Solarize South Carolina to help homeowners navigate their way to solar power

Want to go solar but just don’t know where to start?

Upcoming Solarize South Carolina events

Tuesday: 3:30-7 p.m. Mount Pleasant Farmers Market

Thursday: Noon-6 p.m. North Charleston Farmers Market

Saturday: Solar Information Session, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Mount Pleasant Branch Library

AuG. 31: Solar Information Session, 6-7 p.m. Felix Davis Community Center, Park Circle, North Charleston

Sept. 3: Solar Information Session, 6-7 p.m. Dorchester Road Library Branch, North Charleston

Sept. 12: National Drive Electric Week kickoff event, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Local Works/The Refinery, 1600 Meeting St.

Sept. 20: Carolina Green Fair, noon-5 p.m. James Island County Park

To sign up for a free solar estimate, go to http://www.solarizesc.org/

It can seem like a daunting endeavor, filled with questions.

Is my house appropriate for solar? Will I have to cut down trees? Is it financially beneficial to install panels? Are tax credits still available for doing so and when will they expire? What’s the best financing plan?

The nonprofit marketing firm, SmartPower, and its Solarize South Carolina campaign is trying to make it as easy as contacting them, via phone or Internet, for a free estimate and advice at www.solarizesc.org.

The initiative seeks to outfit 2,000 homes with solar in the Palmetto State in the next 18 months.

“Solar is here and now’s the time to get started,” says Jim Kubu, the community outreach manager for SmartPower in the Lowcountry. “In the past, people didn’t trust the technology or the return on investment didn’t work for them, but we’re now at a point where both the technology and investment work together.”

Credits, net metering

He adds that a tax credit for up to 55 percent of the cost of a system is available, for now, until December 2016 when the federal portion of 30 percent is set to expire.

Those tax credits combine with “net metering” with SCE&G to make it more financially feasible now.

In a nutshell, net metering credits the renewable energy producer, such as a homeowner, at the same rate the utility charges for service. The excess energy that is not used by the producer is then pushed back into the energy grid at the same rate.

The newly enacted Net-Metering 2.0 will still credit the producer at the same rate, but will now buy all produced energy at a wholesale rate.

Meanwhile, Solarize South Carolina will make it more attractive to go solar by offering a zero-down financing option.

North Charleston

In the Lowcountry, Solarize South Carolina is looking at North Charleston as its hub, in part because the city has taken the lead in terms of clean energy and sustainable development in recent years.

Examples of businesses and nonprofits using solar include Boeing, Intertech Group, Carolina Ice Palace and Water Missions International, as well as Clemson University’s wind turbine testing facility.

Last week, the city launched “Solarize North Charleston” with Solarize South Carolina to build on successes and to encourage residents to tap into new opportunities, made possible by legislation on solar-friendly “net metering” signed by state lawmakers last year.

The effort also benefits the city. When 60 or more residents sign a contract to install solar before Dec. 15, the initiative will provide a free five-kilowatt solar system to the city for any of its municipal buildings.

Residents seeking estimates are asked to check “North Charleston” under “affiliation” to ensure that the city gets credit for customers who go solar.

Mayor sunny?

Among the first to step up in North Charleston and inquire about panels through Solarize North Charleston is the mayor himself, Keith Summey.

“I’m one of the people who believes you have to lead by example,” says Summey, noting how solar increasingly is both environmentally friendly and economically beneficial.

While Kubu says there are many variables on financing and cost savings, he says the average system will cost about $20,000 and that the aim of the initiative to allow people to have solar panels installed with no money down and a monthly payment equivalent to that of a typical car payment.

With current tax credits and more fair net metering compensation by private utilities, paying off loans will be more in the five- to seven-year range rather than seven or more years, Kubu notes.

A system typically has a warranty of 25 years or longer.

One drawback for some South Carolinians, though, is that significant cost savings on electricity applies only to those served by utilities that are under regulatory control of the S.C. Public Services Commission, such as SCE&G and Duke Power. Electric cooperatives, such as Santee Cooper and Berkeley Electric Cooperative, are exempt from net metering.

New law opened door

But solar is on its way in the state.

Hamilton Davis, the energy program director for the Coastal Conservation League, says campaigns such as Solarize South Carolina have everything to do with last year’s legislation.

“Solarize SC is a great example of what is happening across our state as a result of landmark solar legislation that was signed into law last year by Governor (Nikki) Haley. The law, which removed many of the barriers for solar investments by homes and businesses, makes good economic and environmental sense for South Carolina,” says Davis.

“With solar leasing now available in South Carolina and utility solar programs for customers rolling out in the fall, solar is beginning to help people save on their electricity bills while cleaning up our air and water.”

Reach David Quick at 937-5516.

Solarize South Carolina to help homeowners navigate their way to solar power