The 18.3kw solar electric array on Supercuts’ Brewer location is expected to provide 100% of the energy efficient building’s electric loads!

On busy Wilson street in Brewer, perhaps the most striking building is the new Supercuts, which boasts a bold architectural design and a 18.3kw grid-tied solar electric system. According to building owner Carol Epstein, this is all by design.

“I wanted it to be visible, a statement, an advertisement – so everyone could see the panels,” she says in a Bangor Daily News article on the project. “We could have done a flat roof and put panels on a little stand, but we really wanted to show off the panels, so we did this big, pitched roof.”

In addition to making a strong environmental statement, economic conditions were right to make the Supercuts project a reality. With a 30% federal tax grant, accelerated depreciation which amounted to nearly another 30%, and a $2,000 state rebate, the project was reduced to close to a third of its original cost… Add to this a lower than ever cost of installing panels (around $4.5/watt installed for this project), and you have a very powerful case for solar electricity!

David M. Fitzpatrick of the Bangor Daily reported in a special section:

When Epstein Commercial Real Estate entered into talks with Supercuts, Epstein found the company’s vision of energy efficiency a good match for hers, and she and her team took the challenge of creating the new store very seriously. “We looked at their electric bills for three of their typical stores around New England to figure out how much electricity they use,” Epstein said. “We sized the system to that.”

Epstein Commercial Real Estate has been pushing for energy efficiency in several of its properties in the past four years, doing such things as installing energy-efficient lighting inside and outside, increasing insulation, and adding timers and motion sensors. “We’ve really looked at the whole spectrum with heating, lighting, air conditioning, insulation on all our properties,” Epstein said. “I think we’ve put in close to a thousand new lighting fixtures.”

… In addition to the solar panels, the building is very green in its design. It features big windows for plenty of natural light, low-watt fluorescent lighting, supplemental LED lighting, and many other features. As for the solar array, a remote control that looks like an electronic Rolodex allows you to flip through data screens that report the electricity being generated, or what was generated that day, week, month, and so on.

“Our tenant is very excited about it,” Epstein said. “They have a number of SuperCuts all around New England, and … they were designing this building — we were all designing it — to be their showcase in the area for SuperCuts.”

Read the complete Bangor Daily News special section, or another article which headlined the Business section, Here comes the sun: Cost, rebates making solar an option.

And of course, be sure to check out Supercuts next time you’re in Brewer. ReVision staffers report that nothing feels quite the same as a blow dry when you know the power is from the sun!

With the price of solar electric panels hitting record lows, we’re hearing from many existing customers who are eager to expand their photovoltaic systems to further cut their carbon emissions and electric bills. Below is such a system at the Vassalboro home of Michael Pomerleau, who recently doubled his system size, from 2.76kw to 5.5kw:

Before:

After!

Michael is a huge solar energy enthusiast and accompanied the solar electric expansion with the addition of a passive solar sun porch which helps with home space heating (the home is already heated with a wood boiler). Completing the suite of active solar systems is a solar hot water system which provides up to 80% of his annual domestic hot water use.

The expanded solar electric system should produce 7.4 megawatt hours of clean electricity each year, an estimate Michael is able to verify using Enphase web-based data monitoring. Michael reports generating over 3 megawatt hours last year, and expects a bit more than double that this year. In a single sunny day he generated over 37kWh!

Below is a real-time monitoring of his system, captured around 10AM on a bright sunny day:

Michael reminds us that you don’t need to wait for summer – with long days and clear skies, spring is a wonderful time for solar!

Greg Rossell’s solar powered boat house will provide more than 2/3 of the power used by his home and boat shop.

We love to catalog the stories of our customers – what motivates them to go solar, and why now. This time we’re excited to have Greg Rossell, an active boat builder and board member of WERU, share his story in his own words:

I suspect everyone has a had a different path as to how they decided to go solar. We have long been interested in solar – although over the years the “solar energy” we used was mostly tied up in the firewood we burned to heat our home and boat shop. We became more interested in electricity when in 2004 we purchased a Prius – just before gasoline spiked to 4 dollars a gallon.

