Via Sacramento Business Journal

The city of Davis is weighing the idea of leasing land it owns for solar farms, and has entered into exclusive negotiating agreements on two properties, raising a few land-use questions.

While the city aims to encourage and support alternative forms of energy production, Davis also is committed to preserving farmland. The city boasts a strong farmland protection program, which was the first city-based program in the state, said Mitch Sears, the city’s sustainability program manager.

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From Renewable Energy World

California, USA — In an undated posting on Governor Jerry Brown’s campaign web site, the then candidate called for building 12,000 MW of distributed generation out of 20,000 MW of new renewable generation.

Governor Brown specifically calls on the legislature to introduce feed-in tariffs to accomplish this task.

Brown’s position on distributed generation and feed-in tariffs is the most ambitious-and the most specific-of any sitting US Governor.

California has lagged far behind other US states since Brown’s previous tenure as Governor in the early 1980s. At best California produces two percent of its electricity with wind energy and less than one percent from solar energy. Several Midwestern states generate more than seven percent of their electricity with new renewables, mostly wind energy.

12,000 MW of new distributed renewables could produce 15-25 TWh of generation, or about 5%-8% of current consumption. Total new renewables proposed by Brown could generate 30-40 TWh per year for about 10%-13% of consumption.

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Two years ago I moved from NYC to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and made the move to running my web consulting company completely off grid. Recently, I moved into my energy efficient 220 square foot strawbale home (pictured below). Here are ten tips that have helped me run a successful business sans grid tie. 

Get two renewable sources: I have only solar at my house, but friends of mine next door have a hybrid system, with both a small wind turbine and a mid sized solar grid. They tend to balance each other out nicely with dark and windy storms, or windless sunny days. The costs of a solar wind hybrid system might be slightly higher, but the reliability of the power makes a huge jump for the better in my experience. 

Let clients know you might be less available in winter months: Several of my long term clients are fascinated and inspired by my off-grid living, and are completely OK with me missing 3-4 days a year because power is low. I could avoid this completely by purchasing a larger system, but I kind of like low battery days. They are like snow days for a tele-commuter! 

Do business reading on a Kindle: Assuming heavy usage, Kindle’s reduce overall CO2 through displacing the embodied energy of paper books. For a heavy reader like myself (both work and pleasure) the numbers can be considerable. Additionally, I can read for between several weeks and a month from a single battery charge, making it perfect for days when power is low durring business hours but I have reading I need to do. 

Use candles and an illuminated keyboard: My friends Ziggy and April make and sell me beeswax candles from local bees, my fireplace throws off aesthetically pleasing (if flickering) light, and my Macbook has an led illuminated keyboard. Put together, this is more than enough 

Don’t use a printer: Printers can be energy hogs, and are increasingly unnecessary. Opt for electronic communication and bill pay, proofread important docs on a kindle or other e-reader, archive notes in Evernote, and you would be surprised how little paper you manage with. 

Have non-electric leisure: Durring time when power is low, I’ll need to keep most of my power for working. In those periods (usually a few weeks in Jan or Feb) it is time to play board games by candle light, have a song circle with friends, read by candle light, or have some quality time and cuddling with my girlfriend. 

Have a pedal powered backup: I haven’t fully implemented this yet, but I am interested in using a bike generator as a backup. I can bike steady at 150 watts, so an hour at the office gym could buy me 5 or so hours on the laptop. Actor Ed Begley Jr uses this trick to make toast every morning. 

Turn off the router when not online: My wireless router uses 0.2amps @ 110volts, for a total of 22 amps, about average for a fluorescent light. Turning off the reuter when you are not online can save as much power as turning off a lamp with a 25 watt CFC bulb!

Hope these tips help! Let me know if you have any of your own. 

____

Brian Toomey lives at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage where he is co-owner and writer at Sustainablog.org and an energy efficiency and web optimization consultant to Appoutdoors. 

As residential solar power adoption rates continue to increase, commercial solar power has the potential to save businesses and building owners even more money each year. Unfortunately, many businesses have not taken the time to truly study the operational and finance benefits of solar power and they see solar power as being all up-front cost with very little upside other than being “green.” To help deal with this, we have compiled the top 5 reasons for businesses to invest in commercial solar power.

