On Tuesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended their radio silence nine weeks after sending cryptic letters warning lenders against permitting the use of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) — but it wasn’t the follow-up PACE advocates were hoping for.

That’s how Grist writer Jonathan Hiskes began his article about the document posted below: a “clarification” of the quasi-governmental home mortgage programs’ position on how to deal with PACE-financed solar homes.

Fannie and Freddie’s official position is, in a word, “Don’t.”

New rules: A little upside, a lot of downside

Rooftop solar panels

There’s slightly more to it, but nothing that changes the thrust of their earlier warnings. The only upside in the new letter is the part that grandfathers in existing mortgages for homes with PACE-financed solar panels. Several advocates of PACE financing have been working to keep the successful program alive within Fannie and Freddie, including the Vote Solar Initiative. Hiskes reviews some of those efforts in his Tuesday article.

For now, however, the outlook for the very successful program does not look good. With financing being the major hurdle to homeowner adoption of clean renewable energy such as solar, a blow to PACE is a blow to a clean energy future.

FHFA & PACE –

Keep those solar roofs coming

And now a word to solar advocates in Arizona from our friends at the Vote Solar Initiative:

It’s officially scheduled: early this afternoon your legislators will vote on whether to extend one of Arizona’s most important solar policies. Can you take just a few minutes of your lunch hour to help send solar bill HB 2700 across the finish line?

Send them a quick email by clicking here.

Or if your boss isn’t looking (or likes solar too), a telephone call works even better. Just tell them you support HB 2700 and hope they’ll do the same. You can find your Senator’s contact information here.

A quick reminder of what’s at stake: As a part of the effort to build a renewable energy economy in Arizona, the state has seen fit to provide some tax incentives for solar. Unfortunately, these benefits are due to sunset. HB 2700 would extend key solar tax incentives — specifically, sales tax exemptions (TPT), commercial and industrial tax credits, and exemption from increased property tax valuation.

The bill already passed House, so this afternoon’s Senate vote is the only thing standing between Arizonans and continued strong solar energy growth. As you may know, senators have not been very friendly to tax bills this year, so please do what you can to help send HB 2700 across the finish line.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

For more information about this and other state solar initiatives, visit The Vote Solar Initiative website.

Solar California

If you live in California — or know someone who does — this message is for you.

States have been called the laboratories of democracy. Programs that might be great often need to prove themselves locally, before being adopted on a national level. They need a track record. For decades, California has frequently been the nation’s environmental laboratory. The Clean Air Act, to name just one example, was born in LA.

Solar California

The Golden State has been a pioneer in developing solar policies to power the nation with clean, renewable energy. One of the most successful programs to speed adoption of solar in California is net metering. It’s a simple, but potent, idea. It allows people with solar systems to be credited for the excess electricity they produce and send back to the grid.

But there’s a catch: net metering has a cap. Once net metered customers supply 2.5% of utility peak load, new solar systems owners aren’t compensated for excess electricity.

AB 510: Raising the cap

Now, there’s a bill pending in the California Senate to raise the cap on net metering to 5% and help keep solar growing: AB 510.

The California-based Vote Solar Initiative has created a Web page that makes it easy for California residents to sign a petition online and have it sent immediately to their Senator.

If you’re a California resident, it only takes two minutes to support clean, renewable energy. All you have to do, is go here and sign in.

Please do it right away. Don’t let the sun set on solar power and the green jobs that come from it.

Solar Roof, photo by Marlith

Why don’t more people “go solar?”

The number one reason is the relatively high up-front cost of buying a solar rooftop system.

Solar installation companies have devised several types of programs to take some of “the bite” out of the initial expense. There’s leasing, under which the homeowner pays only a small amount (or nothing at all) out-of-pocket, and the panels belong to the installation company.

1 Block Off the Grid (Phoenix)

Then there’s 1BOG’s business model (which we’ve written about before) under which a critical mass of homeowners in a city sign up, and 1BOG makes a deal with a single local installer that results in a lower cost due to volume.

A few cities have gotten into the act by treating solar power just like any other type of utility. For homeowners who want to participate, panels are installed and hooked up to the grid, at no up-front cost. The purchase price is paid back over several years through a small increase in the homeowner’s property tax.

And if the owner sells the house before the system has been paid for? No problem. The solar array belongs to the new buyer, who continues to pay down the system through the property taxes.

