2013 NCDOR Advanced Personal &
Real Property Seminar
Bringing government, industry, and the public together to make
North Carolina a leader in solar energy development
Miriam Makhyoun
Manager of Market Intelligence
NC Sustainable Energy Association
Miriam@EnergyNC.org
Office: (919)-832-7601 x114
Lance Williams
Manager of Site Development
Strata Solar
lwilliams@stratasolar.com
Office: (919)-960-6015
Jobs in NC Clean Energy Industries
North Carolina’s clean
energy sector accounts
for over 15,200 full-time
equivalent (FTE)
employees as of
September, 2012.
In 2012, the clean energy
sector conservatively
generated over $3.7 billion
in North Carolina annual
gross revenue from clean
energy activities.
Over 200 companies indicate
that they provide products and
services to the national and
international marketplace.
Source: North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association 2012 Clean Energy Industries Census
~2,000 employees in the NC Solar Industry
Business Type
Number of
companies
reporting
activity in:
Proportion
Share of State
Average Total FTE
of industry
Clean Energy
Employees
FTE
active in:
FTE Employees
Research and development:
Manufacturing:
298
138
27%
12%
2.67
14.11
3,587
3,282
23%
21%
Energy efficient design, building, or construction of new
buildings:
591
53%
1.89
2,151
14%
Energy efficiency retrofitting of existing buildings:
Clean energy systems installer, designer, or
developer:
Clean energy systems retailer or distributor:
429
38%
1.79
1,790
12%
352
32%
2.11
1,269
8%
105
9%
3.08
679
4%
Clean energy system owner or operator (including
cogeneration systems):
112
10%
5.83
1,276
8%
Education, services and consulting (e.g. law, engineering,
finance):
328
29%
2.10
1,239
8%
501
121
151
63
232
100
775
53
45%
11%
14%
6%
21%
9%
69%
5%
1.87
4.80
6.04
3.91
1.44
10.01
3.06
6.57
1,985
805
1,142
236
598
1,915
7,218
872
13%
5%
7%
2%
4%
13%
47%
6%
57
5%
3.75
502
3%
Business Focus
Solar:
Wind:
Biomass:
Hydroelectric:
Geothermal / ground source heat pumps:
Smart Grid or AMI/AMR infrastructure:
Energy efficiency / building sciences:
Energy storage (including fuel cells):
Alternative fuel vehicles (including infrastructure and
components):
Note: percentages and numbers may contain rounding artifacts
2353
North Carolina Leads in Solar
• 501 solar companies,
employing about
2,000 people
• North Carolina
Ranked 6th in nation
for solar with 229 MW
installed capacity and
5th for annual capacity
in 2012 with 132 MW
Cumulative Installed Capacity (MW) as of
2012**
2901
California
1097
Arizona
971
New Jersey
403
Nevada
Colorado
North Carolina
270
229
Massachusetts
198
Pennsylvania
196
Hawaii
191
New Mexico
190
• Mostly from utility-
scale projects
Source: SEIA/GTM Research “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2012
Year-In-Review”
NC Registered Solar PV by Year
Megawatts (MW) of Registered Solar PV Capacity in North Carolina Expected Online from 2006-2012
Expected
Capacity
Number of
Solar PV System Capacity
Greater than
Greater than
10 kW
1 MW and
500 and
through 500
Greater
under 1 MW
kW
Year
Online
MW DC (a)
Systems
10 kW or
Less
2006
0.26
24
22
2
0
0
2007
0.32
54
50
4
0
0
2008
5.49
116
105
7
1
3
2009
25.88
197
167
24
1
5
2010
28.43
351
283
57
2
9
2011
91.59
505
379
107
6
13
2012
TOTAL
407.45
559.42
638
1,885
483
1,489
64
265
13
23
78
108
Notes: (a) Solar PV systems produce electricity in direct current (DC), which is converted by inverters to alternating current (AC), the typical
current used throughout the U.S. electric grid. As a result, it is normal industry practice to report solar PV capacity in DC units. For the
purpose of this report, for systems registered with AC capacity and an unknown DC capacity an 84% derate factor was assumed.
500 MW produces 717,300 MWh a year—enough to power over
59,775 homes! This equates to the displacement of 44,829 tons of
CO2 equivalent a year or the planting of 224,145 trees per year!
21 National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Sources: North Carolina Utilities Commission, Carbonify,
System Advisor Model
Types of Solar: Solar Thermal vs. PV
Thermal
Photovoltaic (PV)
• Heats water instead of
creating electricity
• Slightly thicker panels
than PV
• Converts sunlight into
electricity
Different Project Types
6.4 MW Project on Fuquay Farms, NC- Strata Solar
4 kW rooftop solar array- Morganton, NC
1 MW commercial rooftop project
on an IKEA in Charlotte, NC- Strata
Solar
Examples
1. Residential Rooftop
• 2 kW
• 8-10 panels
2. Commercial Rooftop
• 974 kW
• ~4,000 panels
• ~5.8 acres
Source: Inhabitat.com
3. Utility Ground-mount
•
•
•
•
1-20 MW (1,000>20,000 kW)
3,000->80,000 panels
~6->100 acres of land
Source: Canadian Solar
Solar Photovoltaic Installed Cost per Watt
Year
≤5
5-10
10-150
kW
kW
kW
(Media
(Median) (Median)
n)
150-1000
kW
(Median)
>1000
Comparison
kW
with selected
(Median)
data
2006
10.00
*
*
*
*
$8.70(a)
2007
10.03
*
*
*
*
$8.80(a)
2008
8.93
8.76
*
*
*
$8.40(a)
2009
8.48
7.66
7.50
*
*
$8.10(a)
2010
7.00
6.28
6.02
*
*
$6.90(a)
2011
6.76
6.03
5.02
4.49
4.35
$6.10(a)
2012
6.27
5.13
4.95
3.75
3.54
*Sources: North Carolina Utilities Commission, North Carolina Sustainable Energy
Association
a) Barbose et. al, Tracking the Sun, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2012
Equipment:
Income Capitalization Approach
Equipment:
Income Capitalization Approach, 2
Social and Environmental Impacts:
Partnering with the Community
Source: Strata Solar, Kings Mountain, NC, 5 MW
• Counties (building and
electrical permits)
• NC Department of
Environment and Natural
Resources (land and water)
• NC Department of
Transportation (driveways)
• Economic and Work Force
Development and others
• Community colleges
• Local contractors
• Farmers and businesses
Property Values
How do ground-mounted solar PV arrays adjacent to residential
neighborhoods influence the property values in those
neighborhoods?
