Santa Rosa Watches AB 811 promise to finance a greener future

North Bay BUSINESS JOURNAL EDITORIAL
Monday, September 1, 2008
Link to article

In 2006, the California Legislature mandated substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the entire state.

By 2020, cities and counties through California must do their part to cut emissions to the level of 1990, a 25 percent decrease. By 2050, the law mandates an 80 percent cut. Most immediately, a goal of reducing emissions by 11 percent from current levels is fast approaching in 2010.

Now, a newly enacted state law gives counties and municipalities a financing tool to help meet that goal.

Assembly Bill 811, pushed primarily by Palm Desert, Berkeley and San Francisco, allows California counties and cities to sell bonds to fund “permanently fixed improvements” to private property the way they can for public works. The government would be allowed to pay off the bonds via special districts in which residents or businesses can opt for loans paid back over a period of time or via property taxes.

Beginning with an ambitious plan for green energy and water systems for the 450-acre Airport Business Center north of Santa Rosa, “the county is in full gear to figure out how financing is going to occur,” said a spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Water Agency, which is a key force in pushing emissions-reducing efforts.

The water agency itself has set a goal to have a net-zero carbon footprint in the coming years.

The Airport Green Business Group was organized earlier this summer by the agency and businesses in the park such as Jackson Family Wines, which has its headquarters and production facilities there.

The group is exploring how to reduce water and energy costs through facility upgrades as well as by pumping treated wastewater from nearby county treatment facilities throughout the park to heat and cool buildings via a geo-exchange system. Recycled water could also be used for irrigation.

At the same time, the county’s auditor’s office is carefully watching developments in Palm Desert financing plans. The California Public Utilities Commission sees Palm Desert’s evolving plan as a potential statewide model.

All these efforts are worthy of support because, instead of just being handed a goal, communities now have a tool to reach it.

Galt to seek greener housing

Sacramento Bee
By Loretta Kalb - lkalb@sacbee.com

Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, September 6, 2008
Story appeared in OUR REGION section, Page B4

Link to story

The mayor of Galt says the Berkeley City Council doesn't know squat about the role of Marine recruiters.

But he says the city is right on target when it comes to solar energy financing.

Accordingly, Galt Mayor Andrew Meredith has proposed a solar energy financing plan patterned after one in Berkeley.

The Berkeley plan, facing a vote Sept. 16, creates bond financing for property owners who "opt-in" to an assessment district. Those who do would pay for solar improvements with their property taxes.

Not long ago, Meredith was fed up with Berkeley's City Council, which voted in January to tell Marine recruiters they were "uninvited and unwelcome guests."

Meredith, an Iraq war veteran, wrote to the commandant of the Marine Corps a few months later. On city letterhead, he called the Berkeley action repulsive, offensive and insulting.

The letter "goes back to the fact that I was a soldier, and I kind of have a soft spot" for those in the military, Meredith said Friday. "As a veteran, I found that (Berkeley) was disrespectful."

On the other hand, he said, "I think in the last decade Berkeley has taken a lot of steps that have resonated throughout the state in regards to clean energy."

Steps like the solar financing plan.

Galt's proposed plan not only would provide money for electricity-generating solar panels, but also would help finance energy efficiency upgrades such as new windows and low-flush toilets.

In both cities, residents would "opt in." Galt residents would be allowed to do so during an open enrollment period every other year.

In Galt, bonds sold as part of a financing district would fund improvements of up to $20,000, which would be repaid through property tax payments of up to 20 years.

Galt also would require subdivision home builders to construct at least 20 percent of their inventory in accordance with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Solar-Smart program.

In contrast to Berkeley, which is a charter city, Galt is a general law city and its ability to launch the financing side of the program will require a change in state law. Such legislation is now on the governor's desk, said Galt Assistant City Manager Jason Behrmann.

If Galt gets the green light, look for the City Council to pull together. At a meeting Tuesday night when Meredith put the idea to them, council members were generally receptive, said Behrmann.

Meredith said he'll return a final draft to the council in October. Council approval would create the program, he said. Then the city would await financing authority and implementation, possibly by 2010.

Galt is not the only city to find the Berkeley program desirable.

"This is the favorite phone call of the day," said Nils Moe, assistant to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, when asked to talk about the pilot program.

The council approved the concept in late 2007. Now the city is working with the University of California, Berkeley, to evaluate the program and create a "replication guide" for other cities.

The calls are coming in "from Cambridge, Mass., to Seattle, Portland, Austin and countless cities within the state of California," he said.

Galt Councilman Darryl Clare said Friday he is "very in favor of the general concept, the voluntary aspects."

But he expressed concern about "telling private people" such as home builders how they must build subdivisions.

"Before we start mandating too much," he said, "let's hear from all those involved."

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 478-2641.

Chula Vista and Saratoga Latest California Cities to Adopt Green Building Rules

Downtown Chula Vista (Photo: Flickr)

Two more California cities, Chula Vista and Saratoga, have joined the nearly three dozen cities statewide that have adopted green building rules. The Chula Vista City Council recently pledged to become the first municipality in San Diego County with green building standards for all new construction and major renovations. City Council members voted unanimously to require energy- and water-efficient construction standards as part of a proposal from the city’s Climate Change Working Group, a commission led by resident Richard Chavez. City staff will spend the next 90 days working out details. The proposal adopted by the city council includes requiring businesses to have regular energy audits, developing a solar energy program to help residents and businesses install photovoltaic systems, coordinating with local water authorities to convert grass lawns to water-saving rock and shrub landscapes, facilitating smart growth and converting the city’s fleet to high-efficiency vehicles.

The City of Saratoga’s new green building policy will require all newly constructed or renovated city-owned facilities over 5,000 square feet to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s requirements for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification. The policy is modeled on recommendations in the Santa Clara County Cities Association’s “Near-term Policy on Green Building Strategy,” and will help to streamline the green building process. Building permit applicants will need to complete a green building checklist, which will help the City Council track the growth of sustainable building practices in Saratoga, while also helping building permit applicants identify opportunities to incorporate green building elements into their projects.

Read background on the Chula Vista and Saratoga (PDF, 31 KB) green building policies

Greentechmedia: Berkeley to Launch Solar Financing Program

Wed, 09/24/2008 - 20:33 — admin

By Ucilia Wan, GreenTechMedia

Link to article

The city of Berkeley has chosen Renewable Funding to finance a $1.5 million pilot program that will allow residents and businesses to pay for solar power systems through property taxes.

The city council on Tuesday night authorized the city manager to sign contracts with Oakland, Calif.,-based Renewable Funding. The decision was made after its staff spent about 10 months trying to line up backers for the city's unusual solar loan program.

The complexity of running the program caused several banks and private investment firms to back out of discussions, according to a staff report.

As a result, the city decided to start with a trial program to gauge how it might want to finance and operate the program over the long term. The City Council also approved an ordinance Tuesday night that would allow the city to borrow up to $80 million for the program.

Berkeley first approved the idea of the program in November, then approved more details – subject to a second and final vote Tuesday – last week (see Berkeley to Finance Solar Installations and Berkeley Set to Vote on Solar Financing).

The city said it was the first in the country to approve this kind of program, which finances the upfront costs of installing solar-panel systems on residential and business properties. Home and business owners pay the city back through property taxes over 20 years, including interest. The interest rate would be determined and locked in at the time that a property owner signs on by joining a special tax district created for the program.

Only property owners who opt to take advantage of the program will see the extra charges on their tax bills.

Other cities and counties in the country, including Santa Cruz County in California and the city of Boulder in Colorado, have expressed interest in creating programs using Berkeley's model.

Cities, such as San Francisco, have set up rebate programs for solar-power installations. San Francisco has set aside between $2 million and $5 million annually for 10 years for its solar program, which provides $3,000 to $6,000 for a solar power system at home and up to $10,000 for one on a commercial property (see San Francisco Solar Incentives Become Official).

Renewable Funding, started by Stephen Compagni Portis, plans to buy up to $1.5 million worth of bonds to finance the solar-power equipment and installation and to manage the application process.

Portis, a visiting researcher at the University of California at Berkeley's Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, has ample experience in investment banking, according to city staff. He was previously a partner at VX Capital Partners, president of Leveraged Equity Management and chairman and CEO of Kettle Restaurants.

