EV – PV: An EV Owner’s Realization that Solar Makes Perfect Sense in Seattle

One of our clients, Steve Coram, wrote this great blog post!  It is wonderful to hear from a homeowner's experience and real world application.

EV = Goodbye Gas

EV

Why did you buy an electric car? Or, why would you buy an EV? Is it the ultra-ECO Nissan LEAF? Or are you into the totally chic Tesla Model S? Whatever your reasons, there is no hiding the fact that there are some very real monetary motivations to going EV too!

One’s decision to ultimately buy an EV also means that there will be an investment. An investment of time is necessary to fully understand and realize the financial benefits of the purchase. Here’s the short version:

The U.S. federal government subsidizes EV sales by providing owners an income tax rebate on their overall tax burden during the year the EV was purchased. It’s an awesome fringe benefit, but the buyer should do some tax prep to be sure that the full $7500 rebate will come back at tax time. This federal incentive is a use-it-or-lose-it affair. Otherwise, leasing is an excellent option, wherein the $7500 tax benefit applies immediately at the point-of-sale with a resulting low, low lease rate for the new EV driver.

In Washington state, where my family lives, EV adoption is also incentivized by forgoing state sales tax on the purchase of any new electric vehicle. Again, though, one needs to research this perk as some plug-in vehicles qualify (Nissan LEAF), and others do not (Chevy Volt).

The longer that an EV driver can keep the car in service, substantial long-term financial advantages will be realized too. With little to no maintenance costs to keep the vehicle on the road, EV drivers can benefit from the fantastic financial return for money not spent on their car. Windshield washer fluid and a new in-cabin air filter once a year is about it.

Lastly, there is so much money not spent on “fuel.” At 15,000 miles driven a year, an average medium-sized ICE (internal combustion engine) car costs about $0.15 per mile in gas. As compared to a Nissan LEAF, for example, that costs less than $0.03 per mile in electricity.

Made in Washington, Itek Energy Solar Panels

PV

Last summer, after trading in our Mazda CX-9 for a second Nissan LEAF, I started researching incentivized energy options. The next bang-for-the-buck “going green” play was the installation of photovoltaics (PVs) on our roof. Our new PV system will actually be more financially beneficial than our EVs!

The easiest way to explain the cash benefits is to show it on a simplified graph:

The above graph represents after-tax incentives and rebates. This is important to clarify because the cash rebates and incentives are provided at different times in that first year of a PV system being installed. Also, these incentives are a mixture of federal, state (Washington), and local (Snohomish County PUD) programs. Others’ cash benefits may differ, depending on location.

For those living in Washington and receiving electric service through the Snohomish County PUD, this is the breakdown:

Year One: Approximately $12,000 Cash

Federal Tax Rebate: 30% tax rebate*
State Incentive: Solar production cash incentive of $0.54 per kWh generated**
Local Incentive: Snohomish County PUD cash incentive of $2500***

Years Two Through Six: Approximately $3,100 Cash Annually

State Incentive: Solar production cash incentive of $0.54 per kWh generated

Now to explain all of those asterisks!

*The federal tax rebate is used at tax time for 30% of the PV installation cost. In our case, the $21,050 project will allow for a a tax rebate of just over $6,300 on our 2014 federal income taxes. And unlike the EV federal tax credit, if one does not have the tax burden to get the full rebate amount, the 30% rebate can be stretched over multiple years so that the whole amount is realized.

**Washington state is incentivizing PV solar production. The base incentive rate is $0.15 per kWh produced. This is if the solar panels and inverter(s) are made outside of Washington state. If Made in Washington panels and inverter(s) are used on the PV project, the state will reward those who buy local with a $0.54 per kWh cash incentive.

Estimating what the annual solar production will be requires the use of a sophisticated program (Not my brain, silly people!). We can expect the first year solar production to total about 5,800 kWh as measured by AC net output with the System Advisor Model. Our state production incentive will be about $3,100 annually, but our first year payout will be a bit less due to the PV installation happening partway into the calendar year.

The Washington state production incentive is accrued annually as a cash incentive. However, the state production incentive program will expire on June 30, 2020. Thus, the state production incentive in year seven is half of the preceding years.

***Snohomish County PUD incentivizes its electricity costumers to install PV by providing a $2500 cash incentive. This is a $500 per kWh installed incentive, up to $2500 total. Since our PV system has a DC rating of 5.4 kW (solar production measured at the solar panels), we’ll get the full $2500.

We have a 10-year loan for the PV system, therefore will have a negative net cashflow (approx. -$2,500/year) for years 8-10. However, once the system is paid off, we’ll benefit from lower utility bills for as long as we live in the house. And when it comes time to sell our house, we’ll benefit from increased property value from the PV system.

