9/8/2016 #IowaLeague2016 How Cities are Capitalizing on Solar - - PDF document

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How Cities are Capitalizing on Solar Markets

Cooper Martin, Program Director, Sustainable Cities Institute, National League of Cities Nick Kasza, Senior Associate, National League of Cities

Handouts and presentations are available through the event app and at www.iowaleague.org.

#IowaLeague2016 Land Use & Planning Transportation Water & Green Infrastructure Materials Management Food Systems Equity & Engagement Buildings & Energy Climate Adaptation www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org

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SolSmart

Nick Kasza

Senior Associate Sustainable Cities Institute National League of Cities

Cooper Martin

Program Director Sustainable Cities Institute National League of Cities

How Cities are Capitalizing on Solar Markets

Iowa Solar Energy at a Glance

IN 2015

• 6 MW installed
• $16 million invested

CUMUL MULATIVE

• 29 MW installed
• Enough to power 3,000 homes
• Ranks 29th in the country

OVER THE NEXT 5 YEAR ARS

• Expected to install 170 MW
• More than 7 times the amount installed in the last 5 years

SolSmart Funding

SUNSHOT AND SOLSMAR ART SolSmart was funded by SunShot in October 2015 with the goal of providing technical assistance to enough US communities to designate at least 300 of them as a SolSmart Community by October 2018. ABOU OUT SUNSHOT MISSION To make solar energy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. GOAL OALS The SunShot Initiative aims to reduce the total installed cost of solar energy systems to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) by 2020. Today, SunShot is about 70%

• f its way toward achieving the program's goal, halfway into the program's ten-

year timeline.

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SolSmart rt Prog

• gram

TA Delivery ry TA Pipeline Designation Program Expert rtise Solar r Outreach Experi rience

SolSmart Program Structure SolSmart Overview

DESIGNATION

• Communities complete a SolSmart Designation Scorecard which

assesses how solar-friendly local policies and processes are.

• SolSmart designation team awards communities SolSmart Bronze,

Silver, or Gold based on scorecard points and documentation.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

• Communities that do not meet designation criteria are eligible to

receive technical assistance.

• Designated communities that wish to pursue a higher tier of

designation can receive no-cost technical assistance, but at a lower level of program priority than non-designees.

• All SolSmart TA is program-funded

Designation Program

• Tiered

ed designati tion prog rogram with different levels of achievement: SolSmart Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

• On

Ongoing co compet etiti tions to reward success in real-time.

• Annual awards recognizing outstanding

achievement in soft cost, market growth, community engagement, other categories.

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SolSmart Designation Structure

 Address Bronze prerequisites  Solar statement  Permitting checklist  Zoning barrier review  Earn 20 points in the Permitting category  Earn 20 points in the Planning, Zoning, & Development Regulations category  Earn 20 total points across “Special Focus” categories  Earn SolSmart Bronze  Address Silver prerequisites  Solar by-right in all major zones  Cross-train inspection and permitting staff  Earn 100 total points from actions taken across any combination of categories  Address Gold prerequisites  PV permitting turnaround for small systems ≤ 3 days  Earn 200 total points from actions taken across any combination of categories

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Communities that at earn rn 60%+ + of the points in a given cat ategory ry are eligible for special recognition.

Survey Responses

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 B a r r i e r s t

• S
• l

a r

The Cost of Solar in the US

$3.32 $3.32 $3.28 $1.90 $- $1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 $/watt Change in Soft Costs and Hardware Costs Over Time Soft Costs Hardware Costs No change in soft costs between 2010 and 2012 Soft costs remain nearly 2/3s of installed cost

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The Cost of Solar

$- $2 $4 $6 $8 $10 $12 $14 1998 2015 (H1)

US Average Installed Cost for Residential PV

43% drop in price 2010 - 2015

• Avg. for 2015: $3.50/W (SEIA)

Cost Breakdown

Soft Costs System Hardware

Currently soft costs can account for up to 64 percent of the total system price.

Soft Cost Takeaways

• 1. They often comprise a larger

share of total installed cost than hardware.

• 2. They slow solar market

growth and artificially shrink the number of places in the US where solar is financially viable.

• 3. Local governments have a big

role to play in reducing barriers.

Benefits of Reducing Soft Costs

Source: LBNL, IREC

Streamlined processes can deliver a time and nd cost savings for

• r loc
• cal gov
• vernm

nment sta taff. Increased and readily available access to information about technical and procedural requirements can reduce staff time and costs due to fewer requests for information, questions from installers, and incomplete permit applications, all

• f which can be a drain on limited local resources.

