Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Official google.org Blog: U.S. job growth, powered by the sun
Did this link ever work? It would be a great tool to be able to track solar jobs created.Official google.org Blog: U.S. job growth, powered by the sun
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
What is FLASEIA thinking?
I received the industry newsletter from Flaseia last week and after reading it was left scratching my head wondering what is wrong with the Florida legislature? "Leadership in the
House and Senate has told us that
they do not want to impose any more
financial burden on Floridians. This
makes it difficult to finance
programs that would be paid for
through a slight increase in the
customer’s electric bill. This is going
to make it an uphill battle to get the
Solar Rebate Program extended or
for a Public Benefits fund." It is a no-brainer to add .25 a month to everyone's utility bill. The leadership in the House and Senate who are concerned with not imposing a financial burden on individuals need a reality check. Most Floridians have indicated that they would be willing to pay $1.00 a month to fund a public benefits fund, ergo .25 will NOT impose any burden. The burden to society here is the House and Senate leaders who are in bed with big business and can't find the space in their beds for the average Florida citizen. Guess what? For the first time ever, every member in the state's Cabinet is on the chopping block, and all 120 state House seats are "up for grabs and more than half of the Senate," which means-- we exercise our rights as citizens and vote their big business butts out of office if they are not willing to help the average citizen. We are losing green jobs NOT growing jobs in Florida in the solar industry.
House and Senate has told us that
they do not want to impose any more
financial burden on Floridians. This
makes it difficult to finance
programs that would be paid for
through a slight increase in the
customer’s electric bill. This is going
to make it an uphill battle to get the
Solar Rebate Program extended or
for a Public Benefits fund." It is a no-brainer to add .25 a month to everyone's utility bill. The leadership in the House and Senate who are concerned with not imposing a financial burden on individuals need a reality check. Most Floridians have indicated that they would be willing to pay $1.00 a month to fund a public benefits fund, ergo .25 will NOT impose any burden. The burden to society here is the House and Senate leaders who are in bed with big business and can't find the space in their beds for the average Florida citizen. Guess what? For the first time ever, every member in the state's Cabinet is on the chopping block, and all 120 state House seats are "up for grabs and more than half of the Senate," which means-- we exercise our rights as citizens and vote their big business butts out of office if they are not willing to help the average citizen. We are losing green jobs NOT growing jobs in Florida in the solar industry.
Editorial: Killing solar rebate program throws Florida into Reverse
Hopefully the pressure is now being felt by the Florida legislature TO DO THE RIGHT THING and fund the solar rebate program as seen by the number of people responding to this editorial in pnj.com.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Risk Vs. Reward- To Install Solar or Not.
The legislative session has just begun and I am fielding a lot of questions about the rebate. The rebate program ends June 30, 2010. The state appears to be making every effort to discourage people from continuing to install solar since there is a waiting list and they are attempting to appropriate funding to pay those on the waiting list. Governor Crist has included $10 million in his budget to pay those on the waiting list. This money would be appropriated from general revenues and there are other bills being considered.
I attended the January FECC meeting, and Rob Vickers (who manages the rebate program) was asked about the rebate program (specifically how much was currently wait listed)- he chose not to answer that direct question, but instead said that "by June 30, 2010-- it COULD be as high at $20-$25 million." Please note, he did NOT say that there was $25 million on the waiting list, ONLY that there could be. However, this figure was picked up by two news sources, and articles appeared that used that figure as what was currently wait listed. I am fairly sure that the FECC knows exactly how much is on the waiting list, but for whatever reason, they feel that it is best if we do not possess this knowledge.
