Raleigh, N.C. (April 29, 2015) – The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center announced the release of the quarterly installment of “The 50 States of Solar: A Quarterly Look at America’s Fast-Evolving Distributed Solar Policy Conversation.”

This report is the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the rapidly-evolving state policy landscape for distributed solar. It includes links to track what is happening at the state legislative and regulatory level through the end of Q1 2015. The 50 States of Solar was prepared by the Center’s Energy Policy team, which also manages the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, and Meister Consultants Group of Boston, Massachusetts.

The report provides details on 70 instances in 39 states, Washington DC, and 2 U.S. territories of formally proposed or enacted regulatory and legislative state-level distribute solar policy changes during Q1 2015.

“Distributed solar policy is at a crucial juncture,” said Benjamin Inskeep, Energy Policy Analyst at the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center. “As solar continues its unprecedented boom across North Carolina and the country, regulators and legislatures are now examining issues like how to integrate increasing amounts of solar on the grid, compensate owners for electricity they generate, and ensure electricity rates are well designed. While several general trends are emerging, our report demonstrates that every state is forging a unique path in how they address these issues.”

Key Details From The 50 States of Solar

Table 1 below taken from the report summarizes the distributed solar policies included in the report.

The report found that there were 22 states with proposed or finalized legislative or regulatory changes to net energy metering or community solar policies during Q1 2015. Meanwhile, 15 states had legislative or regulatory-led efforts studying the value of solar, net metering rules, or distributed generation policy.

The report found that many utilities across the U.S. are proposing increased fixed customer charges for residential users. Of the 24 total instances proposed or decided in the past six months, the average existing monthly residential fixed charge was $10.37, and the average proposed fixed charge was $19.18—an average proposed increase of 58 percent.

In addition, there were five instances in which utilities requested or received added charges specific to customers installing rooftop solar PV. Five states had introduced or passed legislation related to expanding options for third-party solar sales, and three states had action related to utility programs for solar PV on residential rooftops.

Box 1 below taken from the report highlights five notable distributed solar policy developments from Q1 2015.

About the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center

The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, as part of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, advances a sustainable energy economy by educating, demonstrating and providing support for clean energy technologies, practices and policies. It serves as a resource for innovative, green energy technologies through technology demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. For more information about the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, visit: http://www.nccleantech.ncsu.edu. Twitter: @NCCleanTech

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 3, 2015) – Established in 1995, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) is the most comprehensive source of information related to policies and incentives that support the nation’s use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the DSIRE database and website implemented multiple enhancements during the past year. Today, the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center is launching a new and improved DSIRE website. In addition to the informative and timely policy summaries that our nearly 200,000 monthly users have come to rely on, the website now features new tools and resources to make our research even more accessible and useful:

• Find relevant policies and incentives by entering a ZIP code.

• Sort through nearly 2,800 active policies and incentives by applying various filters to search results.

• Access machine-readable, quantitative incentive data for all renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

• Build our open data into your websites and tools with our Application Program Interface (API).

• Build policy maps in real-time based on the current policy and incentive data in the database.

• Subscribe to specific policies and incentives to know when and how they have changed.

These enhancements contribute to Federal open data initiatives. The federal government views open data as an important national asset to fuel entrepreneurship, innovation, scientific discovery, and economic growth. The new DSIRE API and open data will support private sector entrepreneurs, technologists, and innovators to build new tools, services, and infrastructure that advance a clean energy economy.

Click here to join us on March 12 at 2:00 PM EST to learn more about DSIRE and see a live demonstration of the new website.

About the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center

The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, as part of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, advances a sustainable energy economy by educating, demonstrating and providing support for clean energy technologies, practices and policies. It serves as a resource for innovative, green energy technologies through technology demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. For more information about the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, visit: http://www.nccleantech.ncsu.edu. Twitter: @NCCleanTech

Media Contact: Shannon Helm, 919-423-8340, shannon_helm@ncsu.edu

RALEIGH, N.C. (January 7, 2015) – Today, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership (SolarOPs), the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (formerly the N.C. Solar Center) announced the release of “Going Solar in America: Ranking Solar’s Value to Consumers in America’s Largest Cities,” the first of two Going Solar in America reports. The report was generously funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership (SolarOPs).

