Tag Archives: education

Q&A: Why Is Community Solar So Hot And The Keys To Getting Deals Done

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As community solar continues to streak across the solar sky as the hottest segment in the industry, the questions are twofold: Why is it the hottest segment, and what are the keys to getting deals done. Scott Wiater, president and CEO of Standard Solar, a national solar company that has recently done community solar deals in New York and Colorado, agreed to answer those questions – and offer advice to anyone trying to launch community solar programs in new areas.

SolarWakeup: Why is community solar one of the fastest-growing segments of the solar industry?

Scott Wiater: The size of the market is staggering. According to a GTM Research, Wood Mackenzie and Vote Solar report, between 50% and 75% of U.S. electricity consumers can’t put solar arrays on their own roofs. That means there’s 50% to 75% of U.S. electricity consumers that can’t be a part of the Solar Revolution unless there’s an alternative way to reach them. People are realizing that community solar provides them with that opportunity.

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SolarWakeup: According to a recent study, only 19 states have programs that actively promote community solar programs. Why is that?

Scott Wiater: It’s a relatively new market, and just like any other new market, there’s an education process that we have to go through. It’s not that states don’t want community solar programs. I just think that right now that they don’t know any better.

SolarWakeup: What kind of education effort is needed to explain the benefits of community solar to policymakers?

Scott Wiater: You’d be surprised how quickly policymakers start to get it once you explain to them not only the benefits to the consumers but also the neighborhood that’s connected to the community solar program. So it doesn’t take much, though it does require that the solar company involved be willing to take the time to explain the process to them. In the end, it’s so worth every effort we make.

SolarWakeup: What kind of reception do you get when you start talking about community solar to customers?

Scott Wiater: They get excited. After all, what’s not to get excited about? It’s an opportunity to access clean energy without the complex process of putting it on your own roof. People like easy, and community solar gives them an easy way to do their part to help the environment—and it saves them money on their electric bills to boot. What’s not to like?

SolarWakeup: What are the three most important elements to getting a community solar deal done?

Scott Wiater: The three most important elements to getting a community solar deal done are education, financing and customer acquisition. The key to making sure all of that goes smoothly is to have a development group involved that has done it before and won’t get tangled up in the complexity of the deal. There’s a specific set of skills companies must have to do community solar projects smoothly, and not everyone has that skill set. If you’re considering doing a community solar project, do your due diligence and make sure the company you choose to spearhead your deal fully understands everything that entails.

Education Is The Key To Solar Support

By Tony Clifford, CDO of Standard Solar

We often talk about how popular solar is, and poll after poll after poll continues to prove it. Polls consistently show overwhelming popular support for solar, and it’s not even close.

The latest survey, a messaging poll by Global Strategy Group on behalf of the Solar Energy Industries Association, adds more fuel to the fire. It turns out that no matter what side of the political divide you are on, you support solar—as long as you are educated about the benefits and strengths of it as an electricity source.

For example, the survey shows that 78% of people polled believe in net metering, the compensation system that pays solar consumers for the excess electricity they produce and export to the grid for the use of everyone else. Dig a little deeper, and you discover the number jumps to 84% among people who fully understand what net metering is and how the specifics of the policy affect them.

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Here’s another finding: 76% of Americans believe their utility should get more of their electricity generation from solar power. With a little education on the benefits of solar to the overall grid that number jumps more than 10% to 87%. What’s most amazing about this is that it doesn’t take much education to make this happen.

I’m often asked about how we should be handling our outreach as an industry. Sometimes, I get frustrated because it feels like we talk to each other a lot about how great solar is without getting the news out into the general public. Now I realize, with a little effort, we can move great mountains in support of the solar industry.

Of course, the survey wasn’t just about discovering that an educated public is a pro-solar public. It was also designed to figure out what message most resonated with the American people. This, too, had an extraordinarily clear answer.

The message testing clearly shows that people are most persuaded by jobs, low-cost and clean air messaging, and that having access to solar was something they felt strongly about. Support for solar was particularly strong with younger voters, men, Hispanics and opinion leaders.

So what makes the new messaging survey so exciting is that it proves that with just a little effort—think of it as lobbying our friends and neighbors—we can genuinely affect attitudes about solar energy and pressure those power-industry actors who haven’t yet gotten on board with the Solar Revolution.

But like the fight for the investment tax credit and the tariff fight, this isn’t something one company or even a group of companies can do on their own. It will require a concerted effort from the entire industry to speak to anyone within earshot and explain to them why solar is right for them. Talk to them about the jobs. Talk about the clean air. Talk about giving everyone the right to access solar for their electricity needs.

We can do this, but it’s going to take everyone doing their part. SEIA has done the work and research necessary to show us how to do it. Now it’s up to us to make it a reality.