Over the ensuing years we have followed the politics of energy – how it is produced and what the actual cost is. All the time we kept eyeing each electrical device we owned with a chary eye – giving the energy hogs the pink slip and replacing them with more friendly models. Solar had a lot of appeal – especially compared to the alternatives. But we dawdled – after all, we were still hooked to the grid and we weren’t using that much power…

What tipped the scales for us was a week long trip we took last summer in a solar electric launch in Ontario. While the boat had a back up generator, it was rarely used it as the solar panels produced all the power we needed to cruise with 6 adults, 2 babies and a dog. All in silence, without fumes, or vibration. This was definitely cool and practical.

Upon our return, we began to do more research. And fortunately, while we had “dawdled” the technology had been continually improving. Solar panels became more efficient as did the micro-inverters that change the DC power to AC. Perhaps as important for us was that we could have a grid tied system where we could send any extra unused energy onto the electrical grid while banking energy credits. We would also avoid the hassle of dealing with batteries and all their cost and maintenance. And, there was the matter of energy credits and rebates that made the investment more affordable for us!

The next task was to look for someone to walk us through the process (and hopefully) do the installation. We decided on ReVision Energy for a number of reasons. One reason is that they are local – many of the folks who are installers are our neighbors. We knew if there was a problem there would always be someone handy to deal with it. They have done plenty of solar arrays in the state so they know the conditions in Maine and what can be realistically expected from a system. They are also business members of WERU radio which indicates that they invest in their community.

The entire experience went like clockwork – from the initial evaluation by Hans Albee, his patient answering of my multitude of questions, the crew’s speedy, clean and efficient installation of the photovoltaic panels, and Jennifer Albee’s technical guidance — walking us through the paperwork involved with getting registered as a energy provider with Central Maine Power and the application for the energy investment rebates.

In the end we went with a system that will provide 2/3 of our home and shop electricity demand. We now have a CMP double meter system that records both the energy from “away” we use as well as the power we put into the grid. It’s a most practical manner of keeping track of those electrons but I have to admit I do miss seeing our old familiar meter running merrily backwards – I could have watched that all day.

Thank you for your story, Greg! Be sure to check out the March/April edition of Wooden Boat magazine which features a shot of this system.

We’re pleased to be able to show, not tell, the story of Suzanne Huard. A recent retiree, Suzanne fulfilled a long-time solar dream with the installation of an evacuated tube solar hot water system and grid-tied photovoltaic array on her home.

ReVision commissioned NowOrNeverMedia, as part of their “Green Screen TV” series, to cover the story of two solar installations in the middle of a blustery month.

Check out the video on YouTube:

We heard back from Suzanne about the project. She’s pleased to report that “things are going great … I can say now that our daily usage of hot water went down 16+% from our Jan/Feb bill to the prior Dec/Jan bill and the residential electricity went down 11+% (they are metered separately).”

Photos From Our Residential Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map

The 7.5KW grid-tied solar electric system on Black Dog Car Wash’s Dover location will save the business over $1,400/yr in electric costs.

How do you stand-out in the crowded world of car washes? For Black Dog Car Wash, it’s been dedication to an exceptional customer experience, state-of-the-art-facilities, and a commitment to the environment.

With water and energy conservation, pollution prevention, and biodegradeable soap options already in place, Black Dog decided that clean solar energy was the way to take their new facility in Dover, NH to the next level.

“Solar is Green Technology that our customers can see,” says Black Dog Car Wash’s owner, Jeremiah Gage, “We have been integrating green technology for years, but our customers rarely see these improvements that lie behind closed doors.”

Black Dog’s growth coincided with a great new rebate from the state of New Hampshire: an incentive payment of $1.00 per watt for solar electric systems. Combined with the 30% federal tax credit (which in 2011 can be taken as a treasury grant), Black Dog found they could save over $15,000 – more than half the cost of the system – as well as being eligible to take additional tax credits in the form of accelerated depreciation.

