San Francisco Solar Energy Incentive Program Info

The solar energy stuff starts around 1:00 and goes almost all the way to the end. Lots of good discussion here: Scroll the video until at the bottom it says, “10. Hearing on the current solar proposal and how or if it relates to the implementation of the CCA. (Discussion and Possible Action Item)”

This is the SF Local Agency Formation Commission. The 10-year plan got sent out of the board of supervisors back to this committee, which, unfortunately, is made up of many of the supervisors who are against the subsidy (who at this point seem to be Jake McGoldrick, Ross Mirkarimi, and Chris Daly)

My comments:

Issue: There was a request for a projection of the number of solar installations that would be directly caused by the subsidy. In other words, would new people be getting solar because of an increase in subsidizations or would people who are going to get solar anyway be getting free money.

Comment: It’s essentially impossible to extrapolate this number without doing expensive market research that would freeze action. The bottom line is YES, there are people I personally know that won’t do solar based on the finances but with another $4K to sweeten the deal, they would. So there’s an answer from the field….Yes, the subsidy would work well!

Issue: McGoldrick is concerned that rich people will get the subsidy, that it should be evaluated based on means.

Comment: No offence to McGoldrick, this is just simple ignorance of the solar industry. It’s not his fault, it’s a weird niche industry.

A. People of low income rarely buy solar energy, even if you subsidize half of it.

B. Rich people ALSO don’t get solar often. Believe it or nor, the vast majority of solar sales are financially motivated. If you take someone of wealth who turns down solar based on it’s ROI, and then you sweeten the deal with $4000 from the city in the form of this incentive, some of those fence sitters will pull the trigger and get solar. I think McGoldrick is assuming that some Mr. Peanut looking, monocle wearing fat cats will scoop an extra $4000 when they don’t need it. Bottom line is if you want this subsidy to work, you have to get it to everyone.

 

Issue: Daly voted against the incentive program because he doesn’t like giving the money to the citizens and would rather spend it on municipal programs for renwables.  He wants to exhaust public space for renwables first, and then look at the private sector.

Comment: Barbara Hale nails this one.  Essentially the municipal programs cannot take advantage of the state incentives and federal tax credits.  If you provide this money to the private sector, you can take advantage of state, Federal, AND local incentives to make solar financially viable for a citizen.  This allows you to grow solar in SF at an exponential pace when compared to using money to do solar on municipal buildings.

This comes back to the central concept of the goal of the subsidy.  If you really want MORE SOLAR then the subsidy needs to go to the private sector.  If you use the subsidy to grow solar in general you have a chance to make San Francisco a US wide example, and maybe others will follow.  No one seems to be excited about the possibliy of this subsidy creating a critical mass of acceptance for solar.  

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