The $1.5 million is expected to be enough to finance installations on at least 40 properties, according to the staff report. Each property owner will be eligible to request funding for up to $37,500.

An average solar-power system costs roughly $28,000, not counting an average $6,108 rebate available though the state-run California Solar Initiative. After adding other fees and charges, a property owner could expect to pay about $2,100 per year on his or her tax bill, the city said.

The program is scheduled to begin in a month. The city hasn't announced when it will begin accepting applications, but the goal is to do so in the fall. The first workshop for the program could take place as early as next month.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/berkeley-to-launch-solar-financing-program-1465.html

Burlington (VT) Electric Dept to study energy assessment district financing

Feasibility study grant awarded to BED by American Public Power Association to study Berkeley/AB 811 model

October 17, 2008

By Candace Page
Free Press Staff Writer

Contact Candace Page at 660-1865 or cpage@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

Link to Article

Burlington Electric Department is considering an innovative way to jump-start a fresh round of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects among city homeowners.

The concept goes like this: The city would issue bonds to raise a pool of money that could be lent to homeowners to install solar power or other energy measures.

Homeowners would repay the money over 20 years, through an additional payment on their property tax bills.

The idea is attractive because many home alternative energy projects have a high initial cost and require big, unaffordable monthly payments if they must be paid off in five years through a standard home-improvement loan. With 20 years to pay off the loan, homeowners might save more money on their energy bills than the cost of their city loan payments.

And, if the property were sold, the new owner would gain the benefits of the energy projects, as well as taking over payment for them.

"What makes this really exciting is the ability to finance over a longer period of time," Mayor Bob Kiss said Thursday.

Burlington Electric announced earlier in the day that it won a $34,000 grant from the American Public Power Association for a feasibility study. The study will be subcontracted to the Vermont Energy Investment Corp.

BED spokeswoman Mary Sullivan said if analysis shows the idea is viable, BED and the city would proceed cautiously.

"We'd like to start a pilot project in a year or so," she said.

BED has set a goal of obtaining all its electricity from renewable sources by 2012. Reducing electric demand from its customers could help meet that goal. The city's efforts to reduce Burlington's carbon footprint would also benefit.

The utility's proposal is based on a new program in Berkeley, Calif. City government in September created a special, citywide tax district, the Sustainable Energy Financing District.

The district allows property owners to borrow money to install solar electric panels and to pay for the improvements over 20 years through a special tax levy on their property bills. The tax is paid only by property owners who choose to participate.

Financing the Green: AB 811 & AB 1790 : Recent developments in financing solar and energy efficiency projects

By Tim Seufert, NBS, Managing Director
[NBS is a consulting, admin and software service company to local governments, others with offices in Temecula, CA and San Francisco]
August, 2008
link to article

The “green revolution” has come to public finance. This article reviews a number of options for
your City, District, or local agency to pursue to foster investment in renewable energy (solar)
and energy efficiency projects. Some of the tools are familiar, but there have been recent
changes and new developments. This evolution will surely continue.
The primary tools in this discussion, in no particular order, are as follows:
• Assessment Districts
• Community Facilities Districts
• Rebate programs (local, plus State and Federal incentives)
• Voluntary donation programs
• Grants and other sources

Assessment Districts and Community Facilities Districts:
Assembly Bill 811, effective July 21, 2008 as an urgency bill, amended the 1911 Act, Chapter
29, to allow for contractual assessments that will finance renewable energy source and energy
efficiency improvements for already-developed residential, commercial, industrial, or other real
property. Contractual assessments are basically special assessments levied by contract
between a local agency and a property owner. Under this model, a local agency forms an
assessment district (which may be limited or jurisdiction-wide in scope) and, with a property
owner’s consent, levies assessments on a property to finance improvements made to that
property.

To get started, the local agency shall pass a Resolution of Intention that states that
this assessment program is for the public good and benefit. This Resolution shall specify,
among other things, the boundaries of the area in question, the types of improvements allowed,
and the financing program. The financing program may include the issuance of 1911 or 1915
Act bonds, or use of some other financing tools.

Public finance professionals in California are promoting an alternative legal approach through
Assembly Bill 1709, which is still working its way through the California Legislature. AB 1709
would amend the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 to allow Community Facilities
Districts (“CFDs”) to levy special taxes to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency
improvements to private property. This will add additional capability to the existing and already flexible
CFD law. Note that the City of Berkeley pioneered the CFD solar model by using its
status as a charter city to adopt a special tax ordinance based on the CFD law. AB 1709 is
modeled on Berkeley’s special tax ordinance.

There are a few significant differences between AB 811 (contractual assessments) and AB
1709 (CFD special taxes). First, AB 811 is limited to developed property, while AB 1709 would
also allow financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements for new
development. Second, AB 811 is only available to cities and counties, while AB 1709 would be
available to all local agencies. Third, the CFD law (AB 1709) has proven to be a more flexible
financing tool than the 1911 Act (AB 811), which may be important as local agencies, public
finance professionals and the lending community begin to explore the rapidly-changing area of
renewable energy financing. Finally, AB 1709 (which would allow the annual levy of a special
tax to pay bonded indebtedness issued to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency
improvements) may be less problematic with respect to existing home mortgages than AB 811
(which levies the entire principal amount of the assessment at the time the contractual
assessment is established).

Both the CFD (AB 1709) and Assessment (AB 811) routes offer two primary benefits because:
• The obligation to repay the cost of the renewable energy and energy efficiency
improvements will be on the property tax bill. It will not be “due on sale” of the
benefited property (which is the case with traditional equity lines of credit) and the
lender will have a “super lien” on the benefited property that is equal to the lien of
general ad valorem property taxes; and
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements may be financed without a
significant down-payment.

Chris Lynch, of the bond counsel firm Jones Hall, who authored Berkeley’s special tax
ordinance and helped Assemblyperson Loni Hancock write AB 1709, believes the biggest
hurdle to public financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements to private
property is not legal but financial: “Because bonds issued for this purpose will not be tax exempt,
it remains to be seen whether local government will be able to offer a financing
program that is economically superior to financial products available from the private sector.”

Rebates and Incentives:
As part of the Governor’s $3.3 billion Million Solar Roofs Program, the State of California has a
rebate program, known as the California Solar Initiative (“CSI”). A typical residential solar
installation can currently receive a rebate of up to $4,750 for the installation of 2.5 kW system.
For more information, please see http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov. Note that the Federal
government also has a tax credit program to incent such incentives. This federal tax credit is set
to expire at the end of 2008, but it may be extended. A number of bills have been brought forth
to extend the credit, and the political maneuvering continues.
To leverage private investment, the City and County of San Francisco implemented an incentive
program on July 1, 2008 for residential, non-profit, and commercial solar installations. A
homeowner can apply and receive between $3000 and $6000 for a 1.5kW or larger system. The
initial funding in the amount of $3 million is being provided by the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission’s Sustainable Energy Account.

For further information, go to
http://sfwater.org/home.cfm and click on the GoSolarSF links.

Grants and Voluntary Programs:
Some cities are providing for voluntary contributions, via their utility bills for example. Residents
may donate any amount to fund solar and energy efficiency programs within their communities,
particularly for schools, low-income applications, and non-profit organizations.
Grant funding can come from a plethora of sources. PG&E, for example, has given significant
grants to fund solar installations at schools and non-profit housing facilities.
Further information
is available at http://www.pge.com/giving/.

These avenues and others will surely evolve over time. The good news is that you can start now
and foster investment that will save money, reduce pollution and our environmental footprint,
and help diversify our sources of energy. Those three goals are certainly worthy of our time and
efforts.

We will post updates to this article at www.nbsgov.com on our Publications page as this
evolves.

AB 1709 - Mello-Roos Act for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency - Legislative Analysis

[ AB 1709 is an alternative to AB 811 put forth by some municipal
financing professionals to add flexibility and expand energy
options under AB 811.
A primary expansion is to create Mello-Roos type CFD
Community Facilities District) bonds vs "contractual assessment"
financing with funds available for new construction.
AB 811 is for retrofits only. Vetoed by the Governor on 9/27/2008 per below - JFinlay ]


BILL NUMBER:  AB 1709
  VETOED DATE: 09/27/2008

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1709 without my signature.

