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Utilities and Solar Marketing Programs

By Tom Nicholas, Solar Power Electric Association
August 5, 2008 | 8 Comments

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Our utility is not in the sunny Southwest. Does it still make sense to create solar programs for our customers? -- Larry T., Walla Walla, WA

The short answer is "yes!" Solar is viable anywhere in the U.S. For comparison, Germany is currently the world leader in utilizing solar electricity, yet its solar resource is comparable to the state of Alaska! Our other 49 states have a better solar footprint than the world leader. So even though most of the solar news seems to focus on California, there is no technical reason why any state or utility can't start or expand solar programs. And many new states are expanding their solar programs significantly. New Jersey in the Northeast has the second largest solar market in U.S., along with rapidly growing markets in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. You might think it is surprising that the states of Washington and Oregon and many of their utilities have strong solar programs, too. See a trend here? With regard to solar resource, there isn't one.

But what is a "solar program"? And how much might it cost? And if you're not a utility staff person, what are some suggestions for your local utility? Here are some ideas, some of which are low-cost or no-cost. Note that these suggestions are directed at utilities themselves.

Develop or review your utility's interconnection and/or net metering policy — keep the paperwork short and simple, and the processes clear for the customer. Don't let lawyers and engineers have the only input — they need to be understood by the average person and your marketing and customer service department should be involved.
Provide information — Create a solar webpage, put an article in a newsletter or bill insert, or add materials to your energy efficiency outreach efforts. Also have a plan for how to manage inquiries — some will be serious, but many will only be curious, and aren't a good use of your time until the customer has done more due diligence. A good first referral is www.FindSolar.com — it includes a solar calculator and a solar dealer yellow pages (and you can put HTML on your website with a direct link to your utility). The Department of Energy and local state energy offices can be good links as well.
Develop or Diversify a Green Pricing Program — Many utilities have green pricing programs, but most use only wind energy. Blending some solar into the mix can diversify the portfolio, and the installations can be located within the community at publicly viewable locations.
Start an Incentive Program — A lot of utilities offer incentives to customers installing solar systems. Before you reinvent the wheel, review other programs and "borrow" the best ideas. Again, keep the process simple and straightforward for the customer.

There are many other possible ideas. SEPA has developed the "Solar Programs Options Tool" to help utilities (or people looking for suggestions for their utility) get a handle on the different types of programs that are best for them. There is also a "Peer Match" tool for finding fellow utility staff who have expertise in the recommended programs (utility only access), and coming soon, Case Studies on a variety of these programs. All are available on SEPA's website for free at www.SolarElectricPower.org.

Solar Energy

The information and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on its Web site and other publications.

8 Reader Comments

Comment
1 of 8

Jonathan_Cole

August 6, 2008

May I add to these suggestions?

1. Develop a boilerplate system design that can be adapted by electricians and other installers. This can minimize the time required for permitting as well as set standards that the utility can live with for grid-tied systems. It will also reduce costs if the engineering design is pre-approved and only requires a tradeperson for installation. These technologies are very straight-forward and it should be simple to set up design guidelines that can be utilized for a wide variety of applications and system sizes.

2. Provide detailed information about how to get satisfactory use from the system so that end-users are not disappointed to to a lack of understanding as to how the system works and what its limitations are.

3. Provide customers with payback spreadsheets that estimate the return on investment and the time periods involved

4. Sell the customers on efficiency and waste reduction as a part of the marketing package.

http://lightontheearth.blogspot.com/

Comment
2 of 8

thomas-schmidt-36371

August 6, 2008

"All in all, we are, bricks in the wall."
Mankind started out gleaning what it could to survive on Earth. We did a pretty good job of it to, would'nt you say? We today are a living testimony to that fact. But how are we doing today? Some of us, we'll call them the haves (a minority), are able to pay others of us, the havenots (a majority), to "pull" vast amounts of natural resources from the Earth and "refine" them. Now the haves can turn around and sell this "refined" resource to the havenots at a tidy little profit.
Where are you standing in these lines? Being of the minority, should the haves be concerned, that one day the havenots will simply say, "no more?"
I think not. Not as long as the government of nations are in support of this "commerce." We all know what governments and their military force are capable of. If you dont know, all you have to do is read a high school text book on history. There is not a law stating that one must use electricity, but I fear it is not long before there is.
Pity about Earth.

Comment
3 of 8

ken-riddle-134873

August 6, 2008

Nicely stated Johnathan.

We do need standardized installation and design of griditie components. On the payback side, I would propose Congress put their money where there mouth is. Investment in these approved design solar and wind systems should be tax deductible over 5-10 years for the homeowner be they a landlord or a typical homeowner.

Comment
4 of 8

stop-killin-our-wilderness-136265

August 6, 2008

Thank you so much for this.

Finally, the argument is settled about the US' capacity for massive grid decongestion and decentralization of generation onto previously developed properties, and how that means a WIN for all of us, including the economy (tons of jobs), the environment (no wilderness death), ratepayers (an income stream from Feed In Tariffs, no rate hijacking from recentralization), taxpayers (no subsidies for monopolies), homeowners (no eminent domain or destroyed views for new, wasteful transmission lines), and utilities (if you FIT, the utility can count the power against an RPS, buy RECs, and resell it for a small premium)...

