There are many stories on residential rooftop solar but few on what cities are doing to make themselves energy self-reliant by using their own buildings and lands to generate power.
In Public Rooftop Revolution, ILSR estimates that mid-sized cities could install as much as 5,000 megawatts of solar—as much as one-quarter of all solar installed in the U.S. to date—on municipal property, with little to no upfront cash. It would allow cities to redirect millions in saved energy costs to other public purposes.
Public Rooftop Revolution: Putting the Solar Shine on City Buildings
1. P U B L I C R O O F T O P
R E V O L U T I O N
P U T T I N G T H E S O L A R S H I N E O N C I T Y B U I L D I N G S
John Farrell
Director of Democratic Energy
June 9, 2015
5. P O L L : H O W M A N Y B R O W S E R TA B S A R E
O P E N O N Y O U R C O M P U T E R ?
• 1 - just this
• 2-4 - email, news site, and this
• 5-10 - doing a little research while I listen
• 11+ - I can hear you talking, but I can’t find the slides
7. Residential and Commercial roofs
L O C A L S O L A R P O T E N T I A L
50% or more
25 to 50%
10 to 25%
25-50%
50%+
15-25%
P O T E N T I A L P E R C E N T
O F P O W E R F R O M
L O C A L R O O F T O P
S O L A R
9. 26,000
4400
12,000
Percent of Sales
1-5%
5-10%
10% or moreSource: http://www.ilsr.org/commercial-roofop-revolution/
*No incentives
20 MW
9,977 MW
397 MW
D I S T R I B U T E D S O L A R P O T E N T I A L AT
PA R I T Y * B Y 2 0 2 2
(Megawatts,
residential & commercial)
12. “Instead of looking at
solar as a frivolous
amenity, look at it as an
investment”
Robert Hinson, Renewable Energy
Coordinator with the City of Raleigh, NC
Listen to the full podcast: http://www.ilsr.org/duking-it-out-over-municipal-solar-in-raleigh/
13. P O L L : H O W
M U C H S O L A R O N
K A N S A S C I T Y
R O O F T O P S ?
• 2 MW
• 25 MW
• 70 MW
• 200 MW
14. Kansas City, MO
70 MW
Source: Mid-America
Regional Council
Currently: 1.5 MW
18. P O L L : W H AT ’ S T H E B I G G E S T B A R R I E R
T O M U N I C I PA L S O L A R ?
• COST/FINANCING
• SHADE, STRUCTURAL LIMITS
• BUREAUCRACY
• STATE RULES, E.G. NET METERING
20. Costperkilowatt-hour
0¢
5¢
10¢
15¢
20¢
Solar purchase method
Self-financed Lease, opt. 1 Lease, opt. 2 PPA* Private sector
P E R V E R S E TA X P O L I C Y M A K E S
M U N I C I PA L S O L A R C O S T M O R E
Incentives
do not
apply to
tax-exempt
cities
Depreciation
only
Tax credit only
Tax credit
and
depreciation
Transaction
costs
Tax credit
and
depreciation
Transaction
costs
Transaction
costs
15.5¢
14.1¢ 13.7¢
12.3¢
11.2¢
Federal tax credit = 30% off
Depreciation = ~24% off
*PPA not legal in 25 states
Cost per kilowatt-hour
22. T H E T R U M P C A R D ?
Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
23. 3 R D PA R T Y T R U M P C A R D
COST PHYSICAL AESTHETIC EXPERTISE
BUREAU-
CRACY
POLICY
24. P O L L : H O W M A N Y S TAT E S A L L O W
P O W E R P U R C H A S E A G R E E M E N T S ?
• 5
• 14
• 25
• 36
• All of them
25. Allows 3rd parties
DC
S TAT E S U P P O R T F O R
S O L A R T H I R D PA R T Y O W N E R S H I P
Source: DSIRE & ILSR, Apr. 2015 Ban or no official policy
via power purchase agreements
26. 5 G I G A WAT T S O F M U N I C I PA L S O L A R !
28. N E T M E T E R I N G
Can offset energy use with
a solar array connected to
the same meter
29. A G G R E G AT E N E T M E T E R I N G
Source: Aggregate Net Metering: Opportunities
for Local Governments (North Carolina Solar Center, 2013)
Available*
Not available to any sector
No net metering policy
*For some electric customers
N/A for local
governments
Allowing electric customers to offset energy
use at all meters/buildings with solar at any
meter/building
30. V I R T U A L N E T M E T E R I N G
Virtual Net Metering Eligibility
California Multi-tenant properties, local governments
Colorado IOU customers; solar gardens
Connecticut Municipal customers only
Illinois Utility choice to offer
Maine All customers
Maryland
Allowed for agricultural customers, non-profit
organizations, and municipal governments or their
affiliates
Massachusetts All customers
Minnesota Community solar; Xcel Energy only
New Hampshire All customers
Rhode Island Local and state governments
Vermont All customers
Allowing electric customers to offset energy
use at all meters/buildings with solar
anywhere nearby
32. P H Y S I C A L
Credit: Wally Gobetz via Flickr
Shading
20%
Structural
limitations
20%
Source: Rooftop Photovoltaics Market
Penetration Scenarios (NREL, 2008)
33. 410 MW potential
2 MW installed
New York City
Muni Solar
Shading
20%
Structural
limitations
20%
There’s a lot more in here
34. A E S T H E T I C /
H I S T O R I C
Credit: MCAD Library via Flickr
“[At least two major
national solar installers]
do not believe that solar
guidelines for historic
districts are too onerous
for installers.”
Source: Solar Panels and Historic
Preservation. (National Trust for Historic
Preservation, undated)
35. T E C H N I C A L / L E G A L E X P E R T I S E
Credit: Janet Lindenmuth via Flickr
36. E X P E R T I S E / L E G A L
We saw how much it cost to buy it
from SolarCity and we saw how
much we were paying for it from
SCE…if it’s lower to buy it from
this guy…then buy it from this guy.
Jason Caudle, Deputy City Manager with
the City of Lancaster, CA
Listen to the full podcast: http://bit.ly/ILSR-Lancaster-podcast
37. B U R E A U C R A C Y
Credit: net_efekt via Flickr
39. C O P Y C AT
Credit: miconian via Flickr
http://bit.ly/VoteSolarContagious
Solar on municipal
buildings leads to
more solar
installed in the
community
40. E X P E R I E N C E
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
$0.00
$2.50
$5.00
$7.50
$10.00
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Weighted Avg. Cost ($/W)
Cumulative Capacity (MW)
Solar on municipal
buildings gives
installers and city
staff expertise to
drive down costs
41. L O C A L R U L E S
Denver
Solar permitting fee = $50 Online permitting
Minimal wait time
Kansas City
Experience with
municipal solar
helps cities lower
barriers to solar
42. S TAT E R U L E S
Lawsuit over municipal
solar led to
legalization of power
purchase agreements
for entire state
Dubuque, IA
43. S U M M A RY
5 G I G A WAT T S O F M U N I C I PA L S O L A R !
44. T H A N K Y O U !
21%
http://www.ilsr.org/public-rooftop-revolution/
@johnffarrell
www.ilsr.org
“It was a story
more of financing
than it was a story
of engineering or
construction”
Jason Caudle, Deputy City
Manager with the City of
Lancaster, CA