Industries Association, a statewide coalition of contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and others to exert considerable influence on California energy policy. Their aim is to increase renewable energy sources in California’s energy mix, in part, by making rooftop solar systems more affordable.

California solar proponents have had a series of notable policy wins. In 2008, California allowed individuals and businesses to enter into solar power purchase agreements, a long-term financial arrangement whereby photovoltaic manufacturers design and finance a rooftop solar installation and charge the property owner for power generated. This development helped make rooftop solar systems more affordable for Californians who could not afford to purchase expensive solar equipment outright.

Earlier this year, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to preserve the state net metering program. Vote Solar joined other groups to deliver wheelbarrowsof petitions signed by more than 130,000 residents. The goal, says Vote Solar’s Adam Browning, was to demonstrate public support for a regulatory system that makes solar available to ordinary Californians. “If you want cheap solar, all you have to do is buy it, but in order to do that you have to have a regulatory structure that allows for long-term contracts,” says Browning. After the vote, three major utilities filed applications urging the commission to vacate or modify the ruling.

California’s solar dominance has bipartisan roots.

California’s solar dominance has bipartisan roots. Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the first Republicans to buck the national GOP’s stances on climate change and clean energy and actively worked to promote renewable energy sources like solar during his tenure in the early 2000s. Under the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, California became the first state to cap greenhouse gas emissions. That same year, Schwarzenegger also signed the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, which laid the groundwork for California’s solar infrastructure by setting a 3,000 megawatts goal for rooftop solar installations by 2017. (That initiative also expanded net metering in the state, but stopped short of equalizing rates statewide, which the new bill seeks to do.)

Democratic Governor Jerry Brown picked up the clean energy baton in 2011. Brown ran on a platform that viewed California’s preeminent position in clean energy as an antidote to the disruption sparked by the Great Recession. “Investing in clean energy and increasing [energy] efficiency are central elements of rebuilding our economy,” said Brown. In 2015, Brown signed a climate planinto law that called for half of California’s energy to be generated by renewable energy by 2030.

Solar power enjoys widespread public support in California. A July 2015 poll found that 88 percent of Californians support the construction of large scale solar power plants, while 78 percent of state residents support additional tax incentives and financial benefits for the construction of rooftop solar panels. Solar energy is also important to the state’s economy: There are more than 2,300 solar companies in California and the industry employs over 75,000 residents.

The fight over net metering is far from over, but political and public support for solar in California serves as a check on the power of traditional utility companies, a regulatory environment that few other states have been able to duplicate. “It starts with political leadership, we have leadership that treats global warming seriously, as the crisis that it is,” says Adam C. Schultz, program manager at the Energy Institute of the University of California, Davis.

Source: http://prospect.org/article/california-continues-make-big-strides-solar