A new report released today by Vote Solar, a nonprofit organization working to make solar more accessible and affordable across the United States, provides a roadmap for addressing financial barriers to solar that are currently faced by up to 78 million low-income or low-credit score American households. The Inclusive Solar Finance Framework report, which was prepared for Vote Solar by Sustainable Capital Advisors, identifies policy- and market-based financial solutions for expanding solar options for this significant and underserved segment of U.S. energy consumers. Unlocking access to affordable solar will give more families a way to manage their energy bills, reduce harmful pollution, and support more local jobs in America’s clean energy economy.

“While solar is helping families nationwide save money and take control of their energy bills, those economic benefits are still out of reach for many of the low-income and low-credit households that stand to gain the most from lower and stable bills,” said Melanie Santiago-Mosier, program director of access & equity at Vote Solar. “As our clean energy economy continues to expand at record pace, it’s our responsibility to strive for growth that is inclusive and gives everyone the opportunity to participate. We urge the solar industry, policymakers, finance leaders, community organizations and other stakeholders to explore and commit to financial solutions that bring clean energy access to all.”

“The inability for our low-income and low credit score neighbors to access solar energy endangers the ability of the low-carbon revolution to deliver the environmental and societal benefits it promises,” said Trenton Allen, Managing Director and CEO of Sustainable Capital Advisors. “Those same households are also paying into state and federal programs that are helping spur the transition to clean energy through their energy bills, yet face inequitable access to the direct benefits of those programs. We aim for this report to serve as foundation to progress and provide actionable steps to rectify the barriers to solar faced by a significant segment of Americans.”

Driven by low costs and high consumer demand, customer investment in solar power has grown significantly over the past decade. However, many consumers still face barriers, such as low credit scores, lack of tax appetite, or lack of upfront capital, that prevent them from going solar through traditional finance mechanisms. The Inclusive Solar Finance Framework report identifies these financial barriers as well as specific solutions that policymakers, public agencies, and financial institutions can undertake to eliminate or minimize those barriers.

Solutions covered in the report include: refundable tax credits, reprogramming existing energy funds, credit enhancement, alternative credit scoring, and community solar. Market conditions and fundamental state policies like net metering are also critical to ensuring the efficacy of the proposed finance solutions. Another key finding is that inclusive solar finance solutions must also be structured to meet the unique needs of each customer and community, which requires processes and outcomes that prioritize collaboration, transparency, consumer protections, and education.

In preparing the Inclusive Solar Finance Framework, Sustainable Capital Advisors reviewed publicly available information and conducted approximately 60 hours of interviews with thought leaders and expert practitioners representing the entire solar ecosystem including developers, installers, financiers, impact investors, foundations, policymakers, housing agencies, utilities and consumers.

News item from Vote Solar

In Georgetown’s four-year-long process to become the largest U.S. city to purchase all of its energy needs from renewable sources, Mayor Dale Ross said the city had two major goals in mind: eliminate price volatility and seek minimal regulation.

“This is a long-term pocketbook issue,” Ross said. “It’s a win for economics and a win for the environment.”

The city’s shift to renewables is primarily focused on financial benefits. But the change has brought national and international attention to Georgetown at the same time that Texas, which is heavily fueled and funded by its oil and gas industries, is now the fifth leading state in renewable energy growth since 2008, according to a July report from the Environment Texas Research & Policy Center. The report ranks Texas first in wind and fifth in solar electricity growth between 2008-17.

“It shows that if you incentivize clean energy, the community values that and chooses that,” said Bay Scoggin, energy associate for the Environment Texas Research & Policy Center.

Many cities have smaller goals when it comes to renewable energy. Austin has the goal of reaching
55 percent renewable energy by 2025. Georgetown ran on 4.2 percent renewable energy in 2014 before its change to fully renewable sources, according to city data.

“This is a result of a lot of good work, vision [and]policy decisions,” Ross said. “It’s rewarding this day has come.”

The city has contracts through Georgetown Utility Systems that include guaranteed rates with solar and wind producers to purchase 144-150 megawatt-hours from each for the next 20-25 years. The contracts do not allow rates to be disclosed, according to city officials. Texas law considers energy rates to be trade secrets and exempts their disclosures through open records requests.

Having a set rate means as inflation has the potential to hike up prices, GUS customers will see minimal difference on their bill because the rate cannot change, said Chris Foster, manager of resource planning and integration for the city of Georgetown. This is also the case if the price was to drop­­­—the cost to residents will remain the same. If there is a difference, it is due to other factors on the bill such as amount used or additional fixed rates potentially established by future city councils, he said.

Having a set rate allows for stability, Foster said, adding that rates can spike and plummet even at different times of the year. Currently, wind is the cheapest source of energy available to the city, and solar is purchased at the same price as energy derived from fossil fuels, Foster said.