Up through the end of October 2009 the state's website continued to say that there was money available for the rebate. Once the state took possession of the $14.4 million from ARRA funding, they were posting how much money was remaining. Although the state was not processing applications as fast as they were coming in, having a running tally on the money that was applied for on a daily basis should have been an automatic process. Maybe it was, but we were not privy to this. In late December, the state then informed us that the $14.4 million paid those who applied for rebates up to June 3rd or June 12th (I have heard both dates from the state recently), which means, that anyone who applied for a rebate after June is now on a waiting list. Historically, the rate of rebate applications is about $1 million a month. If this is true, then we can extrapolate that from June - March 30th- there would be about $9.5 million on a waiting list. I am sure that Governor Crist did not pull his $10 million number out of a hat; he must have based it on some actual number. I personally know that as soon as the state announced that funding dried up in June (announced end of December) solar sales came to a halt and I began a grass roots initiative to try to get the state to reprogram ARRA funding to the solar rebate program. Many solar installers sent me the names of those individuals who were laid off, and I went to the state with this figure (15% of solar installation force is unemployed right now.) I question whether the rebate applications have been continuing to come in at a rate of $1 million a month since January given the slump in new solar sales.
I find it very interesting, that whenever there is a positive article Economics of solar is getting better
published it is immediately followed with a very negative article in another paper Clean-energy-is-losing-steam. The Harold Tribune's article really knocks the steam out of someone wanting to install solar. Who would possibly take the chance to install solar when Mr. Zac Anderson has a Magic 8 Ball that can predict the future of solar in Florida and how the legislators will vote.
According to Anderson:
1. The Florida Legislature appears unlikely to restore the fund this year.
2. Prospects for several other bills promoting alternative energy also look dim.
3. Some legislators say renewable energy is a luxury.
4. And these same legislators say that many energy reform ideas could raise rates for electricity customers at a time when budgets are strained.
5. Nearly 8,000 people have applied for rebates since June but cannot collect until the fund is replenished.
6. Kershner said roughly $25 million would be needed just to clear the backlog of people seeking rebates, followed by
7.Crist has proposed much less, just $10 million for solar rebates in his budget.
Mr. Anderson goes on to provide highlights of the bills being considered:
Magic 8 Ball-- please provide the answer here, will any of these bills get passed?
8. Whether any of them will pass is already in doubt.
And, if there is any remote remaining optimism about the solar incentives, let's turn the screw one more time to make sure Zac Anderson's message is heard loud and clear.
9. Gov. Charlie Crist, who in the first years of his tenure strongly promoted alternative energy, is facing a conservative backlash in his run for U.S. Senate and is far less vocal in his support.
We're don't even have Gov. Crist watching our backs! (Has any politician ever watched our backs?)
10. The obstacles are even bigger in the Florida House.
11. House members question the threat posed by global warming.
12. Alternative energy reforms could put another burden on struggling businesses.
Leaving Zac Anderson's doomsday message for solar incentives for a moment, let's turn to what is being considered.
HB 1267 will tag on .25 on each customers monthly utility bill. This will then fund a rebate program. Most people have said that they would pay $1.00 a month to fund a rebate program, so 25 cents is very conservative. I don't know why Zac Anderson thinks that this will have huge opposition. It doesn't seem too radical. Coupled with the support from the PSC, who in December approved Utility Conservation Goals for the state's IOU's. FP&L has until the end of March to announce how they will allocate $15 million in incentives for photovoltaic and solar thermal. Given that there is a PSC recommendation, I would imagine that there wouldn’t be too much controversy for a bill that tags 25 cents a month onto our utility bills (but that is just the way my brain works.)
These are some of the highlights of HB 1267 for those considering taking the chance and installing solar within the current rebate program.
The rebate will be set at $2.50 per watt for the first year, $2.00 per watt second year, and $1.50 per watt for every subsequent year.
Grants will provide funding in the following order of priorities:
1. Any backlog of approved rebate applications for the Solar Energy Systems Incentives Program. "
Beginning Jan. 1, 2011 each electric utility shall collect for each electric utility customer a monthly charge of 25 cents as a systems benefits charge.
If this bill passes, it states that those who are on the waiting list will be paid first. At $4.00 a watt (our current rebate incentive) the payback is 3 years. At $2.00 a watt, the payback is about 7 years. 7 years is still pretty darn good payback.
Many ask me what I think about all this (and I think about it a lot!) I keep saying that you have to be comfortable with your own decision. But still you persist in asking this question of me, so for whatever it is worth, this is what I think is likely to occur based on the assumption that our legislators are reasonable men and women, and honestly, how far fetched is that idea?
