California Solar Initiative

The Maplewood Homes Community, a development of The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB), has received this year’s Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits “Development of Distinction” award for outstanding achievement in the Renewable Energy category.  The project was designed and constructed by HelioPower, an integrated energy solutions company based in California.

The Developments of Distinction Awards were established as an annual event to recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the development of tax credit projects using the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), historic tax credit (HTC), renewable energy tax credit (RETC), Section 1602 Exchange Program grant funds and/or tax credit projects using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program financing.

Past winners in the category include the Coastal Community Action Program of Aberdeen, Washington, and its Coastal Energy Project, a 6 megawatt wind development near the Washington coastline in Grayland, Washington.  Honorable mention in 2010 went to Make It Right – SOLAR, a subsidiary of the Make It Right Foundation, founded by actor Brad Pitt, which serves as a renewable energy developer focused on affordable housing. MIR-Solar has completed more than 40 residential solar panel installations in New Orleans’ historic Lower 9^th Ward.

Maplewood Homes, an almost 70 year old affordable housing site with 296 units in the city of San Bernardino, California, is being honored for

View of Rooftops with Solar Panels installed by HelioPower at Maplewood Homes

HACSB’s use of the U.S. renewable energy 1603 tax credit. The Housing Authority’s collaborated with HelioPower to apply the credit and California Solar Initiative grant money to reduce the community’s energy costs, create jobs, educate tenants, and foster an environmentally green community.

In 2010, the HACSB received a $1.84 million grant from Southern California Edison’s Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) Track 2 program – the largest program grant awarded. The Housing Authority worked with HelioPower to design, develop, engineer, and construct a 302 kilowatt solar photovoltaic facility, a system that is among the largest and most innovative roof mounted solar projects in San Bernardino. The project consisted of 1,288 solar panels atop 100 units. 85% of its production will benefit residents directly and 15% will offset common area energy load, with the savings directed to help fund on-site employment. The solar facility will offset over 1500 kilowatt hours (kWh) per unit annually, reducing resident’s energy bills on average by 30% or $166/unit/year.

HACSB is monetizing the savings from the green energy generated on the common area meters and channeling those funds into the green job

HelioPower solar crew at Maplewood Homes, San Bernardino, CA

training programs now underway. HelioPower trained and hired two residents and one community member giving them the opportunity to learn a new trade and gain solar industry expertise. HelioPower also conducted workshops for residents of Maplewood Homes about the benefits of solar and energy efficiency, how it works, what it means for them, and other tips on reducing wasteful energy and water consumption.

“This project is the first of many that the Housing Authority is pursuing to show commitment to implementing green initiatives to increase sustainability and save energy, and provide on-going employment opportunities for its residents in the growing green-building industry,” states Susan Benner, HACSB’s President/CEO.

The renewable energy honorable mention 2011 winner was the BioFuels Energy LLC project, which took a wasted, environmentally damaging resource, in this case methane gas being flared at the City of San Diego Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Facility, and built a system to convert it to renewable energy.

“Each year we gather to honor the best and the brightest in the tax credit industry, and each year I’m amazed at the caliber of so many deserving projects; this year’s winners truly are members of an elite group,” said Michael J. Novogradac, managing partner of Novogradac & Company LLP. “It is heartening that there are so many deserving housing, historic and renewable energy tax credit developments being built to serve residents in need and, more broadly, serve communities in which they are located. I congratulate this year’s winners and invite all with a housing, historic and renewable energy development to enter next year.”

Full descriptions of the 13 projects winning Developments of Distinction Awards are available at http://www.novoco.com/low_income_housing/dod_awards/2011/index.php.  A video presentation of the renewable energy winners is available at http://www.novoco.com/low_income_housing/dod_awards/2011/renewable_energy.php.

By Derek Girling, HelioPower Energy Consultant

This past year’s tremendous growth in residential solar installations hasn’t gone unnoticed and new solar companies are hanging their shingles out every day!  Contractors that up until last year were busy installing aluminum windows and garage doors or wiring parking lot lights are now touting themselves as solar power experts. California alone has over 1,500 solar installers operating in the state. More than a few of these companies are very small operations run out of the owners’ garage.