(1) Available Incentives, Accelerated Depreciation, and Lease Options

Government Incentives

Federal and state governments have put in place aggressive financial incentives to help make the out-right purchase of a solar power system much easier. First and foremost, the federal tax credit, the Investment Tax Credit, allows businesses who install a solar power system a 30% tax credit on the cost of the system. There is no cap on this amount so whether you install a $100,000 system or a $1,000,000 system, there is no cap on the amount a company can claim as a credit. In addition, the ITC may be rolled into the following tax year if it is un-used in the current year. On top of all of this, each state and local utility has its own rebate system to reduce the overall cost of installing a solar power system. In many instances, the amount of the rebate increases as the size of the system increases.

In addition to these incentives, many states have a net metering policy which means that you only pay for the net amount of electricity that you use. With net metering, businesses with solar installed are able to “bank” the excess electricity their solar system generates and receive credit up to 100% of their electric use bill at the full retail electricity price that they can use later to offset their bill even further. In addition, many states have even gone so far as to exempt the value of a renewable energy source from a building owner’s property taxes. Unlike other improvements, businesses would not have to pay increased property taxes even though the value of your building may increase with a solar power system.

Accelerated Depreciation

In addition to the government incentives, businesses may take accelerated five (5) year depreciation on the cost of the system under the federal Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System’s (“MARCS”). So while your company will receive cash flows from a solar power system for upwards of 20 or 25 years, the total value of that system (in terms of upfront costs) will be taken out of gross income over the five-year period allowed by MACRS resulting in a lower tax liability over the initial five years the system is installed.

Lease Options/Power Purchase Agreements

For businesses that do not want to come up with a large up front cash payment for a solar power system, many states allow companies to lease solar panels for between 15-20 years. In this instance, the business does not benefit from the federal or state financial incentives as they will not own the system, instead the business pays a fixed rate for the use of the solar power system and receives all of the benefits of cheaper, stable power.

In addition, a variation on the leasing model is the power purchase agreement (“PPA”). Under the PPA model, the solar provider secures funding on their own for the solar system and then installs the solar system on your building. Subsequently, the solar provider maintains and monitors the energy production from the solar system. You pay nothing for this installation and maintenance. The solar provider then sells the electricity from the installed solar system to the building owner at a fixed contractual price for the term of the contract. So in essence, you are paying a fixed rate for the cheaper energy produced on the top of your building. In most instances, the cost of this electricity is initially about 20% lower than electricity from the utility grid and the savings usually increases over time as the rate of electricity from the grid increases due to inflation, yet with a PPA, you are locked in at a fixed rate. PPAs generally lasts between 5 and 25 years. In some renewable energy contracts, the host has the option to purchase the generating equipment from the PPA provider at the end of the term, may renew the contract with different terms, or can request that the equipment be removed.

(2) Significant Operating Advantages

There are also a number of significant operational advantages for businesses to invest in solar power.

Reduce Your Building’s Operating Costs

Installing a solar system can dramatically reduce your business’ operating expenses which can have a ripple effect throughout your company balance sheet. Regardless of whether you pay for your solar system up front or lease it, corporate utility costs will significantly decline to the point where the savings can eventually pay for the solar system. In fact, an environmental report released in 2003 claims that financial investment in a solar power system as well as other energy efficiency measures can pay for itself 10 times over. The report, conducted jointly by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, several California state agencies and clean-energy consultant the Capital E group, used national data from 100 green buildings and concluded that sustainable green buildings lower operations and maintenance costs between $50 and $70 per sq. ft., or about 10 times the additional costs associated with green buildings.

And depending on your business model, the savings associated by investing in solar power can affect different parts of your business. For example for a commercial office building owner who relies on rent from tenants, typically has two options when dealing with high utility rates: (a) absorb these costs or (b) pass on some or all of these costs to the building tenants. There are consequences to both paths. With option (a), absorbing some or all of the energy costs of operating the building will reduce the profit margin of the building. With option (b), if energy costs are passed on to the tenants, then the building owner may wind up pricing many of his tenants out of the building and the owner might be left with vacancies and loss revenue. By reducing operating expenses with solar power, a building can avoid this Catch-22 and (i) keep the lease rates of the tenants at a more favorable rate, (ii) keep the building at or close to 100% occupancy and (iii) maintain strong profit margins due to reduced expenses and strong revenues as a result of high occupancy.

Hedge Against Rising Utility Rates

In addition to lowering your operating expenses, solar power can help insulate a business from volatility in the power markets. Not only are their seasonal swings in utility rates due to high consumption (ie. summer and winter months) but historically electricity rates have increased on average 5.5% a year. With continued volatility in the Middle East, dwindling resources and an aging infrastructure at home, consumers may be looking at even higher rates over the next decade.