A few important points:

1. generous feed in tariffs, like Germany, Japan, Spain and 35 other countries (in the 20 cents for wind and in the 60 - 75 cents for PV) - if people can't pay off their systems, they won't do it. Also, net metering discourages conservation, feed in tariffs encourage it. MUCH cheaper and faster than building giant power plants and powerlines, MUCH less complicated than allowing POU generators the dozens of benefits Big Energy receives.

2. make cheap capital available for install costs. AB 811 in CA allows cities and counties to loan money and use the property tax system to get (and guarantee) repayment. no risk to lenders, tax deduction to borrowers, no new bureaucracy.

3. encourage people to oversize systems where possible. the CA Solar Incentive actually RESTRICTS system sizes, which obviously results in huge losses to the grid of clean renewable power from ready and willing sellers.

we are either serious about renewables - in which case we will get every property outfitted with massive efficiency and renewable generation, or we are not - in which case, we cannot kill off our deserts, plains and other beautiful open spaces in the name of "urgency" about renewables. We can't have it both ways...

Thanks again for the thoughtful article.

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holland-oates-154029

August 6, 2008

I have just one thing to say, TOM RULES!!!!

Comment
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Jonathan_Cole

August 6, 2008

The reason that such a subject arises is the renewable portfolio standards that have recently been forced into place. We must also remember, that there is an inherent conflict of interest from utilities for the encouragement of the renewables direction.

Grid-tied systems are actually a money loser for utilities because in net metering they are paying retail for something that they themselves provide at wholesale. The deal is even worse for them with feed in tariffs. In Germany they are paying a multiple of retail which encourages a very fast increase in time variant solar energy which is unpredictable and therefore not able to be a part of a dispatchable system unless standard generation modalities are available as backup.

This is why I believe that we must expect continued resistance from the power companies. Until they realize that they actually need to be in the distributed renewable energy business themselves, (make profits from installations and equipment) then in fact, anybody installing this equipment is in competition with the power company. The only way that I know of to encourage this building competition to force the old-school energy companies to change, is if we actually create distributed mini-utilities and that means storage. Only when we have storage of time-variant renewables, will we have true competition to the fossil fuel/nuclear generation industry. Unless we have this competition, there will continue to be resistance and outright hostility from the central power generators.

We will know we have gotten to the right place when these old companies start to see the writing on the wall and begin to be competitors themselves in the burgeoning distributed energy business. Before we see this we will have to have standardized integrated modular energy appliances with storage that are capable of providing energy needs without ceding control of the assets to the power company or government.

Comment
7 of 8

jennis-strickland-148383

August 6, 2008

It isn't possible for local building codes enforcement plan reviewers to calculate the engineering aspects of PV, Wind, and other solar power generation units each and every time a permit application is submitted.
Large installations of PV, Wind, and Solar power generation feed directly into a wholesale market. Smaller single family dwellings present greater difficulties. Their contribution back into the grid is miniscule compared to large systems. Yet each and every one needs separate permit applications and inspections. That's going to tax the resources of most local jurisdictions when the market takes off. Most jurisdictions adopt the standards from third party tables, of which there are many. The regulations of adjoining jurisdictions can be very different.

Manufacturers frequently provide their engineering stats, certified by one or more of the third party codes, ( BOCA, ICPO, UBC, SBC, ASTM, SBCC, UL, etc.) Some local jurisdictions will accept this documentation at face value when presented. Others require manufacturers to get specific certification, with each manufacturer having a unique ID number.Products not on the approved list can not be used until certified. This process can take years in some cases. It's a factor that favors old timers, not newcomers. It also serves to retard introduction of the most cutting edge products.

Rooftop units must conform to both building ( structural) and electric codes, each subject to inspection. Right now there are not enough going in to make an impact on the limited resources of local jurisdictions, but if the time comes when retrofit and new construction saturates the ability of local jurisdictions to keep up, it's bad for all concerned. Standardization of these factors is necessary in order for these units to proliferate.

The metering process is going to be purely political.

Comment
8 of 8

simon-decker-138987

August 8, 2008

I disagree Jennis,
Planners in CA are already performing a brought variety of calculations related to CEQA regulations. Also, inspectors are visiting buildings anyway, if there are changes done.

It is not a question of time and knowledge, it is a question of: "Do we want to?".
I am not offering the big solution here, but, mandatory solar - thermal on new developments, especially in SoCA, would take off a lot of stress from the grid during hot summer days (thinking about AC usage). Local zoning codes are easy tools for something like that. We also must implement higher building standards. The green building program in CA is good, but not mandatory.

I believe it is a combination of all possible measurements to achieve less energy consumption and more clean energy production. It can be started locally - and local Cities could advertise with it.

Another point mentioned earlier - large scale PV. I don't think that we have to destroy a lot of open space, there are other ways. Old military bases, corridor Freeways, etc. For example, the Freeway from Los Angels to Las Vegas leads after Victorville mostly thru sunny deserts. A freeway with 10 yards in between both directions. A perfect corridor for transmission lines and large scale solar or solar thermal applications itself.

Last not least, I am not an expert - but I am young and I am looking forward for what is coming in Germany and the U.S. - because we are just at the beginning of a new age.

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TOM NICHOLAS

About: Tom Nicholas serves as SEPA?s regional director for the Central US. He has more than 20 years of executive level experience in the electric utility industry, i... more »