Imagining Solar How Saratoga Springs Can Best Embrace Solar A Report from the City of Saratoga Springs Solar Committee Prepared January 2016 Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Purpose of Report ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Intended Audience ........................................................................................................................ 4 2. Solar Moves Center Stage ..................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Global Warming ............................................................................................................................ 5 2.2 Technological Advancement ......................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Favorable Financials ...................................................................................................................... 6 3. Solar Implementation and Financing Models ....................................................................................... 8 3.1 Implementation Models ............................................................................................................... 8 3.1.1 Residential Rooftop ............................................................................................................... 8 3.1.2 Commercial Rooftop Solar .................................................................................................... 9 3.1.3 Utility-Scale/Utility-Like Solar ............................................................................................. 10 3.1.4 Community Solar ................................................................................................................. 12 3.2 Solar Financial Options................................................................................................................ 12 3.2.1 Solar Financing Fundamentals ................................................................................................... 12 3.2.2 Purchase or Lease? ............................................................................................................. 14 3.2.3 Commercial Financing ......................................................................................................... 15 4. Supporting Solar in Saratoga Springs .................................................................................................. 17 4.1 Saratoga Springs Solar Access Ordinance ................................................................................... 17 4.1.1 Possible Refinements to the Current Saratoga Spring Solar Access Ordinance ................. 17 4.1.2 Adopting the New York State Unified Solar Permit ............................................................ 17 4.2 Balancing Solar Energy Use with Potential Competing Interests ............................................... 18 4.2.1 Solar and Historic Preservation ........................................................................................... 18 4.2.2 Solar and Trees .................................................................................................................... 19 4.2.3 Solar and Urban Redevelopment ........................................................................................ 19 4.3 Engaging the Builder Community ............................................................................................... 19 4.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 20 4.4.1 Future considerations ......................................................................................................... 21 5. Recommendations .............................................................................................................................. 22 Appendix A- Pace Law Center Solar Access Permit Language .................................................................... 23 Appendix B- New York Unified Solar Permit ............................................................................................... 25 2 Executive Summary The Saratoga Springs Solar Committee was formed in the summer of 2015 by Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of Finance, Michele Madigan, to conduct a detailed review of the solar energy landscape. The committee was selected by City Council members and represents a cross-section of individuals from the community. The Solar Committee looked at the local solar landscape from three main perspectives: environmental, technological, and financial. From all three perspectives, it was concluded that solar has a very favorable outlook and that our community has an opportunity to benefit from solar in several different ways. From an environmental perspective, the science of global warming will require a major transition to renewable energy over the next several decades. Solar will play a major role in this transition due to extremely favorable technological advancements in materials science and efficiency gains along with plummeting costs and numerous financing options. Our committee concluded that our community can play a pivotal role in helping this transition to solar energy occur, as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that our community can derive maximum benefits from the outcome. To best support this transition, the Solar Committee offers the following recommendations: 1. Replace the current Solar Access 0rdinance 6.4.8 with the New York State Unified Solar Permit or a variation of that permitting process which meets the needs of the City. (See Appendix B as sample permitting approach for the City) 2. Ensure that consideration for solar will be pervasive across all of the City’s decision making bodies, including City Council, and its Land Use Boards. 3. Encourage the City to offer “incentives” (monetary or otherwise) to encourage the inclusion of solar and other clean energy options within proposed development projects. Such incentives could be above and beyond what is available at the state and federal level. 4. The City should implement a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades to buildings. 5. Encourage builders to include a solar component within all new development proposals. Such encouragement should be included at all process gateways to ensure that at least adequate consideration be given to solar and/or other renewable energy or energy efficiency options. 6. Pursue community solar as an alternative option, especially when the installation of solar directly on a consumer’s property creates a negative impact for adjacent properties or to the community as a whole. 7. The City should adopt policies and promote actions which recognize and are sensitive to balancing the growth of solar with competing interests within the community. For example, under most circumstances it is self-defeating to advance solar installations by removal of the tree canopy. 3 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose of Report This report was produced by the Saratoga Springs Solar Committee. The committee was formed by Saratoga Springs’ Commissioner of Finance, Michele Madigan, in early summer 2015 to conduct a detailed review of the solar energy landscape as it relates to our community. Representation on the committee was determined by City Council member selection. Committee members include: Larry Toole (Committee Chairperson) Dennis Bouchard Marilyn Rivers Charley Brown Julie Rodgers Tina Carton Cara Pabis Pete D'Aloia Additional resources from the City of Saratoga Springs who regularly attended committee meetings and provided ongoing support, included: Tony Izzo (City Attorney) Lynn Bachner (Deputy Commissioner of Finance) The report is meant to be an expansive and visionary overview of how solar energy can benefit our community both in the near term and over the next several decades. It examines solar energy from many angles, including environmental and financial benefits, financing options, zoning, implementation models both current and future, and competing interests. Best estimates of how solar energy might evolve in our community over the next several decades are also made. While we recognize that any future projections are highly uncertain, this exercise can serve to highlight major trends and to spur strategic planning from our rich pool of community resources. 1.2 Intended Audience We encourage members of our City Council to review the report and use it to imagine and legislate a bright future for solar energy in ways that best benefit our community. We encourage our land use boards to review the report to gain useful information about solar energy and how it can best be deployed throughout our community. We ask the builder community to review the report to gain ideas on how they can integrate solar energy into future building projects in ways the substantively add clean energy resources to our city. Finally, we hope all within our community read the report to spur and hold accountable the aforementioned groups to lead our community forward in ways that promote environmental,