By investing in solar power, businesses can insulate themselves from these increases by producing their own cheap electricity. And by guaranteeing themselves a certain electricity rate with solar, businesses can take the variable nature out of their utility costs and begin to categorize their utility costs as more of a fixed expense, providing for a more predictable and stable balance sheet in which to work.

(3) Low Maintenance/High Reliability

Solar energy systems from reputable solar providers require virtually no maintenance and operate with no noise. Given the roof structure of many commercial buildings, the access to them is easy. While individual solar cells are fragile, they are encased in a highly tempered and protective glass case, which is framed by non-corrosive aluminum. Because solar panels are exposed to the elements they are typically very sturdy and built to withstand rain, hail and other weather-related threats. In addition, the photovoltaic cells that make up the panel experience very little break down over time, similar to computer chips. Accordingly, most solar manufactures offer a full warranty over their solar panels for 20-25 years which means that once you make the move to solar, you will experience clean electricity for at least 25 years from a system that is just as functional and more reliable than standard utility electricity.

(4) Marketing Advantages

Businesses that make the decision to invest in solar power can also reap a marketing advantage.

Reputation for Quality

First, the actual decision to install solar power on your building takes time and diligence to make sure the requisite financial and operational components fit within your business model. More than anything, it represents a commitment to quality, care and operational efficiency. These are critical factors needed to acquire and retain tenants with any building project and demonstrate a corporate commitment to quality and the environment, separate from your competitors.

Media Attention

While more commercial buildings are beginning to see the virtues of going green, these types of complexes are still in the minority. By marketing your building as a green building, you raise the likelihood of media attention as you are the forefront of modern construction. What’s better, most of the time this media attention is free and helps tremendously to spread the word about your business.

Investment Advantages

One final advantage of investing in solar power relates to the possible acquisition of your commercial building. As we have shown, incorporating solar power into your commercial building can dramatically change the economic value of the building by improving vacancy rates (if applicable) as well as lowering the buildings operating expenses. These types of commercial buildings are excellent investment vehicles for real estate investment trusts or other investors who are looking for real estate with tremendous cash flow upside. By marketing solar power, you not only help the economic value of your multifamily building but also raise your profile to those investors who might be willing to pay a premium for a building that is economically and operationally efficient.

(5) Many Types of Commercial Buildings/Businesses Are Good Candidates for Solar Power

For commercial building owners, installing solar power is an easier proposition due to the fact that commercial buildings typically can handle a larger solar system size and benefit from a lower per kilowatt-installed rate. In addition, businesses tend to stay in one building for a longer period of time than homeowners thus more completely realizing the economic benefits of solar power.

Unfortunately, many businesses do not believe or even know that solar power can help their business save money. Many see solar power as only works for high technology businesses or that solar power just would not make sense for as they run their operations throughout the night. The good news is that solar makes sense for a wide variety of businesses and buildings regardless of industry. The key factors to look for to determine whether solar power would work for your business would be (1) large electric bill due to heating water or operating machinery, (2) round the clock operations, and (3) subject to energy spikes in high intensity months. Whether you are a laundromat, data center or huge manufacturing facility, if you suffer from any or all of the above, you should consider solar power.

For those businesses with high electric bills due to heating water, such as a laundromat, solar thermal power can heat water at a fraction of a cost. In addition, solar power can help offset a substantial portion of a buildings electric usage by providing power during the day when utility rates are the highest and then go back on the electric grid during the evening when rates are lower. In addition, all solar power systems come with a battery that can store any excess power produced during the day so that it can be drawn on at night. In addition, solar power can also help offset and smooth out fluctuations in electric usage during high intensity months such as the summer or winter by supplementing your power supply so that you are pulling less energy from the grid. So whether it is a manufacturing facility or a data storage center that runs all night, provided the building has enough space to house solar panels, solar power will help can provide the necessary power to help operate a diverse range of businesses regardless of when or how they conduct their operations.

Conclusion

For those interested consumers commercial business owners that are still unsure about solar power and how they should go about evaluating whether solar is right for their situation, please know that there are answers to your problems and all you need to do is a little research at great sites like the U.S. Department of Energy and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

And for those businesses that are looking for help in finding the right solar installer, solar energy matching services can also take much of the guess-work out of selecting a solar installer. There are several free matching services that connect you with pre-selected and highly reputable solar installers based. The process is simple: you provide basic information on your location and project type and within minutes or up to 1-2 business days the qualified solar installers will contact you to bid on your project. These services have saved homeowners time and the headache of dealing with poor quality installers. For example, see www.solar-energy-installers.com.

