[RE-wrenches] Installer's grant

roger dixon roger.dixon at att.net
Tue Sep 1 11:52:39 PDT 2009


I should have noted that the 15% "installers penalty" as I call it, is still
in place for solar, but we argued against it for wind electric systems.  It
was never a question of a "legitimate" contractor vs. a "black market
contractor".  The perspective is that our time, experience and knowledge as
contractors have a value to them, just like anyone else's.  

 

During the process we also convinced the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU)
to switch from a wind turbine rebate that was based on an installed cost
(funny how all of those applications managed to be submitted so that the
maximum amount was received, regardless of the turbine size, tower height,
footing requirements, etc.) to an estimated performance based  rebate
program (estimated kWh's of production), which seeks to fairly compensate
those installations that will perform and allows self selection to weed out
those that are not worth proceeding ahead with.  

 

We have regulations in place for renewable energy system installations that
require all the usual zoning and building permits and inspections, as well
as final NJ BPU inspection, electrical and construction permit final
inspections and utility interconnect final inspection before any money is
paid to the applicant.  (CA probably has many more off grid (and perhaps
uninspected) battery based systems than we do.  I am not aware of any off
grid wind turbine installations in NJ and to my knowledge there are only two
off grid solar installs out of over 4000).  

 

All RE systems in NJ that receive grant money are required to have a 5 year
warranty on everything, including installation, which falls onto the
installer's shoulders as well.  In order to pull an electrical permit here
you must be a licensed electrician.  Although a handy homeowner may be able
to install racking and/or panels, they cannot do the electrical wiring and
connections, especially to the grid.  Any licensed electrician that connects
a homeowner system would be deemed a responsible party in the installation.
With building code enforcement inspections, NJ BPU inspections and utility
company inspections, it would be very hard, if not impossible, to get away
with anything less than an acceptable installation to all three overseeing
agencies.

 

What we have found from our history is that this works well and the ability
to abuse the system has been reduced significantly since the NJ program was
initiated.  

 

Roger Dixon

Certified Wind Site Assessor

Distributor & Installer of Solar & Wind Energy Systems 

Skylands Renewable Energy, LLC

908.337.2057 cell

908.730.6474 fax

roger.dixon at skylandsre.com

www.skylandsre.com

SkylandsRenewD66bR03dP01ZL

 

Note: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may
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all copies thereof, including all attachments.

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Bill Brooks
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 11:57 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Installer's grant

 

Roger, 

 

Why would a legitimate contractor argue against this reduced incentive (it
is not a penalty at all)? This is simply acknowledging the fact that
operating a business and providing a long-term system warranty costs money
that a self-installer does not have to carry. This actually came from a
strong recommendation I made to the California Energy Commission since early
in the rebate program over 30% of installations were "self-installed" which
was a bunch of BS. These were black market contractors who did not want to
carry a system warranty or did not have the credentials to install the
system.

 

Once we installed the slightly lower rebate cleaned up most of the black
market contracting and the number of self-installed systems went to the real
number of less than 5%.

 

Arguing against the lower rebate was a mistake that you are going to regret.
It's helpful to learn from history before repeating it.

 

Bill.

 

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of roger dixon
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 1:33 PM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Installer's grant

 

Try the DSIRE website, http://www.dsireusa.org/.  It lists both state and
federal incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency.  

 

Up until this year, NJ would penalize a "self install", reducing the rebate
amount by 15%.  We argued against that and they have now removed that
penalty.

 

Roger Dixon

Certified Wind Site Assessor

Distributor & Installer of Solar & Wind Energy Systems 

Skylands Renewable Energy, LLC

908.337.2057 cell

908.730.6474 fax

roger.dixon at skylandsre.com

www.skylandsre.com

SkylandsRenewD66bR03dP01ZL

 

Note: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may
be attorney-client privileged, may constitute inside information, and is
intended only for the use of the addressee(s).  It is the property of the
sender of this e-mail.  If you receive this e-mail in error, do not review,
disseminate, or copy it.  Unauthorized use, disclosure, or copying of this
communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be
unlawful.  If you have received this communication in error, please notify
the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and
all copies thereof, including all attachments.

 

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Drake
Chamberlin
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 10:50 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: [RE-wrenches] Installer's grant

 

Hello Wrenches,

I wanted to see how other states are handling solar grants / rebates on the
homes of installers.  In Ohio there is a grant program that gives $3.00 /
Watt toward residential systems.  Eligible installers must be approved by
the state, and funds are allotted to the installer.  

In this years program, there is a "conflict of interest" clause which says
that installers, employees of installers and subcontractors of installers
are not eligible for any grant funding from the grant received by the
installer.   It is likely that installers can hire their competition to do
installations.

Do other states have this conflict of interest clause?

Thanks, 

Drake Chamberlin
Athens Electric
OH License 44810
CO License 3773
NABCEP TM  Certified PV Installer 
Office - 740-448-7328
Mobile - 740-856-9648 

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