Cohousing-L Mailing List: Benefits of our solar array at Takoma Village

[Peter Kent via groups.io (peterkent1=icloud.com]

This is the current report on the result of installing solar energy panels to 
serve all our common areas. We don’t have enough roof space to serve the units. 
(Ironically, just as people have accepted vertical apartment style buildings, 
we find that to use solar, we need to spread out again.)

When we installed the solar panels or roof was ready to be replaced. It might 
have lasted another 2-3 years but we thought it best to replace it before 
installing the panels so we wouldn’t have to remove them to replace the roof. 
The advantage was also that the new roof has a 50 year lifetime instead of 25 
and is a better roof — stronger protection.

The message below is from Peter Kent, our often treasurer, who was in on this 
from the beginning. We had investigated solar several times in the past but 
were told it wasn’t ready. Finally it was ready and took over a year to sort 
out all the numbers and choose an installer. But as you see the company has 
already gone out of business (they may all have joined larger firms), the 
reason to be sure you are working with an established firm when you link up 
with them. Often we have had trouble getting service on systems that the 
company didn’t install.

This fully services the common house, exterior building and grounds lighting, 
and the parking gate.

Peter also asked me to tell you that the reimbursement rate for SREC sales is 
widely variable. And can change. Your mileage may vary.

————— 

Neighbors,

Our solar array (or PVES - photovoltaic electricity system) has provided many 
benefits since it started operation in late 2015.

Environmental:

As of today, the system has produced 401.73 MWh of electricity.  That means 
we’ve lessened CO2 emissions by 622,063.94 lbs. in less than 6 years.  I’m not 
sure how much coal that translates into but I bet it's a lot.  Another way of 
looking at this benefit — it’s equivalent to planting 4,700 trees.  And the 
system should keep producing for many years to come.

Financial:

Takoma Village has saved at least $75,000 that would have gone to PEPCO for 
electricity. This saving has helped keep condo fees lower.
And that’s not all!  We sell Solar Renewable Energy Credits for every MWh 
produced. And because we happen to be in the best possible market for SREC 
sales, we’ve collected a total of $166,271.43 in revenue from this source.
And there’s more. The system produces more electricity than we can use. The 
excess is fed back into the power grid which mean we build up a credit with 
PEPCO. We just got our first payment from this credit — $11,093.68. And we will 
be able to request the credit balance every year from now on.

But where does all this money go? The savings directly reduce our condo fees. 
The SREC and PEPCO credit revenue continue to reimburse the Reserve Fund for 
the loan we made to ourselves to pay the cost of the system.  Here is the 
status of the repayment.

        Total system cost:                                      $196,724
        From Capital Improvements Fund             -10,000
        From SREC sales                                  -166,094
Balance Due to Reserves                                 $9,359

System Maintenance:

The company that designed and installed our system went out of business.  So, 
when several small problems surfaced, it took significant effort to find a 
company willing and able to provide service. Fortunately Solar Energy Services 
has now completed repairs to the system and we are at 100% productivity. The 
other big plus is all of the major components carry a 25-year warranty.

This report is intentionally brief.  Please let me now if you would like more 
information on history or any other aspect of the system.

Thanks,
Peter