Berkeley breakthrough makes home energy projects affordable

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.

Sept. 19, 2007 Liberals won’t rule out transmission line, candidate says

A Liberal government won’t tell the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) not to build the East Toronto Transmission Line (ETTL), the Liberal candidate in Toronto-Danforth says.

Asked if her party would issue a legal directive instructing the OPA to cancel the line and invest the money it would cost in conservation, energy efficiency, and clean, green energy, Joyce Rowlands said, “No. We will not issue that directive.”

Rowlands made the statement at an all-candidates’ meeting Tuesday night. Representatives of all other parties answered “yes” to the question.

While admitting that the Liberals would not take the ETTL off the table, Rowlands downplayed the issue. She stated that the line is the least likely option for new transmission, that it will not be necessary if energy consumers embrace conservation, and that “we have three years to decide.”

At least 100 people attended the meeting at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Danforth Ave. Judging by the level of interest, energy issues will play a big role in voters’ decision on Election Day, Oct. 10. Nuclear energy, renewables, and the Portlands Energy Centre were all hot topics.

Ms. Rowlands shared the stage with fellow candidates Robert Biscibis of the Progressive Conservatives; Shona Bracken of the Communist Party; Patrick Kraemer of the Green Party; and New Democrat Peter Tabuns, the incumbent MPP in the riding.

Sun-loving Germans show how it’s done

While the Ontario Power Authority’s current plan for increasing the use of solar panels to generate electricity is to add 80 megawatts (MW) of power by the year 2027, Germany is adding that amount of solar capacity every six weeks.

After working on the problem for 10 years, the Germans now generate 2,600 MW of power per year from solar. That’s enough juice to shut down three of their nuclear reactors during the summer months.

Germany is a northern country, like Canada. Sunny enough, but it ain’t Arizona. Click here to learn more about how Germany leads the world in soaking up the sun.