Bottom Line: No research was found specific to groundmounted solar PV and property values.
Municipalities that adopt zoning for solar facilities may want to
consider encouraging project developers to include screening
vegetation along site borders to minimize visual impacts on
surrounding neighborhoods.
U.S. Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory concluded that household solar installation actually
increases home property values.
December 2012, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources , Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Protecting the Land:
Measures Ensuring the Natural Environment
Source: REP Energy
Conduct geo studies on the
soil to determine if it can
support pile-driving; using
concrete as little as possible
(e.g. inverter pads)
Disturb as little land as
possible
Leave as much existing
ground cover as possible
Agriculture is known to be
more damaging to the soil
than solar farms
Protecting the Land:
Measures Ensuring the Natural Environment
Source: 123rf
Working with the
Department of
Transportation when a
temporary road
touches another major
road
Temporary roads can
be plastic laydowns
instead of gravel
Leave as much existing
ground cover as
possible
Double Cropping: Piedmont Biofuels
& Southern Energy Management
Pittsboro, NC
From protecting tomatoes from rain (tomatoes do better if
only their roots are fed), through shading cooler weather
crops like salad and arugula, to providing support for
trellises and other crop infrastructure—Sami Grover
Present-Use Value for Agriculture
*Ownership, Size, Income, and Sound Management Test
Agricultural land requires at least one 10-acre tract in actual
production.
The gross income required from agriculture is $1,000.
Example:
If a solar facility is in the same 15-acre parcel and 10 is covered
by a solar facility, $1,000 gross income would allow it to pass
the income test but since it does not pass the size test, it does
not get PUV. If reversed—5 acres for solar and 10 for farming—
it would pass both tests.
Present Use Value Program Guide:
http://www.dor.state.nc.us/publications/puv_guide.pdf
Qualifying Owners for PUV
If owner is non-qualifying a rollback of three years plus current
tax year’s taxes are due.
Four categories of qualifying owners:
A. Individuals
B. Certain Business Entities
C. Certain Trusts and Testamentary Trusts
D. Certain Tenants in Common
If owned by a business, “it seems reasonable that at least 50%
of the business must be farming related, but the statutes do not
explicitly make that statement.”
Present Use Value Program Guide:
http://www.dor.state.nc.us/publications/puv_guide.pdf
Livestock: A Symbiotic Relationship at SAS
Social Benefits of Solar PV
A use for underused or no longer arable land
A net tax benefit through taxable infrastructure that does not
burden existing infrastructure
Job-creation and training/certification in often rural areas
It helps farmers: Out of over 7,000 U.S. farms who
responded to the 2009 USDA On-Farm Census stating they
utilize solar energy, North Carolina had 104 farms with solar,
67 with PV panels; 55 with solar thermal panels
It saves businesses and residents money: Over the last
decade, utility electricity prices have risen by 3% per year,
while the cost of solar PV continues to decrease (30% in
North Carolina from 2007—2011, according to the North
Carolina Utilities Commission Docket Filings)
For More Information
NC Department of Revenue Contacts
Michael Brown
michael.brown@dornc.com
919.733.7711
David Duty
david.duty@dornc.com
Scenarios of Present Use Values
I.
Solar farm leases 35 acres of a 42-acre parcel. 30 acres of
the property was farmed, all of which is now part of the 35acre solar farm. Any change to real property value?
I.
Solar farm leases 35 acres of a 42-acre parcel. Seven acres
is still being farmed with a crop value of $500/acre/year.
Any change to real property value?
Scenarios of Present Use Values, 2
III.
Lease 35-acres, have 28-acres within the security fence,
and plant soy beans on the remaining 7 acres. The solar farm
operator leases the 7 acres outside of the fence to a farmer for
rental income of $100 per acre. The farmer has gross revenue
per acre on the farm of $500 per acre. Any change to real
property value? Does it differ if the landowner is the “farmer”
or just leases it to the “farmer”?
IV.
Present property is 53 acres not in present use but out in
the country with Ag/Light Residential zoning. Solar Farm buys
35 acres of land and builds a solar farm. Any change to the
real property tax value on either remaining parcel (35-acre
parcel, and 18-acre parcel)?
Scenarios of Present Use Values, 3
V.
Present property owns 53 acres not in present use but
out in the country Ag/Light Residential zoning. Solar Farm buys
35 acres of land, zones that 35 acres only as light Industrial,
and builds a solar farm. Any change to the real property tax
value on either remaining parcel (35-acre parcel, and 18-acre
parcel)?
VI.
Solar farm leases 35-acres of a 1000-acre parcel, which
is mostly farmed. Any change in the real property value of the
1000-acre parcel?
Scenarios of Present Use Values, 4
VII. Solar farm subdivides and leases 35-acres of a 1000-acre
parcel, which is mostly farmed. Any change in the real property
value to either the 35-acre solar farm new parcel or the 965acre parcel still being farmed?
Thank you for your Participation!