While I support the use and inclusion of energy efficiency products
for the homes in our state as demonstrated by my Million Solar Roofs
Initiative, this bill would allow Mello-Roos taxes to be imposed on
homeowners in order to finance energy efficiency improvements.  This
provision represents a fundamental shift in the purpose of Mello-Roos
taxes and is one that I cannot support.

Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
[ analysis, discussion of AB 1709 ]
              Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair

  BILL NO:  AB 1709                    HEARING:  6/25/08
  AUTHOR:  Hancock                     FISCAL:  No
  VERSION:  5/19/08                    CONSULTANT:
  Weinberger

   MELLO-ROOS ACT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

                            Background 

  The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act allows counties,
  cities, special districts, and school districts to levy
  special taxes (parcel taxes) to finance a wide variety of
  public works, including parks, recreation centers, schools,
  libraries, child care facilities, and utility
  infrastructure.  A Mello-Roos Community Facilities District
  (CFD) issues bonds against these special taxes to finance
  the public works projects.  Like all special taxes,
  Mello-Roos Act special taxes require 2/3-voter approval.
  If there are fewer than 12 registered voters, the affected
  landowners vote.

  In addition to financing public or governmental capital
  facilities, Mello-Roos Act special taxes can fund a limited
  list of public services: police services, fire protection,
  recreation programs, library services, museum operations,
  park maintenance, flood protection, hazardous waste
  cleanup, street and road maintenance, lighting of parks,
  parkways, streets, roads, and open space, plowing and
  removal of snow, and graffiti management and removal.

  The Mello-Roos Act is an important feature of the local
  fiscal landscape, providing local officials with a key tool
  for accumulating the public capital needed to pay for the
  public works projects that make new residential development
  possible.  Since 1985, CFDs have issued over $18 billion in
  long-term bonds, mostly for capital improvements.  Without
  access to Mello-Roos bond funding, many builders would have
  to pay higher development impact fees and raise housing
  prices.

  Local officials want to be able to use Mello-Roos taxes to
  help finance renewable energy and energy efficiency
  improvements on private property.  To simplify the process
  by which property owners can voluntarily use Mello-Roos

  financing, local officials want to be able to create CFDs
  that initially contain no parcels of land, but consist only
  of territory from which parcels may subsequently be annexed
  to the CFD with the unanimous approval of parcel owners.


                           Proposed Law 

  I.   Facilities  .  In addition to financing public works such
  as park, school, and library facilities, CFDs can pay for
  improvements on privately owned buildings or real property.
   For example, CFDs may pay for work deemed necessary to
  bring buildings or real property, whether privately or
  publicly owned, into compliance with seismic safety
  standard and regulations.

  Assembly Bill 1709 adds the acquisition, installation, and
  improvement of energy efficiency and renewable energy
  improvements to the types of facilities that a CFD may
  finance, or refinance, regardless of whether the buildings
  or property are privately or public owned.

  AB 1709 provides that work on privately owned buildings and
  real property may be financed by a special tax levy only:
         If all of the votes cast on the question of levying
       the special tax are in favor of levying the special
       tax;   or  ,
         With the prior written consent to the special tax
       of all of the owners of each property that may be
       subject to the special tax.

  AB 1709 specifies that the prior written consent
  constitutes a unanimous vote in favor of the special tax
  and any associated bond indebtedness.


  II.   CFD formation and annexation  .  To initiate the
  formation of a CFD, a local agency's legislative body must
  adopt a resolution of intention to establish the district,
  which must:
         Describe the district's boundaries.
         Describe the facilities and services proposed to be
       financed.
         State that a special tax, secured by a lien against
       real property, will be annually levied.


         Specify, in detail, the rate, method of
       apportionment, and manner of collection of the special
       tax.
         Fix a time and place for a public hearing.
  After holding the hearing and considering protests, if the
  legislative body determines to establish the CFD, it must
  adopt a resolution of formation containing all of the
  information provided in the resolution of intention and, if
  a special tax is to be levied, some additional information
  about the tax levy.

  Assembly Bill 1709 authorizes an alternate procedure for
  forming a CFD that initially consists solely of territory
  proposed for annexation to the CFD in the future, with the
  condition that a parcel or parcels within that territory
  may be annexed to the CFD and subjected to the special tax
  only with the unanimous approval of the parcel owner or
  owners at the time of annexation.

  Under the alternate CFD formation procedure authorized by
  AB 1709, the resolution of intention or the resolution of
  formation do not need to specify the rate or rates of
  special tax, provided that the rate of special tax
  applicable to a parcel or parcels will be specified in the
  unanimous approval provided by parcel owners at the time
  they annex to the CFD.

  A majority protest to a proposed CFD halts formation
  proceedings for one year from the date of the protest
  decision.  A majority protest occurs if 50% or more of the
  registered voters, or six registered voters, whichever is
  more, residing within the territory proposed to be included
  in the district, or if the owners of one-half or more of
  the area of the land in the territory proposed to be
  included in the district and not exempt from the special
  tax, file written protests against the establishment of the
  district.  AB 1709 provides that this definition of
  majority protest does not apply to the alternative CFD
  formation process.  Instead, under the alternative CFD
  formation process authorized by AB 1709, a majority protest
  occurs if 50% or more of the registered voters, or six
  registered voters, whichever is more, residing within the
  territory proposed to be annexed to the CFD in the future,
  or the owners of one-half or more of the area of the land
  proposed to be annexed in the future and not exempt from

  the special tax, file written protests against the
  establishment of the district.

  After the adoption of the resolution of formation, voters
  must approve the special tax levy, authorize indebtedness,
  and establish the CFD's appropriations limit.  Under the
  alternate procedure established by AB 1709, the
  appropriations limit for the CFD, the applicable rate of
  the special tax and the method of apportionment and manner
  of collection of that tax, and the authorization to incur
  bonded indebtedness must be specified and be approved by
  the unanimous approval of the owner or owners of each
  parcel or parcels at the time that the parcel or parcels
  are annexed to the CFD.  The bill states that no additional
  hearings or procedures are required, and the unanimous
  approval shall be deemed to constitute a unanimous vote in
  favor of the appropriations limit for the CFD, the
  authorization to levy the special tax on the parcel or
  parcels, and the authorization to incur bonded
  indebtedness.

  AB 1709 prohibits a local legislative body from recording a
  notice of tax lien against any parcel or parcels within a
  CFD formed using the alternative process until the parcel
  owner or owners have given unanimous approval of the parcel
  or parcels' annexation to the CFD, at which time the
  special tax lien shall be recorded.


  III.   Special taxes  .  A resolution of intention to form a
  CFD must specify the rate, method of apportionment, and
  manner of collection of the special tax that is to be
  levied in sufficient detail to allow each landowner or
  resident within the proposed district to estimate the
  maximum amount that he or she will have to pay.  After a
  CFD has been created and authorized to levy special taxes,
  the legislative body may approve an ordinance to levy the
  special taxes at the rate, and in the manner, described in
  the resolution of intention.

  Under the alternative CFD formation process authorized by
  Assembly Bill 1709, a legislative body adopts an ordinance
  providing for the levy of the special taxes on parcels that
  will annex to the CFD at the rate or rates to be approved
  unanimously by the parcel owner or owners.  The ordinance

  providing for the levy of special taxes must also provide
  for the apportionment and collection of special taxes in
  the manner specified in the resolution of formation.  AB
  1709 specifies that no further ordinance shall be required
  even though no parcels may have annexed to the CFD.

  An action to determine the validity of special taxes levied
  by a CFD must be brought by an interested person, pursuant
  to specified statutes, within 30 days after voters approve
  the special tax.  AB 1709 requires an action to determine
  the validity of special taxes levied by a CFD formed under
  the alternative process to be brought by an interested
  person, pursuant to specified statutes, within 30 days
  after voters approve the adoption of the resolution of
  formation for the CFD.


  III.   Bonds  .  For a CFD to issue bonds, the local
  legislative body must adopt a resolution proposing to incur
  bonded indebtedness, hold a hearing on the proposed debt
  authorization, and submit the proposition to voters.  A 2/3
  vote is required to approve the issuance of bonds by a CFD.