Reduced Installation Costs = Increased d Retu turn rn on Inv nvestm tment t for System Owners Permitting processes alone can impose significant cost increases. For a typical 5- kW residential PV installation, one nerou

• us perm

rmitti ting ng pro rocedur ures can add dd $700 to the price of an installation. When considering permitting along with other local regulatory processes, the total price impa pact t can n be up to $2,500 for a typical system.

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Benefits of Reducing Soft Costs

Sources: Clean Power Finance (Spruce); The Solar Foundation

Reducing red-tape for solar can result in impr proved d bus usine ness pro rospects ts for

• r solar

r com

• mpanies.

More than 1 in 3 installers avoid serving communities because of associated permitting difficulties. Opening your community for solar business can have pos

• siti

tive impa pacts ts on jobs

• bs and

nd econo nomic developm pment. For each megawatt of installed capacity (approximately 200 average-sized residential systems): 29.4 construction jobs are created for residential solar 15.8 construction jobs are created for non-residential solar

SolSmart Benefits

• Recognition on SolSmart website (map/leaderboards/city

profiles)

• SolSmart designation logo for community website
• Press opportunities (events/press releases)
• Plaques (modules for first 35)
• Awards for outstanding achievement
• No-cost technical assistance

SolSmart

Technical Assistanc e

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SolSmart TA Providers

• Decade

des of combined experience in solar energy, along with thou

• usands

ds of hour

• urs
• f previo

vious us TA provis

• vision
• n to jurisdictions including city, county, and state

governments.

• Previous experience working on DOE-funded programs, including:
• Solar Outreach Partnership (SolarOps)
• Rooftop Solar Challenge II
• Solar Market Pathways
• Solar America Cities
• STAT (Solar Technical Assistance Team)
• Broad knowledge regarding solar issues affecting communities, as well as niche

expertise to ensure the ability to respond to all scenarios.

No-Cost Technical Assistance

• All communities pursuing SolSmart designation are eligible

ble for r no-cost t techn hnical assistance from national solar experts.

• On average, a community can expect 100 hour
• urs of technical assistance.
• Technical assistance is designed to help a com
• mmunit

nity achie hieve the he re requ quirements ts for

• r

designa nati tion. n.

• TA is also available to help designated communities achieve higher levels of

designation.

No-Cost Technical Assistance

Criteria Areas

Fo Foundational Categories Special Fo Focus Categori ries Permitting Solar Rights Planning, Zoning, and Development Regulations Inspection Construction Codes Community Engagement Utility Engagement Market Development & Finance Innovative Actions

TA is linked to the eight SolSmart criteria areas and their associated actions:

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Foundational Categories

Plannin ning, , Zon Zoning, , & De Devel elopment Regulations

 Review zoning requirements and remove restrictions that intentionally or unintentionally prohibit PV development. Compile findings in a memo, and commit to reducing barriers to PV during next zoning

• review. (Req. for Bronze)

 Allow solar by-right and as an accessory use in all major zones, and implement any zoning ordinance adjustments identified through the zoning review to improve solar-friendliness. (Req. for Silver & Gold)

Permitting

 Create and make available an online checklist detailing the steps of your community’s solar permitting process. (Pre-requisite)  Provide a streamlined permitting pathway for small PV systems with turnaround time of no more than three

• days. (Required for Gold)

Special Focus Categories

Solar ar Rights  Develop local process to enable solar rights through a solar access

• rdinance.

Comm mmunity Engag ageme ment  Support or host a community-group purchase program (e.g., Solarize). Inspection Utility Engag ageme ment  Discuss community

• r shared solar

programs with the local utility. Constru ruction Codes Mark rket Developme ment & Finan ance  Install solar capacity

• n local facilities.

 Provide cross-training of inspection and permitting staff on solar PV via in-person or online

• resources. (Req. for Silver

& Gold)  Develop and provide Solar Ready Construction Guidelines for developers to enable lower cost installation of future solar installations.

SolSmart Advisors

• Program-fu

fund nded tempo porary st staff f to help communities achieve designation.

• Advisors will evalu

luate existin ing local government poli licie cies/pr proce cesse ses and apply pply indu dustry leadi ding ng best practice ices that will move a community toward designation.

• SolSmart Advisors will assist communities through

engagements lasting ing up to six months hs.

• Equates to hund

undreds of hou

• urs of in-person technical

assistance for communities receiving an Advisor.

