OC Renewables Blog

Federal Lenders Threaten National PACE Loans. But is their logic sound?

2010-07-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

It was a topic of discussion at last week's OC Renewables meeting that lenders Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae could jeopardize national Property Assessed Clean Energy loan programs (PACE loans). PACE loans allow private property owners to pay for energy efficiency upgrades (such as solar installation) through their monthly property tax bills, thus avoiding the steep up-front expense and keeping the fees associated with the house rather than the individual making the upgrades. PACE programs have been successful in towns across the country. But Freddie & Fannie may put an end to PACE:

"...[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"

The logic is that if the property owner takes advantage of a PACE program, but later defaults on their mortgage and the house remains unsold and must be federally "bailed out", taxpayers could be left holding the bill. (For more on the local credit crisis, check out our neighbors at Irvine Housing Blog.)

But Grist reports that property owners who have taken advantage of PACE programs are actually 11% LESS likely to default on their homes than the national average.

Grist also reports that successful PACE participants are taking action. The Long Island town of Babylon is suing Fannie and Freddie over this threat to PACE loans, because their Long Island Green Homes program has enabled 300 homeowners to invest more than $3M in energy-efficiency retrofits.

What can we do? WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES.

Says Grist:

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

2010-07-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

To register, visit www.efficiencycouncil.org/webinar

OC Renewables Meeting: July 8th, 6:30pm

2010-07-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

We'll be having a BBQ and hearing from Phil Hodgets, City of Westminster.

Irvine Ranch Water District's "Duck Club."
5 Riparian View, Irvine CA. (Look for the OC Renewables Signs!!)

Please join us!

State & Municipal Loans Make Solar Affordable for Californians

2010-07-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

The LA Times published an article this week about Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). This is a program in which homeowners don't have to pay the price up front for solar panels. Rather, a small fee is added to their property taxes, which residents pay off over many years. The assessment (and energy savings!) stay with the house even if the owners move.

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

2010-03-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

OC Renewables is proud to announce that Dr. Darr Hashempour will be speaking at the next regular meeting on Thursday, April 8 at 6:45 PM.

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

2010-03-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Webinar on AB811 financing

2010-03-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Looks like a good presentation this Wednesday at 9 AM. Hat tip: Dix Henneke

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

2010-03-10T21:58:00.000-08:00

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.

Pasted Graphic

AB 920 update

2010-03-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

From our good friends at CleanTechnica...

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!

2010-03-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

Just a friendly reminder that OC Renewables meets tomorrow, Thursday March 11th, 2010 7pm (6:45 meet & greet).

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.

Solar Buildings Panel Webinar on March 4

2010-03-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

Join us for a Webinar on March 4

Solar Buildings Panel

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/566867801

The ASES Solar Buildings Technical Division will present a panel of distinguished solar scholars who will present a wide range of topics on solar buildings. They will also focus on questions asked by ASES members throughout the country. The panelists and the areas they initially discuss are:
     -  Vikram Sami (of Lord Aeck Sargent) – Solar Energy in Buildings: Why its important and what resources are available.
      -  Michael Bendewald (of RMI) – Environmental Footprinting: including a demonstration of Greenfootstep (RMI’s Footprinting web based program)
      -  Walter Grondzik (of BSU) – Commissioning Green Buildings
      -  Tom Butler (of LAS) –  CFD analysis of a historic farmhouse

After answering questions related to their short presentaions, these panels will address questions received from ASES members that were sent in the run up to this event. Send questions to ChaptersQ&A@ases.org

Please forward this invitation to your chapter and subchapter boards and members. Thanks.

Title:

Solar Buildings Panel

Date:

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Time:

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM MST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Richard Caputo
Board Chapter Representative
ASES Board of Directors

Upcoming Lecture at UCI

2010-02-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

A.G Kawamura, the Secretary of California's Department of Food and Agriculture, will speak at UCI's Engineering Hall Auditorium.
His topic is "The Nexus Between Energy, Water, and Agriculture in the State of California."

5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 3
Engineering Hall Auditorium (Building 308, UC Irvine Campus)
There is no cost to attend the lecture, but we do ask that you R.S.V.P. to Jana Santiago at js@apep.uci.edu no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2.

Thank You!

2010-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who turned out for our February chapter meeting of the Orange County Renewable Energy Society! It was nice to see such a diverse crowd with industry professionals, policy makers and concerned citizens represented.

Also, a special thank you to Dr. Lori Greene of UCI’s Center for Solar Energy for presenting such a complex subject matter in a way that we can all understand! Click here for a copy of her presentation.

Next Chapter Meeting – March 11, 2010 @ 7pm (6:45pm meet & greet). Our presenter will be Adam Plesniak, Lead Engineer. Boeing Solar Energy Team. The meeting will be held at the Irvine Ranch Water District's "Duck Club" meeting room located at 5 Riparian View, Irvine CA.

March Challenge! Please help us spread the word about OC Renewables! Our success depends on the support of each and every one of you. We challenge you to invite as many friends, family members and co-workers as possible for our March 11th chapter meeting. The person who can get the most people to attend will receive a special prize (to be determined). We’ll track everyone’s success through the sign in sheet at the meeting.

Thank you again and we look forward to a successful 2010!

James Matarese

President

OC Renewables

Helpful Links updates

2010-02-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

We've updated the links page with some interesting renewable items going on here in Orange County. It will serve as a one-stop resource for all things renewable. Feel free to add some of your favorites!

Hello!

2010-01-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the ocrenewables.org blog! We'll have something soon for you in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.....