  Under the alternative CFD formation process authorized by
  Assembly Bill 1709, the proposition to authorize bonded
  indebtedness is approved by parcel owners at the time a
  parcel or parcels is annexed to the CFD pursuant to the
  unanimous approval requirements for annexing into the CFD.
  AB 1709 provides that no additional hearings or procedures
  shall be required, and unanimous approval shall be deemed
  to constitute a unanimous vote in favor of the proposition
  to authorize bonded indebtedness.

  An action to determine the validity of bonds issued by a
  CFD must be brought by an interested person, pursuant to
  specified statutes, within 30 days after voters approve the
  issuance of the bonds.  AB 1709 requires an action to
  determine the validity of bonds issued by a CFD formed
  under the alternative process to be brought by an
  interested person, pursuant to specified statutes, within
  30 days after the effective date of a resolution to approve
  bonded indebtedness that has been adopted by the local
  legislative body.


                             Comments 

  1.   Local assistance for energy improvements  .  In response
  to rising energy costs and concerns about climate change,
  local governments want to promote energy efficiency and
  renewable energy generation.  Up-front installation costs
  can deter property owners from installing solar panels, or
  making energy efficiency improvements.  Using Mello-Roos
  taxes, counties and cities can help to finance these
  investments at low interest rates.  Property owners who
  voluntarily agree to pay Mello-Ross taxes to finance energy
  improvements will realize immediate savings on their
  utility bills while paying off their costs over time on
  their property tax bills.  By lowering energy costs,
  reducing energy demand, and expanding generation from
  renewable energy sources, the voluntary Mello-Roos taxes
  authorized by AB 1709 will benefit residents throughout
  California.

  2.   Narrow purpose, broad powers .  The alternative CFD
  formation process in AB 1709 is intended to simplify the
  process by which individual private parcel owners can
  voluntarily use Mello-Roos special taxes to finance energy
  efficiency and renewable energy improvements.  However, a
  CFD formed using this alternative process could finance any
  of the facilities and services authorized by the Mello-Roos
  Act.  It is unclear why the alternative CFD formation
  process should be used for CFDs that finance anything other
  than energy efficiency and renewable energy facilities on
  individual parcels.  The Committee may wish to consider
  amending AB 1709 to authorize the use of the alternative
  CFD formation procedure only for a CFD that will
  exclusively finance energy efficiency and renewable energy
  improvements that are permanently fixed to or on real
  property and in buildings.

  3.   Permanent fixtures  .  AB 1709 does not define the term
  "energy efficiency improvements," potentially allowing
  property owners to use Mello-Roos special taxes to finance
  the purchase of energy efficient appliances, like
  flat-screen TVs or microwave ovens.  Because Mello-Roos
  taxes are levied on real property and may be enforced
  through recordation of a lien against real property, the
  Committee may wish to consider whether they should be used

  to finance the purchase of appliances and other facilities
  that may be unplugged and easily removed from the property.
   The Committee may wish to consider amending AB 1709 to
  require that energy efficiency and renewable energy
  improvements must be permanently fixed to or on real
  property and in buildings.

  4.   Public purpose  .  The California Constitution prohibits
  the use or pledge of public credit to aid - or pay the
  liabilities of - any individual, association, or
  corporation.  However, the courts have found this
  prohibition does not preclude the use of public credit or
  funds for public purposes, even if a private entity also
  benefits.  For example, to finance seismic safety work on
  private property (AB 1700, Farr, 1992) and fire safety
  improvements on private property (AB 2594, Bates, 1992),
  benefit assessments can be levied only with a property
  owner's consent.  The Committee may wish to consider
  amending AB 1709 to include a legislative declaration that
  a public purpose will be served by providing the
  legislative body of a local agency with the authority to
  use Mello-Roos special taxes to finance the installation of
  energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements that
  are permanently fixed to or on real property and in
  buildings.

  5.   Technical amendment  .  The committee may wish to
  consider deleting the cross-reference to  53321.1 on page
  10, line 3, and replacing it with a reference to  53328.1.

  6.   Related bill  .  At its June 4 hearing, the Senate Local
  Government Committee passed AB 811 (Levine) which
  authorizes cities and counties to finance distributed
  generation renewable energy sources and energy efficiency
  improvements using contractual assessments.

  7.   Legislative history  .  As introduced, AB 1709 was a bill
  authored by the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment
  that would have required the Labor and Workforce
  Development Agency to report specified information to the
  Legislature.  The July 20, 2007 amendments removed that
  material, changed the author, and inserted language
  relating to the declaration of a temporary local public
  health emergency.  The May 19, 2008 amendments, in turn,
  removed that material and inserted the current language
  relating to Mello-Roos Community Facilities Districts.


                         Assembly Actions 

  Not relevant to current the May 19, 2008 version of the
  bill.


                 Support and Opposition  (6/19/08)

   Support  :  Cities of Berkeley, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, and
  Solana Beach, County of San Mateo, Pacific Gas and Electric
  Company.

   Opposition  :  Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Sonoma County supervisors vote to pursue AB 811 financing program for energy-saving projects

North Bay Business Journal
October 6, 2008
BY Jeff Quackenbush

link to the article

STAFF REPORTER

SANTA ROSA, Sept. 16, 2008 – The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this morning voted unanimously to move forward with a plan to create opt-in assessment-based financing for energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects on existing commercial and residential properties, with all the supervisors and several groups of stakeholders advocating prompt action. However, county officials warned that county finances are too tight to undertake the proposal without a more detailed business plan.

Some supervisors, a representative of local governments and advocates for solar power and climate protection pushed for a rapid rollout of the loan program countywide. Assembly Bill 811, signed in July, allows local governments to form assessment districts that allow property owners to decide whether to enter a contract with the governing authority of the district to pay for an energy-related project permanently attached to the property. Loans would be attached to the property as an assessment and would remain even if the property were sold.

Speakers before the board this morning suggested as many property owners as possible be able to access the financing as quickly as possible to reduce energy-related emissions of gases attributed to climate change, take advantage of state and federal grant programs that look for local matching funds and prevent the steep falloff in photovoltaic system installations seen in Berkeley between the announcement late last year of a similar funding mechanism for private projects and still-pending implementation.

Jake Mackenzie, Rohnert Park mayor and chairman of the Sonoma County Mayors and Councilmembers Association, told the supervisors he plans to put participation in the county’s AB 811 program on the group’s Oct. 16 agenda.

“We as signatories in the Climate Protection Campaign, we’re ready to go,” he said.

The county and its nine municipalities signed onto the campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015.

Anne Hancock, executive director and co-founder of the campaign, told the supervisors that AB 811 financing, with enough speed and countywide scale, would be a key part of the group’s forthcoming Community Climate Action Plan, which would create a comprehensive set of tools for financing projects that would meet the campaign goal.

“We need to move rapidly and think big,” she said.

Barry Cogbill, of REC Solar’s Petaluma office and chairman of the vendor subcommittee of the recently launched Solar Sonoma County initiative, told the supervisors that timing of the rollout of the AB 811 program will be critical. He said the city of Berkeley in October 2007 announced a funding mechanism similar to AB 811 and still is working on implementing financing. Yet in that time solar system installations dropped about 40 percent from an average of 15 a month before the announcement to nine monthly afterward.

He noted that solar installations in Santa Rosa average 9.2 systems a month and warned the supervisors not to cause a similar dropoff in local installations that would prompt installers to look to other locations, such as Palm Desert, the model city which voted Aug. 28 to launch AB 811 financing, or Ventura County, which decided Sept. 9 to create a countywide AB 811 district.

County Administrative Officer Bob Deis emphasized the need for a more detailed economic analysis of the proposed assessment district charter and the recommended phased launch because of scant county funds available to cover administrative and interim lower-interest financing for initial projects before funding mechanisms such as private-activity bonds are feasible.

A detailed economic analysis of the proposed program is scheduled to be ready in November for the board to consider next steps. The proposed timeline includes taking applications from property owners in December in pilot project areas and starting to issue loans by the end of January. Pilot project areas are the industrial parks along Eighth Street East south of Sonoma and Airport Business Center business park near the Sonoma County airport.