I think if you install solar under the current program before it sunsets, you will probably be paid. I don't know where the funding will come from, maybe they can get the federal government to reprogram funds from the ARRA, maybe Gov. Crist gets his $10 million, maybe this radical and cost prohibitive, highly controversial bill that would tag 25 cents onto our monthly utility bill will be approved, maybe the offshore drilling leases that will probably get passed this year will fund the program, but I think that everyone will be paid within this window. Why am I optimistic, in spite of Zac Anderson's doomsday vision? It is because his article is so determined to discourage anyone from installing solar. It is TOO negative for me to believe it is objective journalism. Does anyone else think it is odd that the article appeared 24 hours after a positive article on solar was published?
Another reason for my faith here, is because our legislators are elected officials. We the people have the power to vote them in, or vote them out. Let's assume Zac Anderson's scenario happens. By June 30th- there are $25 million wait-listed. Governor Crist gets his $10 million, or maybe only $2.5 million, that leaves $22.5 million UNPAID. That is a lot of really angry voters. And, I am sure that somewhere in those $22.5 million unpaid solar producers are quite a few smart lawyers who are probably already thinking about things like class action lawsuits. If they are not thinking about this, they will be if they don't get their rebate checks.
I think that the state is trying to limit the amount of money that will be wait listed by the end of June. Every time I read one of these doom and gloom articles, it makes me think that the politicians are doing what they do best, covering their political backsides. And for this reason, I don't think the legislators are going to stiff $25 million rebate constitutents. Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth.
I attended the January FECC meeting, and Rob Vickers (who manages the rebate program) was asked about the rebate program (specifically how much was currently wait listed)- he chose not to answer that direct question, but instead said that "by June 30, 2010-- it COULD be as high at $20-$25 million." Please note, he did NOT say that there was $25 million on the waiting list, ONLY that there could be. However, this figure was picked up by two news sources, and articles appeared that used that figure as what was currently wait listed. I am fairly sure that the FECC knows exactly how much is on the waiting list, but for whatever reason, they feel that it is best if we do not possess this knowledge.
Up through the end of October 2009 the state's website continued to say that there was money available for the rebate. Once the state took possession of the $14.4 million from ARRA funding, they were posting how much money was remaining. Although the state was not processing applications as fast as they were coming in, having a running tally on the money that was applied for on a daily basis should have been an automatic process. Maybe it was, but we were not privy to this. In late December, the state then informed us that the $14.4 million paid those who applied for rebates up to June 3rd or June 12th (I have heard both dates from the state recently), which means, that anyone who applied for a rebate after June is now on a waiting list. Historically, the rate of rebate applications is about $1 million a month. If this is true, then we can extrapolate that from June - March 30th- there would be about $9.5 million on a waiting list. I am sure that Governor Crist did not pull his $10 million number out of a hat; he must have based it on some actual number. I personally know that as soon as the state announced that funding dried up in June (announced end of December) solar sales came to a halt and I began a grass roots initiative to try to get the state to reprogram ARRA funding to the solar rebate program. Many solar installers sent me the names of those individuals who were laid off, and I went to the state with this figure (15% of solar installation force is unemployed right now.) I question whether the rebate applications have been continuing to come in at a rate of $1 million a month since January given the slump in new solar sales.
I find it very interesting, that whenever there is a positive article Economics of solar is getting better
published it is immediately followed with a very negative article in another paper Clean-energy-is-losing-steam. The Harold Tribune's article really knocks the steam out of someone wanting to install solar. Who would possibly take the chance to install solar when Mr. Zac Anderson has a Magic 8 Ball that can predict the future of solar in Florida and how the legislators will vote.
According to Anderson:
1. The Florida Legislature appears unlikely to restore the fund this year.
2. Prospects for several other bills promoting alternative energy also look dim.
3. Some legislators say renewable energy is a luxury.
4. And these same legislators say that many energy reform ideas could raise rates for electricity customers at a time when budgets are strained.
5. Nearly 8,000 people have applied for rebates since June but cannot collect until the fund is replenished.
6. Kershner said roughly $25 million would be needed just to clear the backlog of people seeking rebates, followed by
7.Crist has proposed much less, just $10 million for solar rebates in his budget.