The PACE program

Late Monday night, New York legislators meeting in a special session approved a measure authorizing municipalities to fund solar power installations (and energy efficiency programs) for homeowners to be paid for over an extended period. The program removes that initial stumbling block and allows solar power to grow rapidly. The vote was a blow-out: 192-0.

Official support for the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program was led by NY Governor David Paterson and Representative Steve Israel.

Helping to organize grassroot support was the non-profit organization, Vote Solar.

Here’s what the group had to say about Monday’s success:

NYC Solar

“PACE programs effectively remove the single greatest barrier to solar adoption – upfront cost. That makes PACE an incredibly powerful tool for driving new economic opportunity, supporting green job growth and making real progress in the fight against climate change,” said Shaun Chapman, East Coast Campaigns Director for Vote Solar.

“Thanks to leadership from Governor Paterson and the State Legislature, New York can now take advantage of this innovative approach to clean energy finance. Congressman Israel also deserves special recognition for his particular commitment to advancing this bill and New York’s renewable energy future. I look forward to seeing local governments throughout the state implement PACE and pass its many benefits on to New Yorkers.”

“Through my ‘45 by 15′ clean energy initiative, New York has significantly expanded energy efficiency and renewable energy incentive programs that are helping residents and businesses reduce their energy costs,” Governor David A. Paterson said.

NY Governor, David Patterson

“Now, thanks to the leadership of President Obama and Congressman Israel, the federal government is offering programs that encourage the use of PACE loan programs. But to strengthen New York’s ability to tap this federal funding, we needed to pass this legislation, which will authorize municipalities to administer PACE loan programs. I want to thank the Legislature for recognizing this opportunity and for agreeing to pass this critical legislation in the extraordinary session.”

“Both the New York Senate and Assembly voted unanimously in favor of amending state law to authorize municipalities to establish PACE programs. Recognizing the model’s job creation and economic benefits, the federal government has also recently announced that $454 Million in Recovery Act funds will be made available to support PACE programming.

“The deadline for municipalities to apply for federal PACE funds is December 14, 2009. For more information, click here.”

So, you want to do your bit to reduce greenhouse gases and save the planet. And if you save some money on your electric bill, well, who’s going to say “no” to that? Following the Solar Decathlon as if it were the pennant race, you’re convinced that solar power is the way to go.

You’ve done your research on contractors, rebates, tax incentives, etc., and you know exactly how much your up-front cost is going to be. Right?

Maybe.

Did you remember to find out how much your city or county charges for a permit? And, since time is money, exactly how long will you have to wait for them to process the permit?

Sound like trivialities? Rosalind Jackson of the Vote Solar Initiative begs to differ — and she has the information to prove it, in the form of a user-friendly, Web-based interactive map. It’s part of Vote Solar’s Project: Permit.

Going Solar

“In general,” Jackson tells The Sun, “there’s simply not a great understanding of solar permitting best practices out there. The fees and processes associated with solar permits have been developed somewhat arbitrarily. We’re hoping to change that by providing some clear targets and getting residents and businesses to call for change in their own hometown.”

Using the Map

The map is so easy to use that you should feel free to just check it out on your own, here. That said, here’s a quick run down on how the map works:

In the image above you can see how different the permitting process is in communities just a few miles apart.

You want to put up some solar panels on your house in Mesa, Arizona. Great. There’s no charge for the permit and the process is completed over the counter. Walk in with the plans, walk out with your permit.

If you live just under five miles to the south east, in the town of Queen Creek, your experience is going to be a bit different. First off, the same permit that you received free in Mesa is going to cost you $1,450 here. And don’t bother hanging around while they process your permit. It’ll take between three days and a week. Walk in with the plans, write out a fat check, go home and wait.

Why the difference? Jackson explains that while the disparities may have begun arbitrarily, that can change with citizen activism:

“Solar energy is all about the democratization of power – people taking control of their own electricity generation rather than waiting for the utilities to do the right thing. Project: Permit is really an extension of that spirit – democracy in environmental and energy decision making. Ordinary people have a direct line to their city leaders who in turn have the power to streamline this very important piece of the solar cost equation. This isn’t a policy debate off in DC or Copenhagen, this is a way for any Arizonan to make a real difference in our energy future.”

How, exactly, can we Arizonans — or people anywhere in the states, for that matter — make the kind of changes that result in a permitting process that’s solar friendly?

Stay tuned for Part 2 when we’ll answer that question, and several more. Click on the image below to go to the Vote Solar Initiative’s home page.

Vote Solar Initiative staff (Rosalind Jackson, 3rd from left)