Meanwhile, real estate developer and entrepreneur Alan Strachan told the board that his Green Energy Loan program already aligned five banks – Sonoma, First Community, Exchange, North Coast and Summit State – willing to provide home-equity loans for sustainable energy projects, and that could be adjusted to fund AB 811 projects.

After the board of supervisors workshop today, Mr. Strachan said he is going back to the banks to see if they would extend lines of credit to the county and any city that joined the AB 811 district to fund private projects. If they’re interested, he’ll approach the mayors and councilmembers group in October and the county about an alternative way to finance projects.

Mr. Strachan said because AB 811 loans are secured by property-tax assessments, there can be a higher level of protection for lenders than with traditional lines of credit. He asserted that bank loans could be less expensive for borrowers than financing connected to the bond market.

Also, since energy-related remodeling can involve many of the trades in home building, propelling AB 811 financing could help employ more contractors, according to Mr. Strachan.

“This is the best chance on the horizon to get the economy going,” he said.

CityFIRST provides Turnkey AB 811 option

Using experience starting in Berkeley, CityFIRST offers a turnkey option for municipalities who want to impliment AB 811 style financing for energy retrofits (on-site generation or efficiency).
Link to website

CoStar "Green Lede" features news on high-performance commercial RE

CoStar is and has been one of the primary sources for quality, in depth reporting on high-performance, LEED, "green", sustainable commercial RE. Their free newsletter feed now features a section dedictated to news in this space called Green Lede

EcoMotion AB 811 Palm Desert Consulting advances

AB 811 and Energy Independence

[ JFF - This is from the EcoMotion newsletter. Ted Flanigan has a solar/alt energy consulting contract with the city of Palm Desert as well as Santa Monica. He also leads international tours of energy facilities; Germany, Spain, Iceland, etc ]

EcoMotion's work with the City of Palm Desert has hit a feverish pitch. There, a new funding mechanism is poised to open considerable new uptake in efficiency and renewable energy investments. Already nearly 300 hundred Palm Desert residents are on the City's interest list for "Energy Independence," the program name for an initiative that may truly put the power into the hands of the people.

Assembly Bill 811, signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on July 21, 2008, allows cities and counties to use their financial wherewithal and/or bonding authority to provide preferential loans for property owners. The Bill amends the streets and highways codes that provides for compulsory and voluntary assessments for public goods like sidewalks and sewer lines. Now, "efficiency fixtures" that stay with the property in the event of sale, and renewable energy systems on private property, are explicitly defined as in the public benefit, thus eligible for assessment funding. Palm Desert's program will be available for all property owners.

EcoMotion has been Palm Desert's program design consultant. The Energy Independence Program goes to Council just yesterday, August 28, for final review -- and was passed unanimously. The program is to the credit of Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ferguson; he had the vision, passion, and tenacity to guide the bill through the Legislature and to craft this new funding source for efficiency and renewable energy, solar in particular. The Energy Independence Program has a huge vision, providing residents and businesses with the information and financing necessary to achieve the property owner's and the City's goals. EIP is critical for the City to fulfill its 30:30 electric and gas savings commitment in five years. It is also a key ingredient in the City's broader drive for energy responsibility and self sufficiency.

What's special about AB 811 is that property owners can now affix the costs of efficiency fixtures and renewable energy systems to their property taxes, regardless of credit scores, employment status, etc. Cities can provide or borrow money, loaning it to property owners, thereby reinvesting locally. And in the event that a property owner sells a property, the unpaid balance of the Energy Independence Program Loan is transferred to the next property owner. By extending the terms of the loan, the City help participants achieve cash-flow neutral situations, in which bill savings are equal to or exceed monthly loan costs.

For more information, contact EcoMotion.

ClearEdge natural gas powered fuel cells CHP option for homes, small commercial

ClearEdge Power produces and maintains its natural gas powered distributed power fuel cell as a combined heat and power solution. Small and efficient, the system is an alternative to solar PV is size and cost. The downside is its dependence on natural gas.
Below are a few FAQs from their website

www.clearedgepower.com

Will the CE5 interfere with the building design?
In many situations, efficiency often trump looks when it comes to being green. With the CE5, you can offer clients both. The sleek design, compact size and color options of the unit will add, rather than deter from a building’s installed systems. Measuring 2’ (D) x 3’ (W) x 5’ (H), the CE5 fits either in an inside mechanical room or outside the home or business, discreetly sited to fit any building's design.

How much does the CE5 cost?
The list price for the CE5 is comparable to residential solar PV systems on a dollar per watt-installed basis. One advantage over solar, the CE5 generates eight times more energy than the same size solar installation. So, for the same capital investment, the CE5 gives you 80 MWh of annual combined electricity and heat, compared to approximately 10MWh generated by a 5kW solar system.

Operating costs for the CE5 are as low as 6.0¢ per kWh based on $1.20 per therm for natural gas, assuming full electrical and heat load utilization. The purchase price of the CE5 also includes a five-year EnergyPlus™ Service Agreement for all installation, parts and maintenance.

What are the long range benefits?
Power represents a fundamental shift in the sourcing of energy. Ultimately, networks of micro-CHPs will be deployed within communities and business parks to provide self-generated base load energy, centrally controlled to send unused electricity back into the overtaxed grids as peak power on demand. This "distributed" approach secures and increases power generating capacity without adding new power plants and transmission lines.

Palm Desert AB811 Financing could fund ClearEdge fuel cells

ClearEdge CE5 Fuel cell power systems an option
Reader Submitted to The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA

August 30, 2008
Link to article

ClearEdge Power applauds the City of Palm Desert, which Thursday becomes the first city in the country to provide residents with low-cost loans for energy-efficiency home improvements. The groundbreaking financing program is good news for homeowners, and for a number of companies throughout Southern California which provide alternative, clean energy technologies.
“The City of Palm Desert has essentially made it much easier for a larger number of residents and businesses to begin saving energy and money immediately, with very little investment up front,” says Bill Sproull, ClearEdge Power Senior Vice President, Business Development.

ClearEdge Power, a leading provider of ultra-clean and efficient on-site energy generation systems for homes and small businesses has been working with the City of Palm Desert, and supported the passage of Assembly Bill 811 (AB 811), which offers California cities a new way to help their citizens finance energy improvements. ClearEdge Power's CE5, a compact energy system that efficiently converts natural gas or propane into both electricity and heat, using clean fuel cell technology, will qualify for the Palm Desert Energy Independence Loan.

“ClearEdge Power has been working closely with the city of Palm Desert to understand and respond to the City's energy reduction goals. Alternative energy technologies, like the residential fuel cell energy systems, will go a long way toward helping the City achieve those goals,” says Pat Conlon, Palm Desert Energy Office Director. Conlon leads the City's ‘Set-to-Save' program, one of the most aggressive energy reduction initiatives in the country.

Home and business owners in the Coachella Valley currently pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country. Palm Desert's Energy Independence Loan Program and AB 811 will help in two significant ways: first, the initial capital cost investment for a new alternative energy system, like the CE5, will be spread over a multi-year loan term. Second, home and business owners will realize the cash and environmental savings from efficient energy systems from day one.

“We're essentially putting cash directly back into the pockets of homeowners and businesses while helping them reduce their overall energy consumption,” Sproull added.

The City of Palm Desert waived permitting fees, earlier this year, to encourage the installation of fuel cell systems. ClearEdge Power is working with architects, builders, home and business owners in the Coachella Valley and plans to begin the first local CE5 installations this fall.

About ClearEdge Power:
ClearEdge Power is a pioneer and leading provider of ultra-clean and efficient on-site energy generation systems for homes and small businesses. With operations throughout the West Coast of the United States, the company is positioned at the center of clean energy technology innovation and market adoption. Today, the company manufactures and markets the highly efficient CE5, a new energy solution that helps homes and businesses save money, reduce C02 emissions and maintain a comfortable lifestyle. For more information, go to http://www.clearedgepower.com/.

DOE Strives for Zero-Net Energy Commercial Buildings

National Labs Help DOE Strive for Zero-Net Energy Commercial Buildings

By Leslie Guevarra

August 6, 2008
Published on GreenBizSite (http://www.greenerbuildings.com)

With guidance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), five national laboratories are banding together to help speed development of marketable zero-net energy commercial buildings.