In addition to saving the car wash an estimated $1,440 per year, the system will offset 12,250 pounds of C02 emissions. The new facility also boasts energy efficiency lighting fixtures, which further reduce the facility’s environmental impact.  “We feel [solar] is what a successful business like Black Dog Car Wash should be doing to help reduce our environmental impact,” Gage continues, “Our goal is to integrate solar at all Black Dog Car Wash locations.”

Interested to see what a solar-powered car wash feels like? Stop by 887 Central Avenue in Dover, New Hampshire – in front of Petco and Bed Bath & Beyond. Or learn more about the car wash voted “Best in New Hampshire” at http://www.blackdogcarwash.com.

More Photos from Our Commercial Solar Photo Gallery:

For more installations, see our Solar Projects Map

New Hampshire currently burns over 37,000,000 pounds of coal each year, contributing to over 1,000,000 pounds of C02 emissions.
Photo By Arnold Paul, via Wikimedia Commons

We laud the activism of citizens who showed up in force on Tuesday to oppose Bill HB302, which would have dealt a severe blow to the burgeoning solar industry in New Hampshire. The bill has been filed as “Inexpedient to Legislate,” effectively killing it in committee.

On Thursday, a second bill, HB519, was brought before public hearing, which aims to withdraw New Hampshire’s support for RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which has been an important tool in promotion New Hampshire’s transition away from unsustainable fossil fuel energy sources.

Opposition among residents and businesses is strong for this bill, as well, but it looks like it will go further than HB302, and will likely be voted on in the New Hampshire legislature. Governor John Lynch has come out to oppose the bill, on grounds that it will “cost ratepayers millions in higher electric costs” (from the Governor’s website).

Below is a letter from ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe urging lawmakers to continue support of RGGI and RPS, two important, economy boosting and environment preserving pieces of legislation:

There are currently 26 states with renewable portfolio standards. New Hampshire joined this group of forward-thinking states in 2007 with strong bipartisan support, evidenced by the passing vote of 253-37.

In the three years since, the renewable energy industry in New Hampshire has grown exponentially. Based on the state’s commitment to clean energy, ReVision Energy has leased a 7,000-square-foot building in Exeter and we have opened what will become a carbon neutral facility to house our growing business. We have begun hiring New Hampshire residents to help us launch this enterprise and expect to add many more jobs in the months/years ahead, assuming that the renewable energy market remains viable in NH.

The RGGI legislation is critical to the state’s future on many different levels. Currently, NH is the second most oil dependent state in New England—14,000,000 gallons of oil are burned annually statewide for electricity generation, along with 2,500,000 lbs. of coal and 38,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas. These activities generate more than 5,500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually (or 12,141,000,000 lbs. per year). As a result, NH has the second highest per capita CO2 emissions in New England.

This level of fossil fuel consumption and emissions is wholly unsustainable, regardless of the impact on climate.

The good news is that New Hampshire’s current RGGI legislation is helping to reduce the state’s over-reliance on finite, polluting fossil fuel energy. In the past year, ReVision Energy has installed more than 1,000,000 watts of clean, renewable solar energy generation capacity in northern New England, while reducing annual regional oil consumption by more than 200,000 gallons per year. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of the RPS legislation in helping just one renewable energy company achieve these worthy results.

Please take a moment to reflect on the long-term benefits of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative because the future depends on what we do today as leaders. It is irresponsible to inflict continued dependence on fossil fuel energy, and the associated emissions, upon present and future generations.

Sincerely,

Phil Coupe
Co-founder

If you’d like to add your voice to the mix, or read up on the latest happenings in New Hampshire renewable energy legislation, a great summary of the is available at: http://www.nhsea.org/public-policy.php

Make it a Sunny New Year!

There is bright news for both homeowners and businesses who are ready to make 2011 the year they finally go solar – several federal credits remain in place or have been extended.