Mr. Anderson goes on to provide highlights of the bills being considered:
Magic 8 Ball-- please provide the answer here, will any of these bills get passed?
8. Whether any of them will pass is already in doubt.
And, if there is any remote remaining optimism about the solar incentives, let's turn the screw one more time to make sure Zac Anderson's message is heard loud and clear.
9. Gov. Charlie Crist, who in the first years of his tenure strongly promoted alternative energy, is facing a conservative backlash in his run for U.S. Senate and is far less vocal in his support.
We're don't even have Gov. Crist watching our backs! (Has any politician ever watched our backs?)
10. The obstacles are even bigger in the Florida House.
11. House members question the threat posed by global warming.
12. Alternative energy reforms could put another burden on struggling businesses.
Leaving Zac Anderson's doomsday message for solar incentives for a moment, let's turn to what is being considered.
HB 1267 will tag on .25 on each customers monthly utility bill. This will then fund a rebate program. Most people have said that they would pay $1.00 a month to fund a rebate program, so 25 cents is very conservative. I don't know why Zac Anderson thinks that this will have huge opposition. It doesn't seem too radical. Coupled with the support from the PSC, who in December approved Utility Conservation Goals for the state's IOU's. FP&L has until the end of March to announce how they will allocate $15 million in incentives for photovoltaic and solar thermal. Given that there is a PSC recommendation, I would imagine that there wouldn’t be too much controversy for a bill that tags 25 cents a month onto our utility bills (but that is just the way my brain works.)
These are some of the highlights of HB 1267 for those considering taking the chance and installing solar within the current rebate program.
The rebate will be set at $2.50 per watt for the first year, $2.00 per watt second year, and $1.50 per watt for every subsequent year.
Grants will provide funding in the following order of priorities:
1. Any backlog of approved rebate applications for the Solar Energy Systems Incentives Program. "
Beginning Jan. 1, 2011 each electric utility shall collect for each electric utility customer a monthly charge of 25 cents as a systems benefits charge.
If this bill passes, it states that those who are on the waiting list will be paid first. At $4.00 a watt (our current rebate incentive) the payback is 3 years. At $2.00 a watt, the payback is about 7 years. 7 years is still pretty darn good payback.
Many ask me what I think about all this (and I think about it a lot!) I keep saying that you have to be comfortable with your own decision. But still you persist in asking this question of me, so for whatever it is worth, this is what I think is likely to occur based on the assumption that our legislators are reasonable men and women, and honestly, how far fetched is that idea?
I think if you install solar under the current program before it sunsets, you will probably be paid. I don't know where the funding will come from, maybe they can get the federal government to reprogram funds from the ARRA, maybe Gov. Crist gets his $10 million, maybe this radical and cost prohibitive, highly controversial bill that would tag 25 cents onto our monthly utility bill will be approved, maybe the offshore drilling leases that will probably get passed this year will fund the program, but I think that everyone will be paid within this window. Why am I optimistic, in spite of Zac Anderson's doomsday vision? It is because his article is so determined to discourage anyone from installing solar. It is TOO negative for me to believe it is objective journalism. Does anyone else think it is odd that the article appeared 24 hours after a positive article on solar was published?
Another reason for my faith here, is because our legislators are elected officials. We the people have the power to vote them in, or vote them out. Let's assume Zac Anderson's scenario happens. By June 30th- there are $25 million wait-listed. Governor Crist gets his $10 million, or maybe only $2.5 million, that leaves $22.5 million UNPAID. That is a lot of really angry voters. And, I am sure that somewhere in those $22.5 million unpaid solar producers are quite a few smart lawyers who are probably already thinking about things like class action lawsuits. If they are not thinking about this, they will be if they don't get their rebate checks.
I think that the state is trying to limit the amount of money that will be wait listed by the end of June. Every time I read one of these doom and gloom articles, it makes me think that the politicians are doing what they do best, covering their political backsides. And for this reason, I don't think the legislators are going to stiff $25 million rebate constitutents. Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth.
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