Green Energy
THE GREEN ENERGY PAGE
New information on Solar Gardens 11/14/2012
XCEL ENERGY Solar Rewards program is not accepting any new applications for 2012 as of Dec. 4, 2012.
Look at this page for information on a variety of topics from Energy Efficiency, Photovoltaic System Packages, and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs.
- Denver Energy Challenge - UPDATE This program expended all energy efficiency funding as of 11/30/2012
- National Photovoltaic Construction Partnership- Solar Packages for IBEW only -New information was posted on 12/4/2012. Please click on the NPCP SUNSNAP folder on the menu.
- Elevations Credit Union EE and RE Low Interest Loan program-posted under Resources below
- XCEL Energy Solar Gardens Information -Posted on 11/14/2012
- IBEW 68 Solar Gardens Interest Survey- Posted on 11/14/2012
- ANY INFORMATION THAT MEMBERS ASK ME TO POST RELATED TO RENEWABLE AND GREEN
- CONTACT MARY BRODERICK maryb@ibew68.com or cell 303 944-2231
The Renewable Energy Committee is trying to gauge the interest of IBEW 68 Members to determine whether we should pursue the creation of an IBEW 68 and Colorado Union Built Solar Photovoltaic Garden
Why build it and what are the Benefits to participation?
1. Union CoOp Model- Buy in to a Union Community Built Solar Photovoltaic (PV) garden and offset your electrical bill costs
2. Electrician Training Opportunity-As an electrician seeking the special NABCEP Photovoltaic certification you would be able to get volunteer installation experience and the documentation needed to sit for the exam (current requirement is three installations in the previous three years prior to sitting for exam)
3. Makes PV possible for all members to support the Solar PV market-As a renter or a homeowner without the ability to install solar on your own residence you could still support the creation of a Unionized Solar market by purchasing a portion of the solar garden and reap the economic benefits
4. Market Union Electricians for Photovoltaic Installations -Create a Community based Solar PV garden that supports union electrical workers in the construction phase while supporting working families by cutting their electrical bill costs and allows us to spread the word that Electricians install Photovoltaic Systems so that we do not continue to lose ground in this growing market (One non-union contractor boasts 151% growth between 2009 and 2011 due to Solar PV, combined with Multifamily Housing and 24/7Service Groups)
Please answer the questions below and reply back to Mary Broderick: maryb@ibew68.com or cell 303 944-2231
Solar Gardens Survey Questions:
Please provide your name and contact information and then answer the following questions:
- Are you an XCEL Energy Electrical Customer?
- What County do you reside in?
- Would you be able to afford a minimum buy in of a 1KW or 1000W PV system at a cost of $2500, which would net a $143.90 electrical cost offset on your electrical bill?
- If No, would you support IBEW68 creating a Solar Garden subscribing organization for the benefit of the members?
- Do you have land that you would be willing to Lease for a Solar Garden? a 501kW system would require the land area of a two football fields
- If yes, to the question above is it in XCEL Energy Territory? in what County?
A
More information on XCEL Energy Solar Gardens:
Please read more Information about the XCEL Energy Solar Gardens Program and also visit the IBEW 68 website to learn more about Solar Gardens
Solar*Rewards Community is an easy way to harvest the sun’s energy in your community. The program provides more residential and business customers with the opportunity to purchase renewable energy from a community-based photovoltaic (PV) project.There are a two ways to participate in the Solar*Rewards Community program.
· As a subscribing customer, you can purchase or lease interests of a solar garden system developed in your community. This is a great option for renters or condo-owners, or for customers who can’t or don’t want to have their own solar installations.
· As a subscriber organization may install a community solar garden and receive production incentives from Xcel Energy. Subscriber organizations sell or lease interests of the garden to subscribing customers.
Overview for the Subscribing Organization:
Under its Solar*Rewards Community program, Xcel Energy will offer to purchase the energy and renewable energy credits (REC) generated from qualified solar gardens. A REC represents the environmental attributes of 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from an eligible renewable energy resource. Of the MW dedicated to Solar*Rewards Community annually, a portion will be allocated to standard offers of 500 kW or less. The remaining MW will be dedicated to the large request for proposal (RFP) program for large (greater than 500 kW) systems, for competitive project development
Standard Offer Program:
The standard offer will encompass two programs based on system size: Small Program (systems 10 kW – 50 kW) and Medium Program (systems 50.1 kW – 500 kW). The standard offer is a performance-based incentive paid over 20 years ($/kWh).
|
The chart below shows the capacity and REC incentive levels for the 2012 standard offer program. The REC prices are for subscriber organizations and are paid monthly based on the solar garden subscribed energy production. 2012 Solar*Rewards Acquisitions- Standard Offer
|
|
Step
|
Capacity (MW)
|
Small Program 10-50 kW REC ($/kWh)
|
Medium Program 50.1-500 kW REC ($/kWh)
|
|
1
|
3
|
14¢
|
11¢
|
|
2
|
1.5
|
13¢
|
10¢
|
When participating in the Solar*Rewards Community program, the following requirements must be met for each solar garden and for the life of the Solar*Rewards Community contract:
|
Have a nameplate capacity of 2 MW or less
|
·
|
Have at least 10 subscribers
|
|
Subscribers must be Xcel Energy electric customers in the same county as the garden
|
·
|
Have at least 5% allocation to income-qualified subscribers
|
|
Have no single subscriber with more than 40% of the total garden allocation
|
·
|
Unless they are income-qualified participants, the minimum subscriber allocation is 1 kW.
|
|
Solar energy allocated to subscribers cannot exceed 120% of the subscriber’s annual electric energy usage in the county where the garden is located
|
·
|
The total garden subscribed allocation cannot exceed the nameplate capacity of the garden.
|
|
Other system requirements include:
- A production meter that is specified, installed and maintained by Xcel Energy
|
·
|
A service meter for all house power
Remote communications (phone line service) to transport the production information to Xcel Energy
|
SHARP SOLAR CALCULATOR
XCEL REBATES
If you have questions about applying for the XCEL rebate to offset the cost of your electricity come to the Monthly Renewable Energy Committee meetings.
XCEL SOLAR REWARDS PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY PRODUCTION BASED AT $0.15/KWH PRODUCED BY PV SYSTEM. As of December 4, 2012 XCEL Energy will no longer be accepting applications for the Small Program (under 10kW). This program is sceduled to resume in 2013, however the RECs could be reduced.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR CURRENT INFORMATION
http://www.xcelenergy.com/Save_Money_&_Energy/For_Your_Home/Renewable_Energy_Programs/Solar*Rewards_-_CO