Four major ways solar installers can reduce soft costs

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q  This webinar will be available afterwards at solarpowerworldonline.com & email

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Before We Start

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Featured Speakers Graham Smith CEO and Founder Open Energy Group

Chad Laurent, Esq. Senior Consultant and General Counsel Meister Consultants Group

Kathy Swartz Executive Director Solar Energy International

Paul Grana Co-Founder Folsom Labs

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Solar Soft Costs: Financing❏  Legal fees

❏  Environmental reporting

❏  Non-closing transaction costs

❏  Closing fee (percentage of funds issued)

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Financing Costs: Commercial & Industrial (C&I)❏  Soft costs challenge the C&I sector. Systems range in size: 100kW - 10MW,

shape: roof, ground, carport, and capital structure: tax equity.❏  $500k - $20m deal sizes (the C&I market in between residential and utility)

make less economic sense for traditional bank lending.❏  The U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy aims to reduce

commercial solar soft costs from $1.07 per waU to $0.44 per waU by 2020.

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Transaction Costs Traditional Bank

High Cost

Low Cost

Legal Fees ($) $300,000

$125,000

Environmental & Engineers Reports ($ per site)

$100,000

$50,000

Total Other Transaction Fees, Non-Closing Fee ($)

$50,000 $50,000

Closing Fee (Percentage of Issued Funds)

2.00% 1.50%

Total Costs ($) $490,000

$255,000

Typical Costs for $2m Loan C&I loan

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Reducing Solar Financing Costs❏  Alternative or non-bank lending

❏  Technology and process: standardize, streamline, automate

❏  Greater transparency, liquidity, investor education

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Developer Actions❏  Information standardization and preparation: PPA, EPC, O&M, Tax Equity.

❏  Transaction orientation - be prepared. Online repository of project details.

❏  Reputable partners: EPC, O&M, Equipment.

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At one point in your life, you’ve probably gone to a barber shop like this one.

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Or go:en your nails done at a place like this.

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What does any of this have to do with solar and so? costs?

Barber

Manicurist

PVInstaller

0hours350hours1250hours

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Reducing the stupidity in so? costs through training

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The Best Way to Increase Labor So? Costs

6 amps on a ground! SCARY!!! Module clamp not properly a:ached- hope tonight isn’t windy!

Apparently no one checked the torque specs on the combiner box because there’s a very hot, loose connecPon

If field made connectors are not done right, they o?en result in a melt down. Luckily they were found before they caught fire or shocked anyone. They resulted in an underperforming system and embarrassed installaPon contractor.

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The Right Way to Reduce Labor So? Costs

Training Commissioning Happy Client!

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Common Barriers to Solar

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

High upfront cost

Lack of education

Lack of policy support

Lack of utility support

Other

Historic Preservation

Lack of HOA support

Reliability concerns

Environmental Impact

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The Cost of Solar PV

$- $2 $4 $6 $8

$10 $12 $14

1998 2015 (H1)

US Average Installed Cost for Residential PV

43% drop in price 2010 - 2015

Tracking the Sun VIII: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the US from 1998-2014 (LBNL)

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The Cost of Solar in the US

Source: NREL (http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60412.pdf) LBNL (http://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-6350e.pdf)(http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/sunshot_webinar_20130226.pdf

$-

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00

US Solar Cost German Solar Cost

$ pe

r Wat

t Comparison of US and German Solar Costs

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Source: NREL (http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60412.pdf) LBNL (http://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-6350e.pdf)(http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/sunshot_webinar_20130226.pdf )

$-

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00


$ pe

r Wat

t Comparison of US and German Solar Costs

Non-Hardware Cost Hardware Cost

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$-

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00


$ pe

r Wat

t Comparison of US and German Solar

Costs

Column1

Non-Hardware Cost Hardware Cost


Profits, Taxes, & Overhead


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$-

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$6.00


$ pe

r Wat

t

Comparison of US and German Solar Costs

Column1

Non-Hardware Cost

Hardware Cost


$0.00

$0.20

$0.40

$0.60

$0.80

$1.00

$1.20

$1.40

$1.60

Other Paperwork

Permitting & Inspection Financing Costs

Customer Acquisition Installation Labor

Solar Soft Costs


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§  Permitting checklists §  Online permitting §  Streamlined permitting processes for residential systems §  Trainings for inspection staff, fire and rescue dept. §  As-of right siting in zoning code §  Review zoning code for setback, height and other possible

restrictions §  Solar development incentives §  Engage with the local utility §  Solarize programs §  Work with local lenders

Types of Actions

YES Systems located within either of these regions may be subject to ad-

ditional permitting, zoning, or interconnec-tion requirements. Contact ISD or NSTAR to find out more.

NO File for an electrical permit through ISD before applying for a building

permit. Electrical permits are typically is-sued the same day as the application.

YES Residential projects with 3 units or fewer should use the short-form

building permit application.