In short:

• The uncapped 30% federal tax credit on residential solar electric and solar hot water systems remains in effect through 2016.
• In 2011 businesses can get a 30% federal cash grant in lieu of a tax credit, on top of state rebates (up to $2,000 in Maine, up to $50,000 in New Hampshire)
• Through 2012 bonus depreciation has been extended, allowing businesses to take up to 100% of the depreciation benefit of a solar energy system in year one for systems installed in 2011, and up to 50% in year one for systems installed in 2012 (with the rest coming over the next five years)

Read on for more specifics about each incentive.

Residential 30% Federal Tax Credit

The 30% federal tax credit is called the “Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit” and was established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005.

This credit was initially capped at $2,000 for solar energy systems, but was expanded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be an uncapped rebate for 30% of the cost of a renewable energy system (both photovoltaic and solar thermal are eligible, along with small wind and geothermal heat pumps).

The 30% includes all cost of labor as well as equipment costs for the renewable energy system. The credit can also be carried forward to future tax years if you cannot take the full credit in the year the system was installed.

More information:

• A homeowner claims the 30% credit on IRS 5695, Residential Energy Credits (PDF)
• The Solar Energy Industries Association has a great solar federal tax incentive FAQ
• Also see DSIRE – Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit

Note: This credit is not to be confused with the “Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit,” which expired in 2010. That credit specifically applied to home “energy efficient” improvements, specifically:

• Biomass stoves (wood and pellets)
• HVAC equipment
• Insulation
• Windows and doors
• Roofing improvements

If you did purchase any of the above that meet Energy Star criteria, you can claim up to $1,500 on your 2010 taxes. See Energy Star’s website.

Treasury Grant in Lieu of a 30% Investment Tax Credit

In late 2010 Congress extended the 1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits.

This incentive allows businesses to receive a cash grant from the US Treasury in lieu of waiting until they file their taxes to receive the 30% federal tax credit (called the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC), but with similar rules as the residential program).

By having access to the treasury grant, the program allows businesses to receive the full amount of the emergy credit even if they do not have enough tax liability to take the full 30%.

It also helps all businesses by getting cash into their hands more quickly, rather than waiting until they can file their taxes.

More information:

MACRS + Bonus Depreciation

Under federal tax code, renewable energy systems qualify for a 5-year Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS) depreciation schedule.

The exact benefit of this depreciation is complicated and varies depending on your businesses’ tax rate, but typically it adds up to an additional 25% of a solar energy project’s cost being offset by reduced tax payments.

To further sweeten this incentive, in 2011 bonus depreciation has been extended, letting a business enjoy most of the benefit in year one, rather than waiting for the entire five year schedule.

DSIRE sums it up nicely:

The federal Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, enacted in February 2008, included a 50% first-year bonus depreciation (26 USC § 168(k)) provision for eligible renewable-energy systems acquired and placed in service in 2008. This provision was extended (retroactively for the entire 2009 tax year) under the same terms by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, enacted in February 2009. Bonus depreciation was renewed again in September 2010 (retroactively for the entire 2010 tax year) by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297).

In December 2010 the provision for bonus depreciation was amended and extended yet again by The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853). Under these amendments, eligible property placed in service after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012 qualifies for 100% first-year bonus depreciation. For 2012, bonus depreciation is still available, but the allowable deduction reverts from 100% to 50% of the eligible basis.

The short of this is that a business that installs a qualifying solar energy system in 2011 can enjoy a 100% bonus depreciation the first year the system is commissioned, rather than waiting for the entire 5 year depreciation schedule. Also, a 50% bonus depreciation is available through 2012.

Given the time value of money and the tough economic climate, this benefit helps make solar energy systems more accessible in the near-term by businesses that will be able to save significant fossil fuel energy costs over the life of the system.

In fact, between the treasury grant, bonus depreciation, and generous state rebates, many businesses (particularly heavy water users like inns and restaurants) can enjoy a year-one payback on solar energy systems!

More information:

What Do Rebates Mean for Me?

Here are a few example solar energy projects to help illustrate how federal incentives affect solar energy economics.