Despite the fact that solar PV hardware has become less expensive, the non-hardware “soft” costs of solar can account for up to 64% of total system cost, creating a major barrier to greater deployment nationwide. One of the most significant drivers of soft costs is the lack of familiarity with solar PV technology amongst residential customers. In general, these costs, often known as customer acquisition costs, remain high due to the fact that most homeowners and community leaders are unaware of solar’s significant “dollars and cents” value.

Using the most current solar pricing data available (generously provided by the online solar market EnergySage), the Center has designed a ranking system for determining the “dollars and cents” value of investing in solar in these fifty cities. The rankings themselves are based on three metrics: (1) first-year average monthly bill savings, (2) the overall present-day value of a long-term investment in solar (as compared to an investment in a stock with an average return), and (3) the average or “levelized” cost of energy from a rooftop solar energy system.

The ten cities where solar offers the best financial value, according to our methodology are:

1. New York, NY
2. Boston, MA
3. Albuquerque, NM
4. San Jose, CA
5. Las Vegas, NV
6. Washington, DC
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. San Diego, CA
9. Oakland, CA
10. San Francisco, CA

“There are a wide variety of factors that determine how good a deal solar is in your city- upfront cost, solar resource, electricity rates, availability of net metering, incentives, to name a few,” said Autumn Proudlove, the report’s co-author.

The information that serves as the basis for these rankings strongly suggests that rooftop solar is an excellent long-term investment for homeowners across a variety of income levels and backgrounds. According to data from America’s largest solar markets, over 60% of all new solar PV installations are occurring in middle-class neighborhoods that have median incomes ranging from $40,000 to $90,000.

“Right now, buying an average-sized, fully-financed solar PV system costs less than electricity from their local utility for 93% of single-family homeowners in America’s 50 largest cities, and in most places, is a better investment than many of the stocks that are in their 401(k),” said Jim Kennerly, project manager for the Going Solar in America reports. “Nevertheless, most people are unaware that solar is this affordable for people of all walks of life. We hope that this report will help to close this critical information gap and reduce soft costs.”

To obtain a full copy of the report and rankings, please click here.

About the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center
The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, as part of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, advances a sustainable energy economy by educating, demonstrating and providing support for clean energy technologies, practices and policies. It serves as a resource for innovative, green energy technologies through technology demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. For more information about the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, visit: http://www.nccleantech.ncsu.edu. Twitter: @NCCleanTech
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Media Contact: Shannon Helm, N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, 919-423-8340, shannon_helm@ncsu.edu

RALEIGH, NC (September 30, 2014) -– Working under the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership, the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (formerly the N.C. Solar Center) and The Solar Foundation today announced the release of two new resources for North Carolina homeowners’ associations. The first, a short brochure entitled The Benefits of Going Solar: A Resource for North Carolina Homeowners’ Associations, outlines the substantial financial and environmental benefits attached to investments in residential solar. Complementing this resource is a set of model design guidelines aimed at providing HOAs with a strong starting point for developing their own solar policies.

North Carolina currently has just over 11 megawatts of residential solar photovoltaic capacity, with about 15 percent of this total installed in the first half of 2014 alone. As demand for residential solar continues to grow across the state, more homeowners’ associations are finding the need to adopt design rules that accommodate their residents’ desire to “go solar” while still protecting legitimate competing community interests. To help fulfill this need, the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center and The Solar Foundation are leading an educational outreach campaign for HOAs throughout North Carolina. With these resources, HOA board members and architectural review committees will better understand the benefits solar can provide to their communities and get a head-start on drafting solar-friendly design guidelines that also address the legitimate concerns of the community.