Alexander Karsner, the DOE’s assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, announced the formation of the National Laboratory Collaborative on Building Technologies (NLCBT) in conjunction with the launch of the DOE's Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) yesterday.

The initiative, established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) that President Bush signed into law in December, calls for all new commercial buildings to be so efficient in energy consumption and in on-site renewable energy generation that they offset any energy use from the grid. The target date for that goal is 2025. The initiative sets a zero-net energy goal for all commercial buildings by 2050.

The mission of the collaborative, a joint project of the DOE’s Building Technologies Program and the five national labs, is to devise a multiyear plan, timetable and strategies for achieving the 2025 goal for new commercial buildings, Karsner said. The team is also expected to help spur the transfer of new technologies from research and development to the marketplace.

The collaborating labs are the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.

“This is about galvanizing the leading minds and the leading resources,” Karsner said. “We have no time to lose.”

Recent years have been marked by an “evolutionary understanding of the magnitude of the challenge we face,” said Karsner. “The point of discovery a quarter century ago was not the point of action.”

And for most of the intervening years, “everybody’s failed abysmally” to address the problem, he said.

The Commercial Building Initiative and the collaborative are now “urgently needed to accelerate innovation and market adoption in the field of high performance buildings," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency David Rodgers. “We are bringing to bear the unprecedented collaboration in scientific resources of five National Laboratories to bring about the needed transformation of the built environment.”

Karsner and Rodgers made their announcement in Palo Alto at the California Clean Tech Open, which also served as the backdrop for the first formal meeting of the lab collaborative.

The Open, now in its third year, strives to promote innovative enterprise in clean technology by awarding a "Start-Up in a Box" prize package worth $100,000 to the winner in each of six competition categories. This year’s 44 finalists were on hand yesterday for mentoring and workshop sessions.

At a gathering last night, California Clean Tech Open Executive Director Annette Walker announced that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the collaborative participant from Colorado, is sponsoring the competition in the Green Building category this year. The prize includes $50,000 and in-kind help ranging from free professional services, legal assistance and mentoring to free office space. The six winners of the Open will be announced in November.

Source URL: http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/08/06/national-labs-help-doe-strive-zero-net-energy-commercial-buildings

Links:
[1] http://www.energy.gov/
[2] http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/highperformance/
[3] http://www.anl.gov/index.html
[4] http://www.lbl.gov/
[5] http://www.nrel.gov/
[6] http://www.ornl.gov/
[7] http://www.pnl.gov/
[8] http://cleantechopen.com/

Green Retrofit study - Deloitte and Charles Lockwood

The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits
A joint study by Deloitte and Charles Lockwood

August 15, 2008

Timing is right and costs lower than expected to reap the benefits of saving money, improved productivity, employee health, satisfaction, retention.
www.charleslockwood.com
link to article
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/files/document/us_re_Dollars_Sense_Retrofits_190608_.pdf

Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency, Stanford Univ researches behavior, buildings, etc to improve energy efficiency

The Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency
PRECOURT INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
link to PEII website
Aug 15, 2008

PIEE was founded in October 2006 at Stanford University by a generous gift from Stanford Alumnus Jay Precourt.

As a Stanford University research institute, PIEE draws upon intellectual resources from the entire university. At the core of the Precourt Institute is an increasing number of faculty-led research teams including graduate and undergraduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Research teams include researchers and analysts from across the university, bringing expertise from many different disciplines.

What is the Precourt Institute's mission?
The mission of the Precourt Institute is to promote energy efficient technologies, systems, and practices, emphasizing economically attractive deployment. PIEE works to understand and overcome market, policy, technology, and human behavioral barriers to economically efficient reductions of energy use and to inform public and private policymaking. Energy Efficiency is vital for the U.S. and world economy, for environmental protection, and for energy security.

How will PIEE do this?
EducationThrough the funding of graduate students either as research assistants or to support their dissertation research, PIEE is facilitating the education of graduate students who choose to work within energy efficiency.

ResearchPIEE has six focus areas of energy efficiency research that we believe will help create workable options to promote energy efficiency. These clusters are:
» Buildings: commercial and residential building design, construction, operations, and embedded technologies, including building energy models and other design tools
» Transportation: technology and regulation of passenger cars and light duty trucks; transportation systems analysis; vehicle electrification
» Systems: systems analysis; electric generation/distribution systems, storage/distribution options, vehicle/building interactions
» Behavior: behavioral and decision making research, analysis, and intervention
» Energy Modeling: economic modeling of the energy system, institutions, and economic impacts, including process modeling of energy use
» Energy Policy: policy design, policy analysis, individual faculty advocacy; pricing policies, policy interventions, R&D policy

Conferences and WorkshopsPIEE convenes the annual Behavior, Energy, & Climate Change Conference, jointly with the California Institute for Energy Efficiency and ACEEE; the annual Energy Summit jointly with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; an annual affiliates conference jointly with the Woods Institute for the Environment; and various workshops. These help assure that energy research is communicated broadly and that PIEE remains closely linked with industry, government, NGOs, and other research organizations.

Upcoming Events:
2008 Behavior, Energy & Climate Change ConferenceNov 16-19, 2008, Sacramento, CA.Latest News
June 24, 2008Press Release: Precourt Institute Energy Research Engineers Will Use a Computer Simulation to Design and Build an Energy Retrofit of the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose, California
May 21, 2008Press Release: Precourt Institute Names Grant Winners
March 6, 2008Article: Sustaining Energy Efficiency for a "Greener" WorldPIEE Director, Jim Sweeney, discusses sustainability and the role energy efficiency plays under its umbrella.

Published in the 3rd Quarter issue of FUEL Magazine.
Special thanks to E. Kristine Klavers, Publisher, Hart Energy.

Feb 22, 2007 Press Release: Stanford Alumnus Commits $30 Million Gift to Fund Energy Efficiency Institute

Geothermal Power Erupts Worldwide, new tech expands options

WORLD GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION NEARING ERUPTION
August 19, 2008

From: Earth Policy News [
mailto:Earthpolicynews@earthpolicy.org]
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 6:52 AM
To: gwendt@enrightpremier.com
Subject: Earth Policy News - World Geothermal Power Generation Nearing Eruption
Earth Policy Institute
Plan B Update
For Immediate Release


