Dublin Solar Investment Loan Program?
With electricity prices constantly rising and concerns about the environment mounting, many of Dublin’s homeowners are thinking about investing in solar to power their homes. In addition to reducing the amount of CO2 emissions, using solar PV technology can also have many financial benefits:
- Home value appreciation
- Lock-in lower electricity costs
- The more you use, the more you save
- Tax subsidies cover around 50% of the cost to invest
The Hurdles to Solar
The two main hurdles to installing solar panels are the suitability of the home and the cost. Most Dublin homes are perfect candidates for solar because of our abundance of sun, orientation of homes, and slant of roofs. This leaves just one primary hurdle for Dublin residents – coming up with $25K-$35K to purchase and install solar PV panels. Historically, most folks would have taken out a home equity loan to invest in solar. However, that is no longer an option for most homeowners.
A Solution
California passed AB811 last year to allow individual borrowers to pay back investments in solar panels through property tax assessments over a 20 year period. This has encouraged cities like Sonoma, Palm Desert, and Berkeley to setup low cost financing programs to help property owners invest in solar. Here’s how it could work for Dublin in 3 easy steps:
- Dublin City Council approves a financing district, sets up a separate company (e.g., Dublin Solar LLC) to administer the solar financing program, and establishes a pilot program.
- Dublin Solar LLC borrows at 4-5% and then loans the money to qualified property owners at 6-7%. The extra 2% could cover administrative expenses.
- Dublin property owners participating in the program would pay back their loan over 20 years through property tax payments.
Dublin has been a leader in promoting environmentally-friendly building practices for new projects. This could be the perfect opportunity for Dublin to incentivize existing homes and businesses to go green, stimulate the local economy through solar investment, and increase Dublin’s property values.
11:23 AM on July 28th, 2009
I live in the Sorrento community. Is there anyway for a townhome community like mine to go for something like this?
12:13 PM on July 28th, 2009
This proposed solution is a great idea. I would like to install one for my house if this proposal gets passed.
12:42 PM on July 28th, 2009
Hi Anonymous,
In California, as you know, common interest developments such as the many new developments in Dublin typically have homeowner associations (HOAs) to manage their affairs and enforce their rules. HOAs have rules and regulations, expressed in part through covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R), that govern many aspects of homeownership within the common interest development, including installation of solar energy systems. To ensure that CC&Rs do not put up unreasonable barriers to the use of solar energy, California enacted Civil Code Section 714 in 1978 as part of the Solar Rights Act. This section of law limits the ability of HOAs to restrict solar energy system installations though unreasonable CC&Rs and prohibits undue discrimination in processes used to consider and approve solar energy installations. Of course, you will have to go through an archetectural review process. Please consult your HOA’s management company for more details.
One of the factors you should consider is how quickly you will be able to recuperate the cost of your solar investment. One of our readers in Sorrento, for example, spends no more than $60 a month on her PG&E bill even through the summer months. The split between gas and electricity is roughly 50–50. She would, therefore, have less economic incentive to install solar panels above her roof, compared to another PG&E customer who spends on average $150 a month on electricity alone. Any reputable company should include a break-even calculation as part of your free estimate, so you can decide for yourself if a solar installation makes good economic sense. Thank you.
1:31 AM on August 7th, 2009
Hello. Thank you for this great info! Keep up the good job!
6:21 PM on November 13th, 2009
I would like to use solar panels for electricity.
any recommendations for good solar companies from owners of homes with solar panels?