1. Community-Based Renewable Energy Solutions Dr. Sharon Klein, Assistant Professor Stephanie Coffey, M.A. Student School of Economics University of Maine 1 USAEE Conference Pittsburgh, PA October 26, 2015

2. How do we get people to change? 2

3. 3 Information Deficit Model

4. How do we get people to change? 4 Rational Choice Theory

5. How do we get people to change? 5 Theories of Planned Behavior, Altruism, Empathy, Prosocial Behavior

6. How do we get people to change? 6 “Bounded Rationality”, Appraisal & Prospect Theories

7. How do we get people to change? 7 Behavioral Economics, Game Theory, Neuroscience, Anthropology, Sociology, Diffusion of Innovation Theory, Social Practice Theory, Strategic and Social Niche Management Theory

8. 8 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/oct/29/community-energy

9. What is Community Energy? Initiated by a group of people: Common local geography (town level or smaller) Common set of interests Shared benefits and costs Distributed renewable energy Energy efficiency Conservation Canadian Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2010 U.S. Department of Energy, 2011 Walker & Devine-Wright, 2008 9

10. 10 UK Community Energy Database To be expanded internationally

11. U.S. Community Energy Database 11

12. U.S. Community Energy Database Transition US EPA Climate Showcase Communities EnergySage Vermont Energy and Climate Network Community Energy Inc The Solar Gardens Institute Solarfoundation.org (list of 3,751 K-12 schools with solar panels) State agencies Newspaper articles Web search 12

13. U.S. Community Energy Database Project Name Contact info (name, address, phone, email, website) Energy type (renewable, efficiency, conservation) Renewable energy capacity & production Completion stage (planning, under construction, complete/in operation) Number of members Source of funding Amount/type of incentives Project host Financial Model 13

14. Project Host Corporation Farm Individual residence(s) Limited liability company Municipal-county Municipal-town Religious organization School (K-12) Tribal University/College Utility – traditional Utility – cooperative Utility – municipal Undefined 14

15. Financial Models Buying Group (installation) Buying Group (Electricity) Green Planned Housing Development Intentional Sustainable Communities One-time funds (tax revenues, donations, grants) Third Party Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) Leases Shared Ownership Undefined 15

16. DATABASE RESULTS: What types of CRE? 16

17. Community Solar Resources Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Community Power Network (CPN) Massachusetts Clean Energy Center 2 Theses on Solarize: C. McIlvinnie, Ryan Cook Solar Foundation DOE Sunshot Initiative 17

18. DATABASE RESULTS: Community Solar Projects 18

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21. 21 Number of Projects NS: CT (50) VT (38) MA (35) CA (34) OR (29) NY (25) MN (24) VA (20) NJ (17) ME (16) *398 projects in US >1.1 GW TOTAL 32% of US Residential & Commercial PV Capacity

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23. Types of Community Solar 23 TypeNumber of Projects Capacity (kW)% of Projects% of Capacity K-12 School 3,842 508,45575%44% University/colle ge 280 198,7045%17% Buying Groups 266 29,8045%3% Municipal 247 269,7795%24% Non-profit 209 25,4504%2% Solar farm 144 89,3023%8% Other 86 22,3872% Farm 23 3,0400% TOTAL 5,097 1,146,922

24. 1. “Shared” Solar : Solar Farms/Gardens Multiple people or businesses own or purchase electricity from a single solar photovoltaic array Expands the solar market to individuals who want to invest in solar but are unable/unwilling to install solar panels at their home or place of business This 150 kW community solar garden in Brattleboro VT provides energy to six local residences and three businesses. Source: http://soverensolar.com/

25. Shared Solar requires Group Net Metering Source: http://www.ncsl.org/

26. Shared solar has been growing quickly 26 Feldman et al., 2015, Shared Solar: Current Landscape, Market Potential, and the Impact of Federal Securities Regulation 41 projects 172 MW

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28. Shared solar projected to keep growing up to 50% of PV 28 Feldman et al., 2015, Shared Solar: Current Landscape, Market Potential, and the Impact of Federal Securities Regulation ~49% of households currently can’t do rooftop PV

29. 2. Buying Groups Installation Purchase Groups: Limited time Approved installer(s) Tiered pricing structure Greater discount per number of participants 2 main types: Solarize Solar Cooperatives Electricity Purchase Groups: Green Pricing Programs Community Choice Aggregation

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31. 3. Municipal Solar Renewable energy installations on municipal buildings/property other than schools such as town halls, community centers or libraries. Solar arrays at capped landfills and brownfields like this one at the Easthampton Landfill in MA are increasingly common. Source: http://borregosolar.com /

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33. 4. Solar Schools (K-12)

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35. Religious Institutions/ Other Non-Profits Often financed as Third Party PPAs as non-profit organizations are tax exempt and cannot take advantage of government incentives. And 8.4 kW solar array at Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield, WI Source: http://www.uucw.org/

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37. Number of Projects by Financial Model 37 Financial Model MunicipalNon- Profit K-12 Schools Buying Group Solar Farms One-time funds1051291,5382672 Third Party PPA10545596?36 Shared Ownership 107 Unknown36351,70800

38. Special Funding Mechanisms Bonneville Environmental Foundation Solar4Schools 34 Schools 31 Municipal 15 Non-profit Blue Sky Fund 52 Non-Profit 24 Municipal Crowdfunding – 10 Non-profit ARRA -7 Municipal 4 Community Choice Aggregation 38

39. Rough Estimate of Community Solar Economics Assumptions : Reported installed capacity from US CS Database Average state-based capacity factor from Lopez et al., 2012 (NREL GIS Technical Potential report) Average state-based 2014 Total Electric Industry- Average Retail Price (cents/kWh) from EIA (http://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/)http://www.eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/ $2.50 - $4.00 per Watt installed cost (U.S.Solar Market Insight Report 2015, GTM & SEIA) 5% Discount Rate 25 yr Lifetime 39

40. Rough Estimate of Community Solar Economics Total Installed Costs: $2.9 - $4.6 Billion Total Annual Energy Savings: $333 Million Simple Payback Period : 7-28 yrs Total Net Present Value: $0.1-$1.8 Billion 40

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42. Ongoing Work/ Next Steps 42

43. 43 U.S. Community Energy Database (a work in progress) To be integrated internationally

44. Pilot Survey (MA, ME, VT ) Individual vs Group Attitudes Motivations Decision-making strategies Technology Financing Project organization Advantages & Disadvantages Barriers & Opportunities 44

45. Community Solar Policy is constantly changing 45 https://www.solarelectricpower.org/media/214973/Community-Solar-Report-Executive-Summary-ver3.pdf

46. Acknowledgements This work is/was supported by: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 0230040 University of Maine Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions University of Maine School of Economics 46

47. Questions? Sharon.klein@maine.edu