There it is…Eee-Vee (EV), Pee-Vee (PV), and one of the true pleasures of EV ownership: becoming savvy about all of the financial opportunities for going green.

This post originally appeared on Steve’s EV Road Trip Blog.  You can check it out by clicking here.

Source: http://insideevs.com/author/stevecoram/

Solar Decathlon Houses Make Up a Solar Village to Test Microgrid Technology

A new project at Missouri Science and Technology will be used as a test ground for innovative research on advancing renewable energy, energy storage and microgrid technology.

New Hampshire, USA -- In yet one more example of the rising interest in how microgrids that incorporate renewable energy and energy storage will change the energy landscape, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST) has created what it says is the first “Solar Village” in the U.S.

Consisting of a grouping of Solar Decathlon houses that students at MST built for competitions between 2002 and 2009, the solar village is a project created in collaboration with Missouri S&T students, faculty and staff, along with members of the university’s microgrid advisory board (Investor-owned utility Ameren, City Utilities of Springfield, Rolla Municipal Utilities and Electric Power Research Institute), several Missouri manufacturers (Milbank and Ford Motor Company) and the Army Corps of Engineers. The engineer-of-record and installer for the project was Microgrid Solar, a U.S. and Caribbean solar developer, installer, and engineering company based in St. Louis, MO.

The project has been in the works for two years and is expected to be complete by the end of next month.  A utility grant and the DOE Sunshot Initiative contributed funding for the project.

Project Specs

There are four former Solar Decathlon houses in the microgrid. The buildings each have 5- to 10-kW PV systems and there is a mix of crystalline silicon PV and thin film.  The buildings also have solar thermal systems for hot water.  The energy storage components consist of two 100 kW / 100 kWh lithium-ion iron nano-phosphate battery racks that were donated by A123 Systems. There is also a fuel cell and a heat recovery unit as part of the microgrid.

Graduate students currently live and work in the houses, which also include electric vehicle charging stations. The microgrid is built so that it can island from the utility grid indefinitely.

Even though the military has been designing microgrids for ten years now, the project is a first “from the perspective of testing new designs and new equipment in a very closely monitored research setting,” according to Marc Lopata, PE, the Principal Engineer on this project and President of Microgrid Solar.  “We have the capability to power any of the houses independently from the grid or the central plant,” he said. “And we have the capability to plug in new equipment for testing and do graduate level experimentation.”

Tony Arnold, Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engagement at MST said in a statement that the solar village will be used “as a research tool and testing center for microgrid technology, battery technology and system communications.”  He believes that projects like the solar village need to be “scalable, replicable and flexible, so that we have the opportunity to test as many different scenarios as possible.”  According to Arnold, major utilities, companies and the U.S. Army’s Prime Power School have expressed interest in the project.

Advancing the New Energy Paradigm

Microgrids are of growing importance across the globe.  Last month, Renewable Energy World visited the Nice Grid in Carros, France. The Nice Grid uses solar PV, demand response and three different levels of energy storage in order to achieve a smarter grid that is able to “island” for up to four hours. 

The Missouri project, although much smaller in scale, will be used to test new equipment, software and firmware, as well as procedures for controlling the loads and supplies and procedures for how they communicate with utilities, according to Lopata. “Plus, I’m sure, a plethora of as-yet-to-be-imagined research topics,” he said adding that Microgrid Solar installed extra conduits in all the houses for potential future use.

Microgrid Solar installs microgrids in remote places such as the Caribbean and Lopata emphatically stated that microgrids “are not for everyone.”  Today, the cost of installing a microgrid that includes energy storage (a must in order to firm the power supply and dispatchability) is at least twice that of a normal utility grid connection and could be as high as five times that cost.  Lopata said microgrids only make sense in places where there is no existing grid, no utility, no local distribution or the power is unreliable or too expensive.  But all of that said, in locations where those conditions do apply, installing a microgrid could cut the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) significantly and improve the power supply, according to Lopata.

Source: Jennifer Runyon, Chief Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com 

Solor 101 Workshop hosted by Solar WA

Solar Power Succeeds in Whatcom County

When Dana Brandt started installing solar panels on homes in Bellingham nine years ago, people wondered what was next - screen doors for submarines?

"You can imagine what people say," says Brandt, sitting in the conference room at his company, Ecotech, on a cloudy December day.

The northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest is famous for its winter gloom, and there's not much energy to be had from the sun that time of year. But as it turned out, Brandt was on to something. Whatcom County is a good place to go solar.

What winter lacks in sunlight is made up for in the summer, when clouds are usually scarce and the sun can shine 16 hours a day. What Washington needed to launch its solar industry was a way to squirrel away that summer bounty for the dark winter.

Enter "net metering." A state law passed in 1998 requires utilities to credit homeowners with solar (or other alternative energy) systems for any power they generate beyond what they use and that flows onto the grid. The excess power produced in the sunny summer comes back to the homeowner as a credit on their electric bill during the gray winter.