Scenario #1- Residential SHW system

$10,500 installed cost
-$1,000 ME Solar Rebate (avg. $2,600 NH state rebate)
-$3,150 30% Fed Tax Credit
$6,350 Final Cost (40% savings with current incentives)

Scenario #2- Residential PV system 4kw (5,200 kWh/yr)

$19,000 installed cost
-$2,000 ME Solar Rebate (currently no NH state rebate)
-$5,700 30% Fed Tax Credit
$11,300 Final Cost (40% savings with current incentives)

Scenario #3- Commercial PV system

$100,000 installed cost
-$2,000 ME Solar Rebate (up to $50,000 in New Hampshire)
-$28,900 accelerated depreciation – avoided taxes over 5 years thanks to lowered net income, assumes 34% marginal tax bracket
-$30,000 30% Fed Tax Credit
$39,100 Final Cost (60% savings with current incentives)

Interested in learning more? Contact Revision Energy for a free consultation about how to take full advantage of the current government incentives available for renewable energy projects.

Clean energy advocates in New Hampshire have two big reasons to be thankful this season – the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has announced an expansion of the solar hot water rebate available to homeowners and has released the application for their commercial solar hot water and solar electric rebate (PDF).

Here are some details on both programs:

Residential Solar Thermal is Hot

The solar hot water rebate in New Hampshire is tiered based on the performance of the system, which is expressed in MMBTU / year. This consists of a state rebate that ranges from $600-900 and a federal rebate which has been raised from $750 to $2,000.

Here’s what the rebate program looks like for different kinds of systems:

For a typical residential project (2 flat plate collectors which produce ~18.25MMBTU/yr) installed at a cost of around $10,500, the incentives amount to $5,750, well over half the cost of the system!

The rebates are retroactive, as well, so if you recently installed a solar hot water system and qualified for the New Hampshire state rebate, you can expect a holiday gift from the PUC soon.

Rebates Arrive for Business

The solar hot water system for Moat Mountain Brewpub will save the brewery an estimate 520 gallons of oil a year

Equally exciting is the arrival of the much anticipated commercial solar hot water and solar electric rebate.

This program makes $1,000,000 available to solar thermal and solar electric projects for businesses, schools, municipalities, apartment buildings – basically any structure not eligible under the residential program.

The rebates are pretty straightforward:

• Photovoltaic (Solar Electric): $1/Watt up to $50,000 (or 25% of the project cost, whatever is less)
• Solar Thermal rebate: $0.07 per kBTU/year up to $50,000 (or 25% of the project cost, whatever is less)

Like the residential solar hot water program, a RETScreen modeling analysis is used to calculate the kBTU/year performance of the solar hot water systems.  Solar electric is fixed based on the nominal wattage.

Solar Economics are Amazing

The generous rebate makes it extremely attractive to invest in solar if you’re a business.  Let’s take, for example, a medium scale solar thermal project for a business that uses a lot of hot water – a hotel or retirement home, perhaps – and is currently heating that water with oil.

We’ll propose a system of 20 flat plate hot water collectors and several super-insulated tanks that will produce over 182,500,000 BTUs/year of clean thermal energy.  We’ll imagine that the system will save 2,300 gallons of #2 oil per year, a result of both reduced oil use and greatly reducing standby losses of the oil boiler in the summertime.

Assuming this hot water system costs around $100,000 gross to install, the fuel savings alone will pay for the cost of the system within its first decade of operation.

However, now there is an exciting suite of rebates to apply:

$100,000 gross installed cost
($30,000) federal tax credit
($28,900) accelerated depreciation – avoided taxes over 5 years thanks to lowered net income, assumes 34% marginal tax bracket
($12,775) state rebate – $0.07/modeled kBtu/year
$28,325 net investment – less than a third of the total cost of the project!

Within this new context, that same solar hot water system will pay for itself within two years thanks to the fuel savings.

While the wasteful boiler imagined in this formula is a “best case” scenario for solar, the economics work out for businesses of all sizes who are ready to both take an enormous cut out of their carbon emissions and save money while doing it.

Contact us for more information about both the commercial and residential solar rebates or to schedule a free site evaluation.