Designing and installing a reliable and efficient solar power system requires expertise in engineering, roofing techniques, and electrical systems. Another overlooked skill is the ability to accurately submit your permitting and rebate application paperwork in a timely manner.

Selecting a contractor can be stressful! This is a significant investment and you’ll have to live with the results for decades. Some questions a homeowner should ask include:

Does the contractor have more than one crew? If not, managing your installation along with inspections and follow up visits will be challenging.

What is the likelihood of this contractor being around in ten years to back up their warranty? The California Solar Initiative requires all installers to warranty their workmanship for 10 years but if your contractors is out of business, you’re out of luck.

How does this contractor manage their cash flow? This is very important considering they may be floating literally tens of thousands of dollars in rebates. Cash flow problems can result in delays or substandard materials used on your home. Make sure your contractor is well capitalized. Evidence of a financially strong contractor can include direct relationships with their industry partners. Larger contractors are able to leverage their size to get the best pricing and availability of components from their vendors as well as offer residential solar financing services from companies that trust their installation abilities.

Fortunately for homeowners there are several on-line tools to help answer these questions and steer you to an experienced professional.

The first place to start is at the California Contractors Board website to check their license. Just type in the contractor’s license number (if they don’t provide you with a license number be suspicious!) and this website will verify that their license is current and in good standing. Confirm that the license number they gave you corresponds with their company name. You can also check the contractor’s bonding and workmen’s compensation policy information as well as if there are any complaints against them.

Next go to the California Solar Initiative website to find out a little more about your potential installer. This webpage has a search function so you can see how many, where, and what size installations they’ve done. The data is compiled from reservation requests filed within the last three years with Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric, or Pacific Gas and Electric. (Municipal utilities like LADWP or SMUD are not included in this database.) Many solar water-heating installers with limited solar electric experience inflate their installation number claims – this is where you’ll see just how many installs they’ve done. Another red flag is an inordinate amount of withdrawn or cancelled applications.

One of the best features of this site is the ability to determine if your installer is actually the one doing their installations! Many new solar marketing companies function as a middleman and are not the actual contractor on the job. Note the two different fields “Seller” and “Contractor” in the search tool. If they aren’t the same, this may be the case.

Two other useful resources are Angie’s List and the Better Business Bureau. You can see if anyone else has experience with your contractor. Of course, a potential contractor should be able to provide you with a few customers as references.

It’s a fact that a well-engineered and properly installed solar system will deliver you clean low-cost power for decades. Spending a little time researching your solar power contractor is the best way to avoid headaches and ensure that you get your money’s worth out of your investment!

Contact Derek Girling at DGirling@HelioPower.com

This in from the California Solar Initiative….Even the solar industry experiences a year-end rush.

CSI Program Administrators encourage everyone to complete and submit outstanding CSI applications as soon as possible to help ensure timely processing of the application so that the rebate payment can be made in 2009 and qualifying federal tax credits may be claimed. Talk to your HelioPower Energy Consultant for more information.

California Solar Initiative (CSI) rebate levels have now moved to Step 4 for residential solar electric systems in the Southern California Edison territory. The Step 4 rebate is $1.90 per AC watt.
 
New CSI applications will be processed at the $1.90 rate. As an example, a 4.2 kW AC system (4,200 watts) would now receive a maximum rebate of $7,980. (Rebates are diminished slightly if the solar array is shady or not aimed in the optimal direction.)
 
The Step 4 rebate level will last until the capacity goals are met, most likely sometime next year. It's always better to work with your solar contractor to get a rebate reservation in sooner rather than later. Reservations may last up to one year.
 
The 30% uncapped federal tax credit still applies to the balance of the system cost after rebate.

Sources:
California Solar Initiative
Solar Santa Monica, June 2009 Newsletter