A brilliant new financing idea is about to put solar panels and solar-thermal water heaters on thousands of residential roofs in Berkeley, California.
On Nov. 6, the City of Berkeley passed a plan to create a “Sustainable Energy Financing District.” Under the plan, homeowners who invest in green energy solutions will be able to pay for them on their property tax bills. The city pays the upfront cost of the installation which the homeowner then pays off over 20 years using the money saved – or earned – from the upgrade.
The cost is attached to the home, not the homeowner, so people who move before the 20 years are up do not pay for energy savings for the next owner.
“With Berkeley's financing plan in place, just about any home or business owner who can afford to pay their utility bill every month should be able to go solar,” according to Gary Gerber, president of a solar installation company in Berkeley.
Transforming Toronto spokesperson David MacLeod learned about the Berkeley option on a fact-finding trip to California last month.
“Right now, homeowners who want to go green face big up-front costs at a time when home prices, and household debt, are at near-record levels,” say MacLeod. “By taking debt out of the equation, Berkeley is removing the number one obstacle facing homeowners who want to use less energy or generate their own.
“This is an idea we should bring to Toronto as soon as possible.”
Randy Robinson, MacLeod’s Logan Ave. neighbour, says the Berkeley option could be used to finance home heating upgrades as well as solar electricity generation and hot water heating.
“If a version of the Berkeley option existed in Toronto, I would already have a high-efficiency gas boiler in my basement,” said Robinson. “That would cut my greenhouse gas emissions for home heating by at least 38 per cent, according to the home energy audit I had done. But even with $1,200 in government rebates, I am still looking at borrowing eight or ten thousand dollars. Right now I just can’t absorb that cost – especially when a new boiler adds little if anything to the resale value of our house.
“Obviously, home energy upgrades are even further out of reach for people with more debt. That’s why the Berkeley option is such a breakthrough.”
The City of Berkeley plans to cover the upfront costs of residential solar installations by issuing a municipal bond or taking out low-interest loans. City staff and consultants are working on the details of the program now, with a view to having the program up and running by the summer of 2008.
For more information on the breakthrough in Berkeley and how it will work, check the following sites:
San Francisco Chronicle article.
Interview with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates
Renewableenergyaccess.com article.
City of Berkeley streaming video:
Footage of the Berkeley City Council meeting that passed the energy resolution is available at here. Click on the 3 hour, 20 minute video for 11/06/07. Then jump to Item 30 – Creation of Sustainable Energy Financing District – on the pulldown menu.
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