Energy Stimulus Money Slow to Spend, But Making Strides for Solar on Long Island and New York State

Of the $3.2 billion that the economic stimulus package of 2009 allocated towards energy efficiency and conservation, only 8.4% had been spent as of the beginning of this month.  An Audit Report was released by the Department of Energy last week examining the status of funds granted to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The DOE disbursed most of the available funds for projects that would increase energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions.  However, after a year only $269.7 million had been spent, producing or saving just 2,265 jobs.

http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/OAS-RA-10-16.pdf

Why the delays in spending?  Low levels of spending and job creation were clearly not the desired outcome of this program.  But the one-year analysis found impediments to implementation including administrative and regulatory issues at the federal, state, and local levels.  A shortage of Department staff and abundance of federal controls have made it difficult for local governments to spend money as planned.  More details on these issues can be found in the status report.

The Department of Energy had the chance to respond to this audit and argued that the program was more successful than made to appear by this report; much of the money has actually been committed to projects so there is promise of spending in the near future.

What does this mean for solar? Although most stimulus grants for renewable energy technologies are given through other areas, like the State Energy Program leg of the Recovery Act, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block includes solar power on government buildings.  According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Governor Paterson back in March 2010, $24 million of this block funding was awarded for clean energy projects in small municipalities across New York state.  Plans for this money included both solar photovoltaic and thermal systems on various facilities including fire stations, libraries, and town halls.  Here is the breakdown of funds for Long Island:

http://www.nyserda.org/economicrecovery/documents/rfp10_awardees.pdf

It’s great to see that New York municipalities are on board and in many cases leading the mission of spreading solar energy and efficiency!

Call to Action: Support SREC Legislation in NY

As you may have heard recently, there is legislation in the New York assembly to create a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) incentive structure in the State.  This would be similar to the very successful SREC market launched in New Jersey.  The New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act would create 22,000 new jobs in the state and bring 5 Gigawatts of solar online by 2025.

The video below by SolarOne does a great job of explaining how the SREC market would work and all the benefits it would bring to NY.

Some important points are:

• Create about $20 billion in economic activity in the state
• Residential and commercial size systems would benefit
• 140x increase in New York solar capacity by 2025
• Low cost: only about 39 cents extra on each month’s electric bill

This legislation needs to get voted on by June 21 when the Summer legislative break begins.  Take action and let your representatives know that you support the Solar Industry.

New York as a Solar City

Last week the NY Times reported that NYC conducted a laser analysis of the city to create a useful geographical map.   The laser system used is known as Lidar, from light detection and ranging.  In April, over the course of nine 6-hour nighttime flights, a plane equipped with Lidar collected data on the city which would allow the rendering of a detailed 3D map.  This map will help identify wetlands and flat and pitched roofs, among other things, which would enable the city to determine which neighborhoods are more prone to flooding, which areas need more trees, and estimate the solar potential of different buildings.  [Above is a picture taken during one of the nighttime flights.]

The map has yet to be produced, but its benefits will be numerous.   While New York City receives plenty of sun light, it has unique conditions which limit its solar potential.  Tall buildings shade nearby roofs; roofs house equipment like heating and cooling systems as well as water and cell phone towers which reduce usable solar space; many ratepayers who rent are not able to take advantage of solar incentives which usually go to building owners; and historic building preservation codes can restrict or prevent construction of solar structures.  A detailed solar potential map will ease the identification of the best locations for solar.

NYC is taking action on other fronts to encourage its solar market.  New York is one of the Solar America Cities – a group of 25 cities in partnership with the Department of Energy committed to increasing the adoption of solar technology.  NYC has set the goal of installing 8.1 MW of photovoltaic energy by 2015.

The price of installation in the city remains high and the permitting process can be lengthy.  The solar map will be a good step forward in catalyzing solar in the city.  However, there needs to be continued focus on bringing down the costs of installation, streamlining the permitting process, and developing creative ways to finance solar projects which make them more accessible to everyone.

Check out the Solar Bill of Rights to learn more about practices and policies that will help to grow the solar market.

EmPower’s Commercial Solar Webinar

On Wednesday, April 14, David Schieren (EmPower’s CEO) hosted a webinar on commercial solar systems.  EmPower will be hosting more free webinars and free community seminars.  Check back to our website regularly to find out when and where our next events will be held.

Some of the topics covered in the commercial solar webinar were:

1. Benefits to Business
2. Pricing & Financing
3. Rebates &  Incentives
4. Ideal Solar & Roof Conditions
5. Plenty of Sample Solar System Pictures

You can view a recording of the webinar below.

Peak Load Limitation Lifted with New Legislation in NYS

On February 22, Gov. Patterson signed legislation which would improve net metering in New York State by eliminating peak load restrictions.  Under the old regulations, commercial entities could not install renewable energy systems that exceeded their metered peak demand in the previous 12 months.

Peak demand is the highest amount of power a building draws over the course of a year.  Most buildings in New York experience their peak demand in the middle of the summer, during the middle of a hot day.  At this time, they have on their AC units plus all their other usual equipment – resulting in large power requirements.  Power required is not the same as energy consumed.  A measure of power is instantaneous (kilowatts, kW), while energy measures power used in a specific time period (kilowatt-hours, kWh).

It is possible in New York for a commercial building to have a peak demand of 100 kW (probably occurring in July or August) and an annual energy consumed of 300,000 kWh.  The old net metering restrictions would limit this business to install a solar system of 100 kW.  Based on the solar conditions of their location, their 100 kW system may produce around 120,000 kWh annually (1200 kWh per kW installed per year).  120,000 kWh is less than half of the energy that they consume each year.

Passing this legislation which lifts the peak demand cap is a big step forward for New York State.  Businesses have thus far been unable to install solar systems designed to meet their energy needs.  Larger entities will be able to take full advantage of the solar resource falling on their roofs by installing larger solar systems.

Now we await interpretation of the legislation by the Public Service Commission to learn how it will be instituted.