“What we are finding with many community associations is that they are generally receptive to seeing more residential solar, but are unsure how to allow this development to occur in a balanced way,” said Philip Haddix, Program Director with The Solar Foundation. “It is our hope that our model guidelines and continued efforts to engage associations across the state will go a long way in helping folks better understand and think through these issues.”

Last Thursday, representatives from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, The Solar Foundation, and the Rose Walk HOA in Carrboro presented on the role of HOAs in solar development at the North Carolina Community Associations Institute (N.C. CAI) conference in Durham. A large number of copies of both documents were distributed to attendees and the messages and recommendations conveyed within were well-received.

“If the residential solar market is going to take off like utility-scale solar has here in North Carolina, we’ll need to minimize barriers,” said Autumn Proudlove, Policy Analyst at the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center. “We hope that HOAs will utilize these resources to create their own solar guidelines that facilitate solar installations while addressing other community interests.”

To obtain a copy of these resources, please click here. North Carolina community associations interested in learning about these efforts and possibly receiving assistance in bringing more solar to their communities can contact Philip Haddix (phaddix@solarfound.org) or Autumn Proudlove (afproudl@ncsu.edu).

About the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center

The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, as part of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University, advances a sustainable energy economy by educating, demonstrating and providing support for clean energy technologies, practices and policies. It serves as a resource for innovative, green energy technologies through technology demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. For more information about the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, visit: http://www.nccleantech.ncsu.edu. Twitter: @NCCleanTech

About The Solar Foundation

The Solar Foundation (TSF) is a leading provider of high-quality economic impact analyses on the solar industry, a trusted technical assistance provider for public sector implementation, and a solar schools champion. Founded in 1977 as an independent nonprofit, its mission is to increase understanding of solar energy through strategic research that educates the public and transforms markets. While TSF recognizes that solar energy is a key part of our energy future, it is committed to excellence in its aim to help the public fairly and objectively gauge the value of the solar industry worldwide. More at: www.TheSolarFoundation.org

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Raleigh, N.C. – As part of its work under the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership, the N.C. Solar Center today announces the release of two new original resources: A Residential Customer’s Guide to Going Solar: Duke Energy Carolinas version and A Residential Customer’s Guide to Going Solar: Duke Energy Progress version.

North Carolina was ranked second in the nation for installed solar capacity in 2013, installing 400 MW of new capacity and climbing up three places from 2012 (according to the NPD Solarbuzz North American PV Markets Quarterly report). Most of this capacity in North Carolina comes from utility-scale solar installations, which highlights an opportunity to advance solar even more in the state by focusing on rooftop installations. These guides will support this effort by educating customers about solar and clarifying many of the misconceptions about the cost of going solar.

The guides focus on explaining, in easy to understand terms, the different financial options available to homeowners interested in going solar. These are broken up into incentives that reduce the upfront cost of going solar, such as tax credits and Duke Energy Progress’ SunSense program, and payback options that credit you for the energy produced by your solar photovoltaic (PV) system, like net metering and N.C. GreenPower.

In addition to a description of these options, the guides include a detailed analysis of the monthly and long-term utility bill savings that each option provides to the typical homeowner, using data specific to North Carolina cities. This allows customers to get an idea of how much a solar system costs in their particular region after all available incentives are factored in, as well as what kind of utility bill savings a typical PV owner in their area sees.

Overall, the guides show that with an average-sized residential system at typical market prices, customers of Duke Energy in North Carolina can save up to an average of $55/ month for the next 25 years on their utility bill with a system that can cost as little as $4,000, after incentives.

Versions of the guides can be viewed here: Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress. For more information about the Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership, please visit www.solaroutreach.org.

About the North Carolina Solar Center

The North Carolina Solar Center, as part of the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University advances a sustainable energy economy by educating, demonstrating and providing support for clean energy technologies, practices, and policies. It serves as a resource for innovative, green energy technologies through technology demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. For more information about the N.C. Solar Center visit: http://www.ncsc.ncsu.edu. Twitter: @NCSolarCenter

Media Contact: Shannon Helm, N.C. Solar Center, 919-423-8340, shannon_helm@ncsu.edu