Foster also said the city anticipates wind and solar energy will face less federal regulations than fossil-fuel energy sources, a factor that could lead to additional cost savings.

Georgetown has contracted with NRG Energy Inc. for solar and EDF Renewable Energy for wind. Energy generated by both the solar and wind farms is put into a statewide electrical grid, which is operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. GUS then pulls energy off of the state electrical grid to meet customers’ needs, Foster said.

NRG Energy’s Buckthorn solar plant is located in West Texas. Georgetown has contracted 150 MWh of capacity until 2043. This means in one hour, 150 MW could be produced, Foster said.

The farm’s solar panels are strategically placed to collect the most energy possible, as the panels track the sun moving east to west.

Solar energy can only be collected when the sun is out, so in partnering with EDF Renewable Energy’s Spinning Spur 3 wind farm, located near Amarillo, the city’s energy needs can also be met at night, when wind tends to pick up, Foster said.

Georgetown has contracted 144 MWh of capacity from the wind farm until 2035.

While the combined capacity is 294 MWh, Foster said at any given time Georgetown is only taking about 180 MWh off the electrical grid, as the plants do not operate at the same time of the day.

“Buckthorn will produce the most energy in the heat of the day, where Spinning Spur 3 is at its weakest,” Foster added.

Georgetown had a peak load of 145 MWh in 2017, or in one hour the city used a max of 145 MW of energy, according to the city. But this, too, varies with weather, Foster said. For example, when the temperatures hit triple-digits in July, the city’s peak load was 170 MWh.

The city did not contribute any money toward constructing the solar and wind farms. Instead, the farms used Georgetown’s promise to buy renewable energy as collateral to secure construction loans, Foster said.

Kaiba White, energy policy and outreach specialist for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer rights advocate, said Georgetown’s milestone could inspire similar changes elsewhere.

“Georgetown did it,” White said. “And municipal power utilities leaders need to step it up because the bar is now 100 percent, and anything less is not leading.”

Georgetown continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, ranking sixth among cities with populations of 50,000 or more, according to U.S. Census data released in May.

The amount of energy GUS is purchasing today is the amount needed for its current customer base and should meet the demand for at least the next five years, Foster said.

Future contracts beyond the five years would need Georgetown City Council approval, Foster added.

Excess energy Georgetown brings in can be put back on the electrical grid and sold for profit, Foster said.

“There’s still a lot of room to grow and time to plan,” Foster said. “We can incrementally grow as the population grows.”

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — The sun that fueled a warm summer afternoon as it blazed down onto Hunters Point South Park is the same source of energy that advocates argue could power more than a million homes across New York.

Surrounded by families basking in the sunlight, Queens advocates gathered at the Long Island City waterfront park Tuesday to rally support for the “Million Solar Strong New York” campaign, which aims to power 1 million New York homes – including 100,000 that are low-income – with solar energy by 2023.

Campaign organizers called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state lawmakers to help them reach that goal.

“We need programs and policies to make solar power accessable to all people – regardless of their income level, housing and neighborhood – across New York State,” said campaign organizer Renee Vogolsang.

Advocates were joined by Queens lawmakers and Long Island-based solar company EmPower, which recently expanded into Queens to fix the borough’s “run down” and “destroyed” energy infrastructure,” said CEO David Schieren.

“It’s a lot of hard work, but we do see this future where we have a much better energy system completely powered by solar and wind and batteries that is completely free of fossil fuels,” Schieren said.

“We’re going to make it happen.”

Schieren said his company – which sells, installs and operates solar power systems – recently received more state funds to offer bigger rebates to New York City homeowners and businesses. That’s in addition to tax credits and incentives the city recently extended for homeowners who install solar panels and other infrastructure.

“Are we better off than we were last year? Yes,” Schieren said.

But local lawmakers acknowledged the city has a ways to go in creating solar developments.

The City Council in April requested Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office set aside nearly $800 million of the 2019 fiscal budget to speed up solar development, noting the city was behind on its “One City: Built to Last” plan, which mandates the installation of 100 megawatts of solar on buildings by 2025.

“We’ve done a lot but we can absolutely do more, and i think that’s why we worked so hard in the city budget to push this,” said City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria).

“We want to make sure (solar installations) in private spaces are incentivized, but on the same token we want to get our city on building more with solar – Schools, libraries, hospitals.”

Constantinides noted the Million Solar Strong Campaign could improve air quality at several public housing complexes in western Queens, where asthma rates are higher than the borough’s average. Building solar infrastructure would also create more middle-class jobs and line the pockets of homeowners have panels installed, he said.

“This is a win-win for everybody,” he said.

New York Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) also pledged his support for the campaign on a state level, where organizers hope to see most of the solar energy reform.

“It’s a beautiful day,” Gianaris said. “Let’s make use of the natural energy that the sun provides.

“We’ve done so much already, but we can do better.”

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Lead photo by Danielle Woodward/Patch