Financing Options for Residential Wind and Solar: Attractive Packages for Closing Deals

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1 Financing Options for Residential Wind and Solar: Attractive Packages for Closing Deals Heather Rhoads-Weaver Interviewees: Scott Stanberry, Southwest Windpower; Ben Higgins & Daryl Zeis, REC Solar; Bev Guasti, Guasti Wind & Solar; Padma Kasthurirangan, Niagara Wind & Solar; Tal Mamo, Talco Electronics March 28, 2012 Distributed Wind 2012

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3 Residential Financing: What s Working, What s Needed PV 3rd Party-Financed Market Exploding Enabled by 2010 expansion of federal Investment Tax Credit Driven by price drops and increased consumer uptake FHA Title I & Unsecured Loans REEL lender pool Home Equity, 401k & Life Insurance Loans; Credit Cards; Re-Fi s Home improvement & HVAC upgrades >2/3rds financed Factory Financing Bridge & long-term loans at attractive rates?

4 3rd-Party Residential Finance Basics Eliminates hefty up-front cost ($20k-$50k) often associated with residential solar Financier owns system, not the homeowner Financiers can often utilize tax benefits unavailable to homeowners Two major forms PPA & Lease With a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) the customer pays monthly on a per-kwh basis (SunRun, SolarCity) With a lease, the customer pays a fixed monthly amount (SunCap, SolarCity, SunRun) Due to definition of utility some jurisdictions do not allow residential solar PPAs, but may allow leases

5 3rd-Party Solar PPA/Lease Allowance UT: limited to certain sectors AZ: limited to certain sectors Authorized by state or otherwise currently in use, at least in certain jurisdictions Apparently disallowed by state or otherwise restricted by legal barriers All major solar markets, and at least 22 states allow third-party solar PPAs Status unclear or unknown Source: / February 2012

6 3rd-Party Residential Finance Market Third-party systems are dominating residential solar markets, financing more than 50% of systems in CA, AZ, CO, and NJ Multiple providers of financing are available Colorado is illustrative no 3rd-party financing available in Q to 50%+ market share in 2011

7 Case Study Customer Proposition Joe & Anne Homeowner consume 8,000/kWh annually at $0.15/kWh, for an annual bill of $1,200 Joe & Anne install a 5 kw 3rd-party financed solar system which offsets 94% of their annual usage They are required to pay $500 up-front and $0.11/kWh for a 20- year term, with no escalator Joe & Anne recoup $500 upfront payment in less than two years, and garner ~$300 in savings every year thereafter, with no O&M or warranty concerns 3rd party owner covers O&M costs, expected to average $20/kW/yr totaling $2,000 over 20 years for Joe & Anne s 5 kw system

8 Would 3rd Party Finance Work for Distributed Wind? Challenges Financiers need replicable packages, high volume Distributed wind performance and O&M costs are variable Disadvantages Locked into monthly payments rather than eliminating bills Shifting dependence rather than becoming independent Possibly feasible in windy areas with high residential electric rates HI, CT, NY, AK, NH, RI, NJ, VT, ME, CA

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10 Green Financing Simplified Program Objectives Cultural change Dealers should be financing > 60% of their sales Enhance corporate value proposition 70 dealers signed up so far; $250/yr fee Sell more systems Reduce sales appointment and job cancellations Increase average job size Including wind/solar hybrid systems Offer customers a viable payment solution Improve buying experience With high loan approval rates and great terms

11 Secured Loan Program FHA Title 1 home improvement loan 2nd position lein on property Terms to 20 years (240 months) Loan amounts from $7,500 to $25,000 $147 monthly payment on $19,000 Interest rates from 6.95% to 9.95% 5% origination fee to customer deducted from loan proceeds 2% standard discount (cost to dealer) Minimum FICO is 660 No equity or appraisal required Info Disclosure Authorization, W-2s, pay stub, mortgage statement Tax deductible interest 6-step loan by phone online application process Pre-approval within 2-6 hours Not available in Texas due to Homestead Act; HELOC 80% LTV offered

12 Unsecured Loan Program Standard installment loan Terms to 15 years (180 months) Loan amounts from $1,000 to $30,000 $266 monthly payment on $19,000 Interest rates from 14.99% to 19.99% 2-3% standard discount (cost to dealer) Minimum FICO is 600 Info Disclosure Authorization, W-2s, pay stub, mortgage statement Credit Promotions Same As Cash (3 and 6 month options) 3=5.99%, 6=9.99% Available in AL, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NM, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WV and adding additional states in the upcoming weeks

13 Does Residential Financing Help or Hurt Economics? Secured Loan Scenario Increases Net Present Value: OR, MA, HI, VT, CA, MD Distributed wind performance and O&M costs are variable Unsecured Loan Scenario Decreases NPV Positive NPV: OR, windy sites in MA & HI Hypothetical 15-yr Energy Smart 4% Positive NPV: OR, MA, HI, VT, CA, MD, NH; windy sites in NY, ME, MN, DE, WA

14 Improved Financing Packages are Urgently Needed to aid U.S. Residential Market Growth Low Up-Front Cost and Good Interest Rates Appeal to Customers Tax credits and incentives often need at least short-term support Possible partners expressing interest in sector Farm Credit, Calco Green, others?

15 Special Thanks to Market Analysis Economic impacts Data collection/research Development Consulting Launching new ventures Grantwriting Public Affairs Community outreach Turnout for hearings Project Management Strategic planning Facilitation, consensus Interviewees Larry Flowers, AWEA Matt Gagne & Kurt Sahl, EFO Alice Orrell, PNNL Jen Banks & Amanda Vanega, NCSC Trudy Forsyth, Tony Jimenez & Charles Newcomb, NREL 30+ State Energy Offices Endurance SWWP Data collectors: 3 dozen and growing! Heather Rhoads-Weaver heather@eformativeoptions.com