Pallets of PV: Communities Purchase Solar and Drive Down Costs Together

[kristopher]

Pallets of PV: Communities Purchase Solar and Drive Down Costs Together
By Karlynn Cory, NREL
May 15, 2012

Think of it like Costco or Sam's Club for purchasing solar photovolatics (PV). Some savvy folks in Oregon thought it would be a great idea to buy PV in bulk for their neighborhood to get a big volume discount and share the savings with neighbors.

So they created the Solarize campaign, which over the last three years has helped Portland add "[more than] 1.7 MW of distributed PV and [establish] a strong, steady solar installation economy." In fact, so successful was the Portland model that several other communities started their own Solarize campaigns, including Washington State; Massachusetts; Vermont; San Diego, California; and multi-city campaigns from One Block Off the Grid and GroupEnergy.

All of the great details, including how to set up your own program, are laid out in "The Solarize Guidebook: A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems," released in May 2012. This roadmap is for state and local governments and community leaders wanting to create a program to buy PV in bulk. It describes how Solarize Portland executed its program, explains how other neighborhoods across the United States are building off their efforts, and describes the steps needed to have a successful campaign in six months or less. This report is an update to a previous version published in January 2011 and includes new info on lessons learned not only in Portland, but across the other 1,960 Solarize installations.

The key to Solarize's success is that it directly tackles three major market barriers: (1) high upfront cost, (2) complex solar purchasing options, and (3) customer inertia (i.e., it is easier to do nothing than do something). Some of the key success elements include: (1) competitive contractor selection led by the community, (2) community-led outreach and education, and (3) making it a limited time offer (so you have to act now!). And how well did the bulk purchasing work? Solarize Portland drove solar market costs down by 30 percent - 35 percent as compared to before the program.

By offering system financing to participants...

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/pallets-of-pv-communities-purchase-solar-and-drive-down-costs-together?cmpid=SolarNL-Thursday-May17-2012

[freshwest]

1. Another move toward decentralizing power. Good going, Oregon!

We have several solar initiatives here by our power company and it's a great thing. I know people who are sending their solar generated power back to the grid to reduce their light bill or get credits, and most new government facilities use solar. We also have choices where we want the company to invest, including larger solar projects for generation. Obama has been working on getting these production facilities moved here and the work moved here in whatever way possible this despite the intense right wing, Koch funded obstructionist Republicans.

[msongs]

2. so have installers raised their prices to compensate?

installer businesses make a profit off the panels they install. if you have your own cheap panels. seems likely installers will just raise their fees to compensate. and installing solar takes a person who is knowledgeable about that sort of thing, it is nOt a DIY project

[kristopher]

3. What is the leverage afforded when bidding as a community project? nt

[freshwest]

4. Don't know about OR, but here they haven't. Installing them can be a DIY project. Check YT, etc.

It does require investment on the part of the homeowner. A friend of mine was refinancing her home anyway, and added the cost into it. Total cost was about $20K on a $350K home and will be used as part of the reason for maintaining that sales value whenever she sells it. The cost covered the panels themselves, installation, permitting, wiring into her existing system and the meter for running it back to the grid. There are others without that financial ability who have installed smaller systems as shown by many videos on youtube and associated websites.

Where my friend lives there isn't much sun, as we usually have cloud cover sufficient to block out direct sunlight. When one checks TWC one can see that the UV rating is low most days. But we can see the meter spinning at all times except at night sending the power up to the light company. She is now spending the same money for her total electric 2 story home with 2 baths, 4 bedrooms and 4 people than she previously spent for 1.

There are examples such as the woman living in the 84 square foot house in WA and others in NM and other states where a people are totally off grid. Naturally this requires a change in thinking. One of the problems in home building and city codes is that they wont' bend for a less energy conservative life style. When a person is paying a high mortgage in a home that doesn't come with these newer ways of saving energy built in, they have a hard time finding the cash to make these changes. Those without it make more radical lifestyle changes to live their vision and have a great sense of independence and freedom.

[tinrobot]

5. Installers tend to overcharge

An installer will charge $5-10/watt after incentives.

You can get the raw panels for less than $2/watt before incentives, plus the cost of the inverter, hardware, etc.

[kristopher]

6. So do plumbers, electricians, HVAC etc

How you shop matters.
In the case of the OP the bidding power of an entire community lends itself to obtaining labor at a fair rate.

[Nihil]

7. Smart move for several reasons ...

... not just the sheer financial benefit but the attitude shift on a community level
(rather than just being a few individuals here & there) is a real encouragement
for other similar communities across the country (and across the world for that
matter).