NO Commercial and industrial projects, as well as residential projects with

four or more units should use the long-form building permit application with Fast Track.

Boston Inspectional Services1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th FloorBoston, MA 02118

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-by-

FIRST Is the property

located in a historic district of Boston or in NSTAR’s area network? Visit http://gis.cityofboston.gov/solarboston to find out.

SECOND Is the property

residential with 3 units or fewer?

THIRD Once the system is installed, apply for NSTAR Intercon-

nection. The amount of time and infor-mation required for the utility intercon-nection application depends on the size and certification of the solar facility as well as the type of distribution power system to which it interconnects.

MORE INFO can be found at the following links:

NSTAR Interconnection: www.nstaronline.com/residential/rates_tariffs/interconnections/From the Ground Up -- A Contractor’s Guide: http://www.cityofboston.gov/isd/building/boa/forward.asp

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-EE0005692. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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Solar Powering America by Recognizing Communities (SPARC)

New Solution

Community recognition program for 300 communities taking steps to reduce soft

costs and promote solar locally

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SPARC Program Structure SPARC Program

TA Delivery

TA Pipeline

Designation Program Expertise

Solar Outreach Experience

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Designation Program Development •  Tiered designation program with different levels of achievement

•  Ongoing competitions to reward success in real-time

•  Annual awards recognizing outstanding achievement in soft cost, market growth, community engagement, other categories

FINAL CRITERIA AND STRUCTURE AVAILABLE: SPRING 2016

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No-Cost Technical Assistance •  Communities pursuing SPARC designation will be eligible for no-

cost technical assistance from national solar experts.

•  Technical assistance will be designed to help a community achieve the basic requirements for designation. Depending on demand, some TA may also be available to help more advanced communities achieve higher levels of designation.

•  Possible topic areas for TA include: streamlining permitting and inspection processes for solar, planning and zoning for solar, solar financing options, codes and standards, community and utility engagement, market development programs, and others.

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SPARC Advisors §  Funded temporary staff to help communities achieve designation.

Communities must apply to participate in SPARC to host an Advisor.

§  Advisors will evaluate existing local government policies/processes and apply industry leading best practices that will move a community toward designation.

§  SPARC Advisors will assist communities through engagements lasting up to six months.

§  There will be two opportunities for a community to be chosen as a SPARC Advisor host, and these will occur through a highly competitive process.

FIRST ROUND OF COMMUNITY SELECTION BEGINS: Q2 2016

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SPARC Timeline

Program Planning and

Kick-Off

Early Technical

Assistance

Designation Criteria

Finalized; Advisors

Application Open

Full Technical Assistance

and Designation

SPARC Advisors in

Communities

300 Communities Designated

Q4 2015

Q4 2015 – Q2 2016

Q2 2016

Q2 2016 – Q3 2018

Q3 2018

Q1 2017 + Q1 2018

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About Folsom Labs

San-Francisco-based software company devoted to building software tools for solar developers

Timeline January 2014: Product launch January 2015: Raise angel round (still "have majority in the bank) May 10, 2016: Hosting "Solar Software Summit "in Scottsdale, AZ

Customers “You guys have the best customer service of any business I think I’ve ever been a customer of.”

--Seth Sakamoto, SunPower

“You guys are the most responsive organization I have ever interacted with.”

--Steve Bethlenfalvay, Black Rock Solar

FOL SOM

F O L S O M

L A BS

F ABS L LSOM

F ABS L LSOM

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About HelioScope

Speed: “We can have a new salesperson doing real customer designs on their second day – and turning them around in 5-10 minutes.” Ease of Use: “With HelioScope, I feel confident to pull up the design with the customer, and incorporate their feedback on-the-fly.” Value Engineering: “It’s so easy to run different iterations, I am now doing 3-5 different scenarios before I visit the customer.”

HelioScope

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Long History Of Industry-Specific Products to Reduce Cost and Improve Competitiveness

Generic

Solar-Specific

Cells

Rack

ing

Softw

are

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Value Engineering Helps to Close the Sale

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The Designs Of 2016 Are Very Different From The Designs Of 2014

Lower tilt, tighter row spacing

Greater Shade Tolerance

Larger DC/AC ratio

70kW Array

115kW Array

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Automatic CAD and Single-Line Export From any Design

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For More on the Solar Software Ecosystem, Join us at the Solar Software Summit

•  Stay up-to-date on software products and trends •  Learn how other developers and engineers are leveraging software

Tuesday, May 10th – Scottsdale, AZ

Sponsors Speakers

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Questions? Graham Smith CEO and Founder Open Energy Group [email protected]

Chad Laurent, Esq. Senior Consultant and General Counsel Meister Consultants Group [email protected]

Kathy Swartz Executive Director Solar Energy International [email protected]

Paul Grana Co-Founder Folsom Labs [email protected]

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q  This webinar will be available at solarpowerworldonline.com & email

q  Join the conversation at #SolarWebinar

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