Solar Moving Forward … With
or Without Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
WFU
Eau Claire
January 23, 2015
About RENEW Wisconsin
Advocates for state-level sustainable
energy policies since 1991
One of the architects of the state’s
Renewable Energy Standard and
ratepayer-funded public benefits
program
Founded in 1991
Nonprofit – funding comes from
grants, members
Sunny morning (10-21-11)
Over 250 members (businesses and
individual)
Aldo Leopold Legacy Center
Baraboo
An organized voice for renewable
energy producers and purchasers
Installer: H&H Solar
Please join!
Outline of Presentation
 Solar’s Attributes
 The Year (2014) in Review
 National
 Wisconsin
 Opportunities going forward
Why Solar Energy?
 Clean, local, widely available and scalable
(from a customer’s perspective)
 No fuel cost
 Only energy resource that turns itself off at
night
 Can be placed anywhere on a utility’s
distribution system
 High correlation between daytime peak load
conditions and sunshine
Other Benefits
 The sun isn’t going to run out (~5 billion years)
 Lock in electricity prices for 25+ years
 25-year warranties on solar modules
 25-year warranties on inverters (equipment)
 And now….it makes economic sense for many
people, businesses, and organizations
Perhaps Most Important …
Solar is a zero fuel cost technology not subject to
grid operator dispatch protocols.
This means solar will always produce electricity
when the energy resource is available, unlike
several recently constructed and rate-based
power plants built in Wisconsin (West Campus
Cogen, Elm Road, Rothschild)
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar
energy. What a source of power! I hope
we don’t have to wait till oil and coal run
out before we tackle that.”
--Thomas Edison
Solar Is Versatile
Where I live
Renewable Energy Creates Jobs
Prices Are Decreasing
WI: 2013 residential system
$4.63 / watt
(source: Focus on Energy)
“Third Party” financing models allow more
people to participate in solar
Source: Solar Power to
the People: The Rise of
Rooftop Solar Among
the Middle Class.
Center for American
Progress, October
2013
The Deep South states aren’t sitting
around on their collective duffs
Georgia’s Debbie Dooley with
Melissa VanOrnum and Steve
Dvorak of DVO
Mississippi – Commissionrequested net metering
report shows solar worth
more than it costs
South Carolina – 3rd party
leasing, statewide net
metering, and no solar taxes
until at least 2021
Georgia – 525 MW of solar at
5-6 cents per kWh; 1800
solar jobs
Ale Asylum, Madison
100 kW PV
array atop
brewery
2014 Renewable Energy Honor Roll
Astro Industries, Green Bay
113 kW PV
array atop
manufacturer
2014 Renewable Energy Honor Roll
Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton
145 kW PV
array atop
monastery
2014 Renewable Energy Honor Roll
Milwaukee Public Museum
2014 Renewable Energy Honor Roll
First Community Solar project, Westby
About 3 in 4 utility customers DON’T have good access to solar
(shading, roof condition, etc…)
Vernon Electric Cooperative
1,001 panels | 305 kW (about 40 homes’ annual usage) | 120 owners
$600 per panel | $35 savings per year | 5.8% return
Photo: Vernon Electric Cooperative
RENEWABLE ENERGY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Presented To:
Eland Electric Corporation, Green Bay
For designing and bringing to fruition a portfolio of large and small
solar electric projects totaling nearly one megawatt of generation
capacity, serving a variety of northeast Wisconsin customers
including manufacturers, health care providers, religious
communities, tribal entities, small businesses and homeowners.
Eau Claire is a
Solar Hotspot
Wisconsin Solar Rebound
160,000
900
Annual Solar Installations
800
140,000
700
120,000
600
100,000
500
80,000
400
60,000
300
40,000
200
20,000
100
0
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
US
Wisconsin
** 2014 data is preliminary
Challenges notwithstanding, solar is still a
good value
• Assume $3.50 per kW installed cost
• Assume 5 kW solar PV system, producing ~ 6,000 kWh of
electricity per year
•
•
•
•
•
System Price:
Focus on Energy Rebate:
Federal Tax Credit:
Net system price:
“Simple payback”:
$17,500
$2,400
$4,530
$10,570
14.7 years*
* 6,000 kWh of electricity, assume 12 cents per kWh electric rate, $720 in energy
production per year. Shorter payback if you are on “Time of Use” rates with higher
prices for peak times
Utility rate
restructuring
proposals
cloud clean
energy
outlook in
Wisconsin
Rate Cases:
We’re headed our own way
We Energies rate case proposals
Solar Generators – 2016
(residential/small business classes)
 New capacity demand charge ($3.80/kW/mo.)