http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update74.htm
Jonathan G. Dorn
With fossil fuel prices escalating and countries searching for ways to reduce oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions, capturing the earth’s heat for power generation is garnering new attention. First begun in Larderello, Italy, in 1904, electricity generation using geothermal energy is now taking place in 24 countries, 5 of which use it to produce 15 percent or more of their total electricity. In the first half of 2008, total world installed geothermal power capacity passed 10,000 megawatts and now produces enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million people, roughly the population of the United Kingdom. In 2010, capacity could increase to 13,500 megawatts across 46 countries--equivalent to 27 coal-fired power plants.
Originating from the earth’s core and from the decay of naturally occurring isotopes such as those of uranium, thorium, and potassium, the heat energy in the uppermost six miles of the planet’s crust is vast--50,000 times greater than the energy content of all oil and natural gas resources. Chile, Peru, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries along the Ring of Fire (an area of high volcanic activity encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean) are rich in geothermal energy. Another geothermal hot spot is the Great Rift Valley of Africa, which includes such countries as Kenya and Ethiopia. Worldwide, 39 countries with a cumulative population of over 750 million people have geothermal resources sufficient to meet all their electricity needs. (See data at
www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update74_data.htm.)
Typically, power generation using the earth’s heat required underground pockets of high-temperature water or steam to drive a steam turbine. Now, new technologies that use liquids with low boiling points in closed-loop heat exchange systems allow electricity to be generated at much lower temperatures. This breakthrough is making geothermal power generation viable in countries such as Germany that are not known for their geothermal resources and is one reason why the number of countries using the earth’s heat to generate electricity could almost double by 2010.
One advantage of geothermal power plants, beyond the benefit of producing electricity from a low-carbon, indigenous energy source with no fuel costs, is that they provide baseload power 24 hours a day. Storage or backup-power is not required.
The United States leads the world in generating electricity from the earth’s heat. As of August 2008, geothermal capacity in the United States totaled nearly 2,960 megawatts across seven states--Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. California, with 2,555 megawatts of installed capacity--more than any country in the world--produces almost 5 percent of its electricity from geothermal energy. Most of this capacity is installed in an area called the Geysers, a geologically active region north of San Francisco.
Thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which made geothermal power generation eligible to receive the federal renewable energy production tax credit, electricity generated from geothermal resources now costs the same as fossil-fuel-based electricity in many markets in the western United States. With favorable economics, the geothermal industry is experiencing a surge in activity. As of August 2008, some 97 confirmed new geothermal power projects with up to 4,000 megawatts of capacity were under development in 13 states, with some 550 megawatts of this already in the construction phase. Expected to create 7,000 permanent full-time jobs, the new capacity will include numerous large-scale projects such as the 350-megawatt and 245-megawatt projects by Vulcan Power near Salt Wells and Aurora, Nevada; the 155-megawatt project by CalEnergy near the Salton Sea in southern California; and the 120-megawatt project by Davenport Power near the Newberry Volcano in Oregon.
Current development is only scratching the surface of what is possible. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that with emerging low-temperature technologies, at least 260,000 megawatts of U.S. geothermal resources could be developed. A study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicates that an investment of roughly $1 billion in geothermal research and development over 15 years (roughly the cost of a single new coal-fired power plant) could lead to commercial deployment of 100,000 megawatts by 2050.
In Europe, the top countries in geothermal energy development are Italy with 810 megawatts and Iceland with 420 megawatts. Italy is expected to nearly double its installed capacity by 2020. Iceland, with 27 percent of its electricity needs met by harnessing the earth’s heat, is number one in the world in the share of its electricity generated from geothermal energy. Germany, with only 8 megawatts of installed capacity, lags behind but is beginning to see the effects of a feed-in tariff of €0.15 (US $0.23) per kilowatt-hour that was implemented in 2004. Almost 150 plants are now in the pipeline in Germany, with most of the activity centered in Bavaria.
Ten of the top 15 countries producing geothermal electricity are in the developing world. The Philippines, which generates 23 percent of its electricity from geothermal energy, is the world’s second biggest producer behind the United States. The Philippines aims to increase its installed geothermal capacity by 2013 by more than 60 percent, to 3,130 megawatts. Indonesia, the world’s third largest producer, has even bigger plans, calling for 6,870 megawatts of new geothermal capacity to be developed over the next 10 years--equal to nearly 30 percent of its current electricity generating capacity from all sources. Pertamina, the Indonesian state petroleum company, anticipates building most of this new capacity--adding its name to the list of conventional energy companies that are beginning to diversify into the renewable energy market.
The geothermal development potential of the Great Rift Valley in Africa is enormous. Kenya is the frontrunner in the effort to tap this potential. In late June 2008, President Mwai Kibaki announced a plan to install some 1,700 megawatts of new geothermal capacity within 10 years--13 times greater than the current capacity and one-and-a-half times greater than the country’s total electricity generating capacity from all sources. Djibouti, aided by Reykjavik Energy Invest’s commitment to provide $150 million for geothermal energy projects in Africa, aims to tap the earth’s heat to produce nearly all of its electricity within the next few years. Further stimulating development is the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo), an international organization partly funded by the World Bank that seeks to increase the use of geothermal energy in the Great Rift Valley by protecting investors from losses during early stages of development.
Industry, which accounts for more than 30 percent of world energy consumption, is also starting to turn to reliable, low-cost geothermal energy. In Papua New Guinea, a 56-megawatt geothermal power station owned by Lihir Gold Limited, a leading global gold company, meets 75 percent of corporate power demand at a notably lower cost than oil-fired power generation. In Iceland, five geothermal power plants planned near Reykjavik, which are slated to have a total capacity of 225 megawatts when completed in 2012, will provide electricity to new aluminum refineries.
Despite development potential measured in the hundreds of thousands of megawatts, tapping this renewable source of power is still in its infancy. But as more and more national leaders begin to see renewable energy as a cost-effective, low-carbon alternative to price-volatile, carbon-intensive fossil fuels, geothermal power generation is expected to move rapidly from marginal to mainstream.
# # #
For more information on Earth Policy Institute’s goal of 200,000 MW of CSP worldwide, part of a plan to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-13 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, available at
www.earthpolicy.org for free downloading.
For information contact:
Media Contact:
Reah Janise Kauffman
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
E-mail: rjk (at) earthpolicy.org
Research Contact:
Janet Larsen
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
E-mail: jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org
Earth Policy Institute
1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
Washington, DC 20036
Web:
www.earthpolicy.org
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Hundreds sign up for Palm Desert energy financing

Hundreds await energy loan program
K Kaufmann • The Desert Sun •
August 18, 2008
Link to original article

Palm Desert has 43 million kilowatt hours down, only 171 million more to go.

As of July, the city is one-fifth of the way toward its ambitious five-year goal to cut energy use by 30 percent.
And with officials working out the final details of a ground-breaking program to provide residents with low-interest loans for big-ticket energy savers, such as high-efficiency air conditioners and solar panels, those 171 kilowatt hours could be well within reach.
“I'm thrilled with the passage of (Assembly Bill) 811,” said Jim Hodge, project manager for Southern California Edison, which is partnering with Palm Desert on the five-year campaign.
“Once this loan program is officially introduced to the community, we're going to see a spike in our results, a sustained spike,” said Hodge, who announced the July figures on Friday.
AB 811 is the Palm Desert-sponsored bill, signed into law last month by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that will allow cities across the state to offer residents low-interest loans for energy-efficient home improvements, with a long-term payback plan tied to their property taxes.
The law, and Palm Desert's program — which will be the first in the state to take advantage of it — are drawing intense interest and anticipation from residents, businesses, and city and state government officials.
The Palm Desert City Council won't be voting on a resolution to set up its loan program — dubbed the “Energy Independence Program” — until Aug. 28, but that hasn't stopped about 235 residents from joining the waiting list for applications.
“It's a great idea,” said Maggie McLennon, who lives on California Street in one of the first houses built at Palm Desert Country Club in the 1960s.
McLennon wants a loan to replace an old clunker of an air conditioner that keeps her summer electric bills around $400 a month, she said.
“I wanted to finish upgrading the house, and if the city is willing to help with those things, why not?” she said.
Local and national businesses also are lining up to cash in on the program.
SunWize Technologies, a New York-based solar company with offices in Palm Desert, has beefed up its staff in anticipation of a sales surge sparked by the loan program, said Dave Holt, the company's marketing manager.
“It will allow more homeowners the ability to add solar electric to their homes,” Holt said. “The issue of having solar sometimes is the financial constraint. This will ease that and make it a lot easier for average homeowners to have solar.”
SunWize is planning weekend forums where homeowners will be able to get information on solar and the loan program, he said.
Vincent Battaglia, president of Renova, a Palm Desert solar company, also believes consumer education will be key and is moving fast to establish an AB 811 Web site that, he said, will be a clearing house for information on the law and Palm Desert's loan program.
“Nobody, no other state or federal entity, has ever taken this kind of step to bring in private money and marry it to citizens' interest in renewable energy,” Battaglia said. “Residential installation for solar and for new air conditioners is going to go through the roof.”
Palm Desert will also have a Web site for its loan program where other cities will be able to download model resolutions, application forms and other documents to customize for their own use.
“We wanted to give them a head start,” said Patrick Conlon, director of energy management.
They'll have “the ability to download Word files that can be altered” for their needs.
“I think it's a win-win-win for everybody,” said Gary Calhoun, recycling coordinator for Palm Springs, where officials are reviewing the law and waiting to see how Palm Desert sets up its program.
“It's a win for the residents; it's a win for the community at large and society because of the savings you would realize in consequent improvement in greenhouse gases,” he said.
“I think it has potential,” said Carol-Ann Coates, a building engineer with the city of Burbank, which like Palm Desert has a significant stock of older houses.
“It's a possibility to help people make these new green building' improvements, Coates said. “We'll keep an eye on it.”
State energy officials like Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, would like to see AB 811 programs go statewide, with the Coachella Valley becoming an incubator.
“I hope they can proselytize and it can become a very active statewide program,” Peevey said. “The communities can join together through joint powers (so) you don't have to have each small community trying to do it own their own.”
The Coachella Valley Association of Governments is ready to step in as a potential coordinator for that effort, helping other desert cites set up programs, said executive director John Wohlmuth, who recently returned from an international energy conservation conference in Norway, where AB 811 was a major topic.
Wohlmuth sees a big pay-off for the valley, with energy financing programs creating a market that will draw still more clean, green business to the desert.
“Whether it's a pool pump or an air conditioner or a solar system, the penetration rate on getting these on homes (will be) higher in Palm Desert and the Coachella Valley,” he said. “If the penetration rate is there, it could be an economic development opportunity for the valley.”
How it works
Under Assembly Bill 811, cities can finance low-interest loans to residents for energy-efficient upgrades on their homes. The loans could be used only for improvements such as solar panels or air conditioners that stay with the house.A hypothetical case provided by EcoMotion, the consultants helping Palm Desert set up its Energy Independence Program: A resident with a 2,000 square-foot home wants to replace a low-efficiency, SEER 6 air conditioner with a high-efficiency, SEER 17 unit, which costs around $12,000.The resident can get a $1,000 rebate from Southern California Edison under Palm Desert's Set to Save Program and gets a $11,000 loan from the city's Energy Independence Program. The term on the loan is 6 percent for 10 years. Loan repayments are $740 every six months, or about $123 per month, but projected savings on electric bills are about $187 per month — a net saving of $64 per month.Once the loan is paid back, savings on energy bills over a 25-year period are estimated at $100,000.