Remember, solar power is potentially a large investment, so it’s advisable to look into both the technical and financial considerations before either getting the wrong solar panel system or dismissing the chance to save with solar.

A group of activists is seeking to block six massive solar projects in the California desert, claiming that federal officials didn’t properly consider the damage they would cause to the desert.

Calling themselves La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle Advisory Committee, the American Indian activists filed a lawsuit in San Diego Monday, saying they are trying to protect native sacred sites in the California desert.

They are joined in the lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management by another group, Californians for Renewable Energy, and five individuals.

“The suit really has to do with the cultural resources, but the tribal people are concerned about the environmental aspects as well,” said Robert Lundahl, a spokesman for La Cuna.

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One of environmentalists’ major concerns about adding solar farms in places such as the Mojave Desert is the destruction of land and disturbance of the natural habitat. But what if that land was already destroyed due to salt contamination from over-irrigation? Could these environmentalists bear to place a solar farm over this disturbed land?

Right now, parts of the San Joaquin Valley farmland appear to be a perfect candidate for such a measure. The land and wildlife have already been disturbed due to agricultural processes and now is ripe for the chance to become an electricity-generating solar farm. Another potential area for a solar farm is the dust bowl located east of Sierra Nevada, more commonly known as the Owens Lake. Solar panels in this region will not only provide a clean energy source but may also prevent the uncontrollable gusts of dust.

The amount of electricity that can be produced on a solar farm on abandoned agricultural land can be huge and that is why you are seeing the government jumping at the chance to re-purpose much of this land for renewable energy projects. According to the New York Times:

Farmers and officials at Westlands Water District, a public agency that supplies water to farms in the valley, have agreed to provide land for what would be one of the world’s largest solar energy complexes, to be built on 30,000 acres….At peak output, the proposed Westlands Solar Park would generate as much electricity as several big nuclear power plants…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are evaluating a dozen landfills and toxic waste sites for wind farms or solar power plants. In Arizona, the Bureau of Land Management has begun a program to repurpose landfills and abandoned mines for renewable energy.

Utilizing disturbed land seems to have the support of almost every sector of society. Corporations are looking for ways to meet clean energy requirements; farmers are looking for revenue in a time of drought and failed crops; environmentalists prefer recycling land rather than destroying it for the purpose of installing renewable energy; and politicians view this as an opportunity to pursue clean energy projects.

But even while the support is strong, farmers still want the community to value the importance of agriculture.

Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation, said… “We believe that farmland should be used for farming, and that productive farmland is an environmental attribute as valuable as renewable energy production.”

It is true that the American farmer is critical to economic vibrancy of the national economy, and in particular, the California economy. In addition, with increased urban sprawl, farmers are seeing their lands disappear so it is hardly surprising to see such farmers objecting to the re-purposing of farm land for a high-tech solar project. However, it is important that we continue to maximize our resources in the most efficient manner possible. So if certain agricultural lands are no longer suitable for their initial intended use and re-habilitating such land for farming is not an option, converting these fields into solar fields that can produce clean power makes the most sense. While, as a nation, we need to be sensitive to the importance and tradition of the American farmer, we must continue to look forward to figure out unique and efficient ways to generate clean power for our future.

With a state mandate requiring California utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable sources by 2020, developers are using some of the last available open space in California to increase power supply to California utilities: the desert. According to today’s San Diego Union Tribune, state regulators have green lighted a number of large scale solar power projects in the California desert in an effort to provide California enough clean, renewable energy now and in the future. These forthcoming projects, ranging from solar troughs to solar towers to PV farms, in total will help produce 10% of California’s electricity needs going forward.

This development is not without its detractors, however. Many environmentalists, while pleased with the switch to renewable energy, are concerned about developers taking up large tracts of open space. These concerns, however, have been mitigated as developers have shrunk the development footprint by utilizing cutting edge technology, still leaving millions of acres of untouched land. Some are also concerned whether some of the projects that use heat to generate power, namely solar troughs and solar towers, will actually pay off in the future as opposed to traditional PV farms which rely on sunlight to generate power and can be upgraded more easily as PV technology improves.

There will always be fights over land use in California as well as arguments over what is the most appropriate balance between commodities production and environmental preservation. The fact remains that California utilities are under the legislative gun to transform their electricity production to cleaner sources and privately financed solar farms are a predictable outcome. Until we see drastic technological advances in clean energy production or a wholesale switch to nuclear power, California and its interest groups are going to have to work consistently together to accomodate our statewide need for clean power but also our need to preserve California’s open spaces. In the end, something has to give.