 Higher 2nd meter fee ($1.40  $3.40/mo.)
 Monthly netting instead of annual netting
 Prohibiting leased generation arrangements (current
legal ambiguity continues)
Rationale for rate restructuring
Utility Argument
 PV system owners are being subsidized by other
customers
 Fixed costs should be recovered through fixed
charges.
 “Economically efficient” price signals will help
customers make “better choices.”
The real motivations for the utility
counter-attack
Flat sales
Capacity overhang
Fear of losing market share
Friendly PSC
Wisconsin electricity sales, by year
(in megawatt-hours - MWH)
Year
Total
2013
68,767,000 (est.)
2012
68,839,000
2011
68,611,622
2010
68,752,417
2009
66,286,439
2008
70,121,827
2007
71,301,300
2006
68,695,000
2005
70,335,000
2004
67,800,000
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/pdf/epm.pdf
Generation added in 2014
 Customer-generated solar, hydro and biogas (~4 MW)
 Utility-sponsored, customer-driven solar (~500 kW)
 Utility-owned hydro (2.8 MW
No utility fossil generation – zero!!!
Wisconsin’s Electricity Mix (2012):
Where we’re starting from today
WI Solar’s
Current
Contribution
0.02%
Source: Public Service Commission, Strategic Energy
Assessment for 2020, Page 14
People & businesses understand and
care about these issues
Over 1,900 public comments filed on WE Energies case. 89%
opposed to rate redesign and de facto solar tax.
We Energies rate case outcomes
Solar Generators – 2016
(residential/small business classes)
 New capacity demand charge ($3.80/kW/mo.)
 Higher 2nd meter fee ($1.40  $3.40/mo.)
 Monthly netting instead of annual netting
X Prohibiting leased generation arrangements (current
legal ambiguity continues)
After the hearing record was closed, We Energies agreed to a 10year exemption for certain existing solar owners
Note: installations after 10/7/2014 not covered)
Fallout …
WE’s de facto equipment tax is the largest of its
kind approved by any utility commission in the
United States
RENEW + The Alliance for Solar Choice file a
lawsuit yesterday challenging PSC decision filed.
Looking to the Future of Wisconsin Solar
0.02%
“Let’s give solar a shot at
being a walk-on to
Wisconsin’s energy team.”
Mark Tauscher, former
Green Bay Packer
Sizing Up Wisconsin
The Good, Bad & Ugly
Positives
Negatives
Higher energy rates than in
neighboring states
Uncertainties over net metering
structure, including exposure to
future penalties
Still have Focus on Energy
incentives for 2 more years
No requirement on WI investorowned utilities to incorporate
solar into their energy mix,
which would give them more
flexibility in rate-basing solar
Who is going to lead on solar electricity?
Who is going to fill the vacuum left by state govt.?
 Local units of government
 Sustainably minded organizations (Habitat for
Humanity, Transition Eau Claire, Wisconsin Farmers
Union, faith communities)
 Proactive electric providers and their customers
 Solar cooperatives
Neighborhood Residential Solar, Milwaukee
Milwaukee
Shines,
Office of
Environmental
Sustainability,
City of
Milwaukee
Bay View
Neighborhood
Group Purchase.
40 PV systems
installed, 2014
Contractor: Arch
Electric
Habitat for Humanity EcoVillage, River Falls
Photo
credit:
Pierce
County
Herald
RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- The conservation friendly housing cluster that makes up the River
Falls EcoVillage has been recognized in the trade magazine GreenBuilder as a winner of
one its “Green Home of the Year Awards.” (Completion expected summer 2015)
Solar (Community) – Barron Electric
Cooperative
Legacy Solar Wisconsin
Cooperative
Basic Model
Solar Savings
Agreement
Solar used
onsite
Legacy Solar
Coop Members
Shared
Savings
Host Site in
Community
Growing Solar in Wisconsin
1. Education & Motivation – thank you for coming today!
2. Make it easier for people to participate
a. Allow third-party ownership (nearly 70% nationally of installs use this)
i. “No-money-down” solar options
ii. Can the government or a utility control your decisions on your property?
iii. “Get out of the way” of private enterprise: $3.3 Billion in 2013 investment
b. Expand community solar programs
c. Cut red tape (permitting, interconnection) to save hassle, time, and money
3. Let’s set a goal
a. Minnesota – 1.5% of electricity by 2020 law,
10% by 2030 goal
Photo: Heidi Speight, RENEW Wisconsin; Church solar in Hartland, WI
Thank You!
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
608-255-4044 ext. 2