Author Archive: Shane Johnson

We are excited to announce that Ron Van Dell, President of Longbow Innovations, will speak at our May Happy Hour.

The recent exciting successes of solar and renewable energy technology could not have happened without extensive research and development leading to technological innovations. Mr. Van Dell will explore two recent examples of businesses successfully leading innovations.  SolarBridge Technologies developed an integrated micro-inverter solution, which is now forming the core of SunPower’s Equinox AC Module for residential rooftops.

And ViZn Energy Systems, whose story is still unfolding, is developing superior flow-battery alternatives to Li-Ion for grid-scale energy storage. Each companies’ story reveals start-up cases with hard-won lessons when it comes to technology and business model differentiation and competing against well-established businesses.

Tuesday, May 22nd, 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Scholz Garten, 1607 San Jacinto Blvd
RSVP here!

With more than 35 years of experience, Ron Van Dell has an exceptional track record of success and proven leadership skills in early-stage, turn-around, and established businesses. His background covers a broad range of industries in semiconductors and electronics—power, communications, computing, industrial control, electrical distribution, and clean tech.

As President and CEO of ViZn Energy Systems, he transformed the company from a development team to a complete business recognized as a global leader in grid-scale energy storage. As President and CEO of SolarBridge Technologies, now part of Sunpower, Van Dell led the development and launch of a ground-breaking microinverter solution for AC Solar Modules, while raising four rounds of funding.

Before SolarBridge, Van Dell served as President and CEO at Primarion (sold to Infineon), President and CEO at Legerity (spin off of Communication Division of AMD), General Manager for Dell Computer’s Dimension Line of Business ($6B in sales), and VP-GM of the Communication Products Business at Harris Semiconductor (now Intersil Corporation). He also held previous international management positions in the U.S. and in Europe at Groupe Schneider, Square D Company, and General Electric.

We hope you will join us Tuesday, May 22nd for this exciting conversation with a true business and technology trailblazer!

Thank you to everyone who came out to our March Happy Hour and to Danielle Murray for her fantastic update on all things local solar at Austin Energy! We enjoyed the interesting, information-packed happy hour and having the full house of attendees that this presentation deserved.

In case you missed the presentation or want to review the content, Danielle Murray graciously provided us the slides she used so look no further! If you have any questions, ideas, or other things to follow up on please comment below or contact us at info@solaraustin.org.

What is Austin Energy doing locally when it comes to solar? Our city-owned utility has existing goals to reach 110 MW of local solar by 2020 and 200 MW by 2025. Austin Energy has several programs to meet these goals. Recently, Austin Energy made exciting announcements, including the completion of the new 2.5 MW La Loma community solar project, a new low-income solar program powered by La Loma, and the pilot for solar available to multifamily dwellings and affordable housing, called Shared Solar. Significant changes are also being made to the residential solar incentive program.

With the completion of La Loma, Austin Energy has expanded its community solar program to 400 more residential customers. Although there is only room left on the waitlist at the regular rate, the half set aside for the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) participants (low-income customers) is still open. CAP customers can now reduce their bill by signing up for the community solar program. Shared Solar will allow residents in a multifamily dwelling to receive a prorated portion of the value of solar credit from a single installation.

Solar Austin is excited to announce Danielle Murray, Austin Energy’s Solar Program Manager, as our March Happy Hour speaker! She will provide an update on all things local solar at Austin Energy: on the La Loma Community Solar project, the low-income solar program, Shared Solar, the upcoming changes to the residential solar incentive program, and progress toward Austin’s local solar and other renewable energy goals.

Tuesday, March 27th, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Scholz Garten, 1607 San Jacinto Blvd
RSVP here.

Danielle Murray is Austin Energy’s Manager of Solar Energy Services, overseeing the utility’s renewable energy offerings and local solar programs. These include the wind-based GreenChoice program, Community Solar program, residential and commercial solar incentive programs, solar inspections, and the Value of Solar rates. Previously, Danielle was the Renewable Program Manager for the City and County of San Francisco, where she led efforts to develop the local solar market, reduce soft costs, and implement innovative financing mechanisms; coordinated wind, wave, and district energy research and development; and served as chair of the Mayor’s Renewable Energy Task Force. Prior to that, she worked for the City of Toronto’s Energy Office, where she designed and implemented the Toronto Neighborhoods Initiative which provided grants and low-interest loans to homeowners to install solar water heating systems and other energy efficiency improvements.

We hope you will join us Tuesday, March 27th for this update on Austin Energy’s solar programs. There’s lots of change happening right now, and this will be a great chance to ask your questions.

After two years of slogging through the permitting process, Austin Energy brought the La Loma solar project online last month—giving a massive boost to our city-owned utility’s Community Solar Program. But what is community solar, and how can you sign up? Can I afford to sign up as a low-income person/Customer Assistance Program (CAP) beneficiary? (Answer: YES!) How much does community solar cost for non-CAP participants, and what are the pros and cons of signing up? Keep reading and we will guide you through all of these questions.

Austin Energy’s recent press release on the completion of La Loma explains what community solar is on a very basic level and who can benefit: “Community Solar comes from a solar power plant where the electricity is shared by more than one household. Users do not need to own rooftops on which to place solar panels. Community solar provides solar power to renters, people with shaded roofs, and residents who can’t afford the upfront costs of rooftop solar. More than half of Austin Energy customers are renters and have limited access to rooftop solar.”

The La Loma Community Solar Project is a utility-scale array of “more than 9,000 panels, adding up to 2.5 megawatts, that will produce at least 4,400 megawatt-hours of [electricity] per year.” La Loma is located “just northeast of Springdale Road and Airport Boulevard and adjacent to the Utility’s Kingsbery substation,” and includes the exciting addition of “a 1.5 MW grid-scale battery at the Kingsbery substation to test solar and storage integration.”