K Kaufmann covers Palm Desert for The Desert Sun.
She can be reached at k.kaufmann@thedesertsun.com or 778-4622.

Green Building Finance & Investment Forum, NYC, Sept 2008

Green Building Finance & Investment Forum
Sept 8-10, 2008
The Coleman Center
810 7th Ave, 23rd Fl
New York, NY 10019
Agenda for the conference link
Organized by InfoCast conferences
Preceded on Monday by two workshops on Future Proofing Property Values and Portfolio Retrofit for LEED EBOM, full day Tuesday and half day Wed

Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs “Berkeley Bill” Enabling California Cities to Offer Solar and Energy Efficiency Loans

From - Flex Your Power Energy News
August 6, 2008

With passage of AB 811, California cities and counties have the green light to offer low-interest loans for solar panels and energy-efficiency improvements (Photo: Flickr)

Gov. Schwarzenegger recently signed Assembly Bill 811, giving all California cities and counties the ability to offer low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects and solar panels to homeowners and small businesses. Residents would pay back the loans through assessments on property tax bills; if they move, the outstanding loan balance is taken over by the new owner. Without the law, some California cities might not have been able to offer the loans for solar panels and efficiency improvements such as insulation, double-paned windows and efficient HVAC systems. While “charter cities” such as Berkeley and San Francisco have supreme authority over municipal affairs, California’s 370 “general law cities” are bound by state laws that might have been prohibitive.

AB 811 was inspired, in part, by a program proposed by Cisco DeVries, chief of staff for Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, in October of last year (e-Newswire, 10/31/07). For cities interested in developing a loan program, there are a variety of funding options, including using their general fund, issuing municipal bonds or partnering with a utility to get financing, Alex Traverso, a spokesperson for Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, author of AB 811, told Greentech Media. California cities are already racing to be the first to issue the low-interest loans. Berkeley’s effort, called “Berkeley FIRST,” is in the pilot stage. Palm Desert, meanwhile, which is working toward a goal of reducing citywide energy consumption by 30% by 2011 (Power Plug, 4/04/08), has already started a list of interested residents. The city plans to provide loans for as little as $5,000, with no upper limit, for energy-efficiency measures and installation of solar panels.

• Read background: Greentech Media, San Francisco Chronicle and City of Palm Desert
• Related: “Ambitious Palm Desert Energy Efficiency Project Enters Second Year, Partners Ramp Up Offerings, Incentives” (Power Plug, 4/04/08)
• Related: “Bill Enabling Berkeley’s Innovative Solar and Energy Efficiency Financing Plan Passes Assembly Committee” (Power Plug, 1/25/08)
• Related: “Berkeley Unveils Financing Plan That Pays Upfront Cost of Solar and Efficiency Improvements” (e-Newswire, 10/31/07)
• Find rebates, incentives and services for your home, searchable by ZIP code, with Flex Your Power’s Rebate Locator

Berkeley to Finance Solar Installations

August 7, 2008
greentechmedia
link to article
The city will pay upfront costs, which property owners will pay back in taxes. Will the program compete with companies that make a business of bankrolling installations in exchange for power-purchase agreements from customers?

by: Jennifer Kho

November 8, 2007

Berkeley, Calif., this week approved a loan program to pay the upfront costs of installing solar power in businesses and residences in the city.

In exchange, property owners -- who also would own the solar-power systems -- would pay back the loan over 20 years as part of their property taxes, but in the meantime should be paying lower electric bills.

Although the Berkeley City Council approved the program Tuesday evening, city staff is still figuring out how the program will work, and the City Council will have to approve the financial and legal details before it takes effect.

"Berkeley actually is taking action and doing something that everybody thinks about," said John Woolard, CEO of BrightSource Energy, a company developing technology that uses the sun's heat instead of its light to produce electricity in utility-scale projects. The company has no apparent stake in Berkeley's plan.

"There is a different model than just the utilities buying power, and it's going to be fascinating to watch. Berkeley has been bold in taking the first step."

The city claims it's the first in the nation to approve such a program.

While that may be true, the idea behind the program isn't a Berkeley original.

Companies such as SunEdison, MMA Renewable Ventures and Recurrent Energy have been paying installation costs in exchange for agreements that commercial customers will buy the power. And companies such as Sun Run Generation do the same for residential customers.

Such companies coordinate financings with major corporations that can take advantage of the tax benefits of owning solar installations.

But government agencies have the advantage of being able to tap into tax-exempt, low-interest financing such as bonds, potentially cutting costs in half compared to commercially financed installations, said Paul Fenn, CEO of Local Power, which helps government agencies set up renewable-energy programs.

"It's such a huge advantage," he said. "The cost of capital is dramatically lower. If you capture the 20-year payback of a bond, it has a dramatic effect on the cost of a facility."

Some companies think Berkeley's program might not be such a good idea.

"I'm unsure if the program in Berkeley is a good deal at all, considering that solar systems are not subject to property tax in California and that accepting this proposal seems to void that benefit to homeowners," said MMA Renewable Ventures CEO Matt Cheney, who added it's unclear if the property tax will drop after the solar-power system is paid off.

"While we applaud the efforts to support solar, I think a better approach might be for the city of Berkeley to support clean-energy options for its residents that are readily available today from its local financial institutions through providing property tax relief or loan guarantees."

In any case, Fenn said other cities are already trying ideas similar to Berkeley's.

San Francisco and several cities in Massachusetts and Ohio already are working on programs to pay upfront solar-power costs for their residents using bond money, which residents pay back as part of their electric bills, Fenn said.

San Francisco has raised bond money for such a system, and in June, the city said it planned to roll out 360 megawatts worth of solar-power, wind-power and energy-management projects as part of the program.

Fenn said municipal financings of renewable-energy technologies have been growing over the past seven years as cities try different ways to encourage cleaner energy.

He gave an example: Berkeley already has set a goal of getting 51 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2017. As part of the plan to reach that goal, the city plans to partner with nearby cities Oakland and Emeryville to buy renewable energy using money raised in bonds.

All these community-choice aggregations also will offer residents the opportunity own solar-power projects essentially on layaway, with no money down, and then pay back the installation costs as part of their electricity bills, Fenn said.

And renewable-energy installations also are exempt from federal taxes, so residents that agree to pay the extra charge -- both on electricity bills, in the case of aggregations, and on property taxes, in the case Berkeley's new program -- would be able to then exempt those charges from federal taxes, he said.

Fenn and Woolard both said they expect to see more programs like Berkeley's catch on.

But if they do, it also could mean the role of companies that finance projects in exchange for power-purchase agreements will shift, Fenn said.

"It influences them in terms of how they should plan for future markets," he said. "Public financing could be viewed as competition because the government is coming in, but I believe that would be a strategic mistake.

"Those companies that adapt to the market and shift to [add value by] participating in those programs will win; those that try to compete against them will lose."

Learn more about the future of the solar market at Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute's inaugural live event, Solar Market Outlook: A Day of Data.