"It's really why solar works here," Brandt says. "There's no battery that can do that."

Josh Miller, general manager of solar operations at Western Solar in Bellingham, says his goal is for his clients to produce as much electricity in a year as they use. That wipes out the customer's electric bill - all but a base $7.49 monthly charge, according to Puget Sound Energy.

On top of that, owners of solar-powered homes typically get $1,000 cash from the state just for producing solar energy. The payback, from what PSE calls the Renewable Energy Advantage Program, can be as much as $5,000 a year.

A 20-panel solar system with equipment made in the state can be installed for about $22,000, Miller says. Combining net metering, REAP and certain tax breaks, such a system can pay for itself in five years.

Solar energy has grown at a rapid clip in the state - about 50 percent a year since 2008. Brandt says it should continue to grow over the next decade or so.

A big reason the future looks so bright for solar power here is the 270 solar arrays that already have appeared on Bellingham roofs, according to PSE's count.

"Every week more people learn solar works here because their friends and neighbors did it," Brandt says.

INCENTIVES

Net metering: Under a state law, utility customers receive a credit on their bills for the full retail cost of extra energy produced and delivered to the grid.

Federal income tax credit: Covers 30 percent of the total cost of the system, including installation (expires 2016).

No state sales tax: The tax exemption for solar equipment or installation expires 2018.

Renewable energy system cost recovery law: What Puget Sound Energy calls the Renewable Energy Advantage Program pays solar users 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, which increases to as much as 54 cents per kWh for solar panels and inverters made in Washington. (itek Energy of Bellingham makes both.) On average, the incentive is $1,000 a year. The maximum payment is $5,000 (expires 2020).

OTHER ENERGY-SAVING TIPS

Besides solar, there are a number of ways to reduce home energy costs, says the Community Energy Challenge, based in Bellingham:

-- Use energy-efficient light bulbs. CFLs are used as are LEDs, which are becoming popular because of their color quality and dimmability.

-- Seal heating ducts. That way, the ducts won't leak into unheated spaces in your home. "That's about the biggest bang for your buck," says Alex Ramel of Community Energy Challenge.

-- Air-seal or weatherize your home. That requires a trained professional, because improperly sealed homes can lead to unsafe levels of carbon monoxide or mold.

-- Insulate your home. People should start with the attic, because hot air rises. "If you only have $1,000 to spend, spend it on insulation in the attic," Ramel says.

-- Replace furnaces or water heaters. That's recommended if the original system is older and less efficient.

SOLAR FAQ

How do I get started?

To find a reputable solar contractor, call an energy advisor at Puget Sound Energy, 800-562-1482. Two established companies are based in Bellingham: Ecotech, 360-318-7646; and Western Solar, 360-746-0859.

For a broader assessment of how to reduce energy costs in your home (see "Energy-Saving Tips"), contact the Community Energy Challenge at 360-676-6099.

Is my home right for solar?

The ideal spot for solar panels is a south-facing roof. Panels can also be installed along a deck or free-standing in the yard, as long as the area gets no shade from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Panels can be mounted on east- or west-facing roofs, but the energy production drops 12 to 15 percent.

How many panels should I get?

The median size of an array attached to PSE's grid is 19 panels. Josh Miller of Western Solar says at least 10 panels give a significant return on investment. Beyond 38, the customer doesn't get the full state cash incentive for the energy produced, because the incentive is capped at $5,000.

How quickly does a solar system pay for itself?

For the typical system, five to seven years. Larger systems that produce more energy can see a full return on investment sooner.

Given that a solar system is expected to last much longer, homeowners come out ahead. For a proposed $31,000 system, Dana Brandt of Ecotech estimated the client would net $24,000 in 30 years.

Are solar grids hard to maintain?

Solar panels are virtually maintenance free, Miller says. They are generally more durable than the homes themselves, and can withstand winds up to 120 mph. Installers recommend hosing off the panels once or twice a year to remove debris. Panels come with a 25-year warranty, which includes a guarantee that the efficiency of the panel will be no worse than 80 percent after 25 years.

Source: By Ralph Schwartz, The Bellingham Herald, 2/17/14

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/02/17/3403276/remodeling-solar-power-succeeds.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/02/17/3403276/remodeling-solar-power-succeeds.html#storylink=cpySource

18.72 kW Skagit Community Solar Project on Anacortes Middle School Complete

Western Solar has completed the installation of an 18.72 kW, 100% made-in-Washington system on Anacortes Middle School, as part of the Skagit Community Solar Project. For more information on this project check out this article in the Skagit Valley Herald.


The project features 78 of the Bellingham made, Itek Energy modules and 4 of the Theia/Eltek Central Inverters.