Federal Lenders Threaten National PACE Loans. But is their logic sound?
"...[T]he two government-chartered agencies that buy and resell most home mortgages are threatening to derail the effort by warning that they might not accept loans for homes that take advantage of the special financing." -- NY Times: "Loan Giants Threaten Energy-Efficiency Programs"
Long Island Rep. Steve Israel (D) and other members of Congress are considering introducing legislation to resolve the dispute, but there's no guarantee a bill would pass through Congress's busy schedule any time soon (or ever).
Free Webinar on Tuesday, July 13 10 AM PDT: Clean Energy Federal Legislation
OC Renewables Meeting: July 8th, 6:30pm
Irvine Ranch Water District's "Duck Club."
5 Riparian View, Irvine CA. (Look for the OC Renewables Signs!!)
Please join us!
State |||amp; Municipal Loans Make Solar Affordable for Californians
Says Gary Gerber, President of the California Solar Energy Industries Association:
"Let's say you replace your $100 utility bill with a $100-a-month payment to your property taxes — it's pretty close to a wash," said Gerber... "And if it isn't a wash this year, then two or three years from now it will be, because energy costs are going up.
California is one of 19 states that have passed PACE legislation. On Earth Day 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 77, authored by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica). According to the Governor's website, SB 77 enables commercial and residential property owners to make energy upgrades using bonds and/or loans that can be repaid through their property tax bill. Up to $30 million will be available for California's PACE Reserve Program.
The LA Times article tells the story of one happy PACE participant, Ed Smith of Santa Rosa:
[Smith] figures his property taxes rose $100 a month while his electric bill has dropped as much as $300 a month over the last four months.
"It's been totally fantastic," Smith said. "We'd been wanting to do something green. I've been recommending it to my neighbors. It would be a great thing for schools to do since they have flat roofs that catch a lot of sun. Plus school districts need to save money."
Tune in to future OC Renewables posts & meetings -- we are working to bring local experts in to tell us how to take advantage of these new incentives.
Full article:
PACE loan program makes solar energy more affordable for homeowners - latimes.com
Speaker for April 8th Meeting
Dr. Hashempour is one of the pioneers in our industry and an authority in clean energy, renewables and Green power. He has been with fortune 500's for many years and is the founder of Expedient energy and co-founder of Omni Power, both headquartered in Orange County.
We will meet at the Duck Club once again. Click here for a Google Map. Looking forward to seeing you on the 8th!
Speaker for April 8th Meeting
Dr. Hashempour is one of the pioneers in our industry and an authority in clean energy, renewables and Green power. He has been with fortune 500's for many years and is the founder of Expedient energy and co-founder of Omni Power, both headquartered in Orange County.
We will meet at the Duck Club once again. Click here for a Google Map. Looking forward to seeing you on the 8th!
Webinar on AB811 financing
Dear California Efficiency First Supporters,
Please register here for a California-focused webinar this Wednesday, March 17, at 9am PST to learn about upcoming home performance property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing (aka Assembly Bill 811). Presenters will include:
• Steven Schiller, Board Chair, California Energy Efficiency Industry Council (webinar Co-host)
• Kelley McKanna, Project Manager, Renewable Funding (PACE administrator for San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles Counties and 14 counties for the California First Program)
• Mark Fischer, Sr. Vice President of Operations, The Grupe Company (home owner services)
• Doug Donovan, Director of Residential Services, Greener Dawn (sustainability advisors)
In addition, Panama Bartholomy, who is an Advisor to the Chair of the California Energy Commission will discuss California-related workforce development issues.
Please sign-up for the webinar by registering here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/852286730
Efficiency First wants to make sure our California supporters gain key insights into how to best leverage PACE legislation and related initiatives to expand business and become a leader in the industry.
California is ramping up its home energy efficiency incentives programs, so please join us for this webinar to hear the latest.
ASES Board Member speaking in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers presents:
LA ASME January Presentation:
“Are Renewables Enough to Avoid Hitting the
Climate Change Wall”
At The Metropolitan Water District, Conference Room 101.
Thursday, March 18th, 2010, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
All ASME members, student members, public, engineering students and teaching staff are invited.
Plenty of free parking is available.
Prior to the presentation there will be a short business meeting of the LA Section Executive Committee.
Topic: Solutions to the dual crisis of peaking global oil production and global warming will be presented. Nine non-carbon energy options are considered and we will see how they stack up against the goal of an 80% reduction of carbon emissions by 2050. Superseding the technical issues is the inability to reach policy support long enough to support solutions to a century long problem. The concept of “energy tribes” is borrowed from the cultural anthropologists as an aid in understanding the nature of the conflicts over energy perceptions and policy. An attempt is made to find a way to use the conflicts to fashion an approach to a solution. This presentation is taken from the book, Hitting the Wall: A Vision of a Secure Energy Future.
Speaker: Richard Caputo, author of Hitting the Wall: a Vision of a Secure Energy Future. He obtained his MSME at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his BME at Manhattan College, New York City, New York. Richard has retired after 25 years as an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech and has been a mediator who has done court mediations in three states. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Solar Energy Society and is active in the San Diego Chapter.
Directions:
Fwy 110: Drive to downtown LA, Take 101 South Fwy and exit at Alameda East to the Union Station.
Fwy 5: If going North, take 101 Fwy and exit at Alameda East. If going south, take Fwy 10 exit to downtown, and then Fwy 101 and take Alameda East exit.
Fwy 10: Drive to downtown LA, take 101 North Fwy and exit at Alameda East to the Union Station.
Park anywhere in the underground garage (it’s after hours so there is plenty of parking). Take an elevator to the lobby, and register at the Lobby guard desk. The Meeting is in the MWD Conference Room 101 on the Lobby level, diagonally across from the guard desk.
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AB 920 update
AB 920 now gives solar homeowners two additional options for the excess kilowatt-hours in our credit at the end of the year. We now have the option of rolling over month-to-month indefinitely – banking credits for later, when we can finally buy an electric car, maybe! – or we can take the cash at the end of each year. (The exact cash amount won’t be finalized by the CPUC till By January 1, 2011.)
So, if you are installing solar this year, you should feel free to overbuild your solar system, because now you can be paid cash (or rollover credits) for the excess. But be sure to sign up for one or other of the new end-of-year credits options with your solar estimator. Otherwise, per DSIRE: “If the customer makes no affirmative election for either option, the utility will be granted their NEG at the end of the 12 month period with no compensation to the customer”.
OC Renewables will be keeping a close eye on this going forward. Keep us posted as well if and when you hear the latest!
Meeting Thursday (Tomorrow) Night!
Speaker: Adam Plesniak, Lead Engineer - Boeing Solar Energy Team
Topic: Introduction to Concentrated Photovoltaic
Location: Irvine Ranch Water District's "Duck Club" meeting room located at
5 Riparian View, Irvine CA. (Look for the OC Renewables Signs!! They look like the OC Renewables logo!!)
Contact ocrenewables@gmail.com for details.