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The Early Adopter Campaign

• Available to communities nationwide prior to the official launch:
• 28 com
• mmun

uniti ties earn rned d SolSmart rt Early rly Adop

• pter sta

tatus tus

• 44 communities demonstrated interest
• To earn Early Adopter status, these 28 communities had to:
• Complete a scorecard
• Attend a kickoff call with TA providers
• Complete 1 action related to the reduction of solar soft costs
• TA providers dealt with a variety of soft cost issues related to:
• Municipal zoning codes
• Permitting processes
• Solar-ready construction
• Solar webpages
• Financing

SolSmart Early Adopters

Cupertino, CA Columbia, MO Redwood City, CA Gladstone, MO San Francisco, CA Raymore, MO Santa Monica, CA Chapel Hill, NC Santa Rosa, CA Winston-Salem, NC Denver, CO Lincoln, NE Lafayette, CO Cincinnati, OH Atlanta, GA Portland, OR Perry, IA Philadelphia, PA Somerville, MA Brownsville, TX Baltimore, MD Plano, TX Ann Arbor, MI Charlottesville, VA Flint, MI Burlington, VT Minneapolis, MN Oakland Park, FL

EA Example: Brownsville, TX

• Brownsville, TX had little background in

solar.

• SolSmart helped them work with their

three utility providers to determine the process to install solar.

• Brownsville also created a webpage

dedicated to SolSmart (formerly SPARC).

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SolSmart Program Status

Basic Stati tisti tics 28 28 Early

rly Adop

• pters

~80 80 Com

• mple

pleted Scor

• recards

ds

13 13.5 .5 Million

• n Ameri

ricans

Peer Mentor Network

• A community of “trusted messengers” that will leverage their unique

experiences and competencies to help deliver TA, provide advice to communities within the SolSmart pipeline, and bring new communities into the pipeline.

• Peer Mentors will include:
• Municipal/county staff
• Elected officials
• University and technical college staff
• Community leaders
• Solar professionals
• Peer Mentors will be vetted and trained by SolSmart staff.
• Benefits for Peer Mentors include travel stipends, SolSmart badges/awards,

recognition on the SolSmart website, and other special perks.

Get Involved in SolSmart

• If you’re a city official, join the program.
• If you aren’t, speak with your local
• fficials about joining the program.
• Recommending experienced candidates

for the Advisors program.

• Participating in or nominating individual

for the Peer Mentor Network.

Visit SolSmart.org Contact Nick Kasza at: kasza@nlc.org

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SolSmart

Nick Kasza

Senior Associate Sustainable Cities Institute National League of Cities

Cooper Martin

Program Director Sustainable Cities Institute National League of Cities

How Cities are Capitalizing on Solar Markets

Ene nergy Innovation: Prioritization Crit iteria

• Does it support Sustainable Dubuque strategy?
• How significant is it in size/impact?
• What would be the costs to pursue?
• How achievable is it within relevant timeframes?
• How well do the community’s assets (public and private) align with

such an effort?

• How well does it leverage other value criteria (such as creation of

jobs, support of local industry, engagement of citizens, improved quality of life)

Ene nergy Innovation: Prioritization

• Energy Efficiency
• Biogas
• Solar
• Hydro-electric
• Wind

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Moving “Solar Dubuque” Forward

Strategy Development Acceleration

• f Utility

Scale Development Acceleration

• f commercial

scale development Acceleration

• f residential

scale development Enablement

• f

“community solar” initiatives Branding and Performance Measurement

Moving “Solar Dubuque” Forward

Strategy Development Acceleration

• f Utility

Scale Development Acceleration

• f commercial

scale development Acceleration

• f residential

scale development Enablement

• f

“community solar” initiatives Branding and Performance Measurement

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SOLAR ON CITY FACILITIES

Moving “Solar Dubuque” Forward

Strategy Development Acceleration

• f Utility

Scale Development Acceleration

• f commercial

scale development Acceleration

• f residential

scale development Enablement

• f

“community solar” initiatives Branding and Performance Measurement

CITY STRATEGIES: RESIDENTIAL

Local policy encourages renewable energy Rooftop solar permit is simple electrical permit Architectural Guidelines inform placement of historically-appropriate solar

placement

Unified Development Code encourages solar-oriented development Ground-mount solar allowed as accessory use Review of zoning and permitting processes to reduce soft costs to residential

and commercial solar

New solar permit will allow smoother application & easier tracking Improved transparency & public education City-owned rehabs will be solar-ready

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Moving “Solar Dubuque” Forward

Strategy Development Acceleration

• f Utility

Scale Development Acceleration

• f commercial

scale development Acceleration

• f residential

scale development Enablement

• f

“community solar” initiatives Branding and Performance Measurement