An community solar energy scheme is paying off

How a community solar scheme is turning sunshine into dollars REneweconomy, By Kelly Vaughn on 11 July 2012 Rocky Mountain Institute Years ago, a Basalt native Paul Spencer set out to build an off-grid home not far from RMI’s Snowmass office. Through the process of designing and building his house, he developed a passion for real estate, and became well versed in renewable energy technologies. He began looking into the option of a green development in the Roaring Fork Valley: super-efficient homes powered by renewable energy.

But, due to trees shading the proposed building sites, rooftop solar didn’t work. Instead, Spencer proposed to build a shared solar array that would power the neighborhood. While the development didn’t go through, the community solar concept remained.

Now, Spencer is the president and founder of Carbondale-based Clean Energy Collective (CEC) an LLC that builds, operates, and maintains community-based clean energy facilities, currently all solar PV……..

Here’s how it works: CEC is a private entity that puts up the capital to build the solar array. Customers purchase solar panels through CEC at a price of $725 per panel ($3.15/watt per 230-watt panel). Holy Cross Energy, a member-cooperative utility with territory from Aspen to Rifle, purchases the energy created by the solar panels and credits it to the customers on their bill.

Holy Cross benefits from the clean electrons added to their grid, bringing them one step closer to their goal of 20 percent renewables by 2015. In addition, CEC’s proprietary program—Remote Meter—manages the array and customer interface, making it painless for the utility to assign credits to the right customers for the right amount.

Customer benefits include:

– Alleviating risk: Purchasing a panel through CEC is a one-time up-front cost. When you move, if you stay in Holy Cross’ territory, you can transfer your credit with the click of a mouse. If you move out of their territory, you can sell your panel back to CEC, sell it to another customer, or donate it to an area business or non-profit.

– Cheaper prices: CEC is buying more panels, so through economies of scale they can offer better prices than if customers bought a panel just for their rooftop.

Better output and efficiency: The panels are cleaned and serviced on a regular basis so they consistently perform at optimal efficiency. This maintenance (along w/ insurance) is paid by a perpetually funded savings account (the price is included in the up-front cost of the module). This also provides certainty to customers who want to know that they won’t have to pay for more down the road….. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/how-a-community-solar-scheme-is-turning-sunshine-into-dollars-53342