Notably, the completion of La Loma comes with the announcement that Austin Energy will provide a discount for low-income community solar participants. As a result of advocacy from Solar Austin and the Springdale-Airport Neigh­bor­hood Association for programs that will improve access to solar, Austin City Council adopted a resolution directing Austin Energy to spend $500,000 in fiscal year 2018 on solar for “multi-family affordable housing, low-income residents, renters, and non-profits.” In order to meet this goal, Austin Energy is developing a shared solar feature in their billing system to allow access to solar benefits for multifamily housing residents and started this low-income community solar program.

Through this low-income solar program, half of La Loma’s capacity is reserved for CAP beneficiaries (those at or below 200% of the federal poverty level). This will allow about 200 CAP beneficiaries to “subscribe to 100 percent solar energy at a rate slightly below their current power supply rate.” CAP customers have until March 31st to sign up.

For the first time ever in Austin, not only can some low-income residents get access to solar, but they will also immediately save money by doing so—instead of paying an upfront coast. This is a huge step in the right direction from Austin Energy.

To register for community solar or the low-income solar program, all you need is your Austin Energy Utility Account Number before heading to Austin Energy’s community solar page to fill out the form where you can submit your interest. For more details on the low-income solar program check out the the La Loma press release or this Austin Chronicle article on the low-income solar program.

Now, what are the costs and benefits of community solar for Austin Energy customers who aren’t CAP beneficiaries? Benefits of signing up for community solar include:

• Contribute to creating a cleaner environment, and slowing climate change.
• Lock in a fixed rate for 15 years with the Community Solar rate, and avoid paying the Power Supply Adjustment (PSA) fee, which can be changed up to twice per year. This could result in money saved by community solar if the PSA increase.
• Support the creation of Texas solar jobs.
• Take a leadership role in supporting the Austin Energy Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan, and specifically the local solar goals (200 MW by 2025).

The cost, on the other hand, is that the Community Solar rate currently adds $10 -$18 to the average subscriber’s monthly energy bill.

The La Loma Community Solar Project is the most recent addition to Austin Energy’s community solar program, building on the initial 185 kW solar array on top of the Palmer Events Center. La Loma’s completion helped bring Austin Energy’s cumulative local solar capacity to 78 MW, enough to power 12,000 homes, on the way to the 2025 goal of 200 MW of local solar. Austin Energy officials hope that the expansion of community solar capacity, as opposed to a continued capacity-based residential rebate program, will lead to greater access to solar for renters, people’s whose homes are ill-suited for solar panels, and some low-income residents.

This is a time of change in the solar industry and Austin is no exception.  Solar Austin stays engaged in policy discussions at City Hall, with Austin Energy and with the community.  We advocate for policies and programs that benefit solar customers, potential solar customers, and the local solar industry.  We do a lot with our small budget and can do even more with your help.

SOLAR AUSTIN’S 2017 ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

 
NEW COMMITMENT FOR SOLAR INCENTIVE BUDGET FOR FY 2020-2027
The Austin Energy Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2025 stated that the utility would end solar incentives for new projects by 2020.  As part of the update to the plan this year, we were able to negotiate an extension of solar incentives through 2027.  While some of this budget would have already been required to cover past commitments for commercial performance based incentives (PBIs), there will now be an approximately $28.8 million in additional solar incentives for new projects between 2020 and 2027.

EXTENSION OF PER WATT RESIDENTIAL SOLAR REBATE
Austin Energy’s residential solar rebates were scheduled to end after three megawatts had been installed at the 50¢ per watt level.  Instead, an additional megawatt was added at the 50¢ per watt level and an additional two megawatts were added at the 40¢ per watt level.  This represents a $1.3 million commitment to the current residential solar program.

ADOPTION OF COMMERCIAL VALUE OF SOLAR
In 2015, Solar Austin initiated a conversation with Austin Energy staff about extending the Value of Solar tariff to commercial solar customers as a way to ensure that they are fairly compensated for all of the energy they produce.  This issue was subsequently taken up in the 2016 Austin Energy rate case, and as a result Austin Energy developed a proposal for a Commercial Value of Solar tariff.  Solar Austin negotiated to have the environmental benefits added to the calculation in the form of the social cost of carbon.  The social cost of carbon accounts for 1.5¢ per kilowatt-hour (22%) of the Commercial Value of Solar rate, which will be in effect January 1, 2018.

ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR LOW-INCOME SOLAR
Solar Austin believes that making solar accessible to as many people as possible will help to ensure long-term support for the industry.  We have advocated for policies and programs to expand access to solar for low-income residents and those in multifamily housing.  As a result of this work, the Austin City Council adopted a resolution directing Austin Energy to spend $500,000 in fiscal year 2018 on solar for “multi-family affordable housing, low-income residents, renters, and non-profits.” In order to meet this goal, Austin Energy is developing a Shared Solar feature in the billing system that Solar Austin has advocated for to divide value of solar credits from a single solar array among multiple residents.  Once implemented, this function will reduce the cost and complexity of installing solar at multifamily properties, and has the potential to be utilized for future community solar programs.  Additionally, Austin Energy is now recommending that half of the La Loma community solar capacity be offered to low-income customers at a reduced rate, with a small subsidy from existing low-income bill assistance funds.

LAUNCHING YOUTH SOLAR EDUCATION PROGRAM
In order to expand our educational outreach, Solar Austin is launching a program to teach elementary school kids about solar. We are crafting solar car kits and informational materials that we will take to classrooms and youth programs. In a 60 minute lesson, kids will learn about solar energy, assemble the cars, and then test them outside.