Nuts and bolts of solar for appraisal inst jcc

A presentation by John Cappello, Partner, Jacobowitz and Gubits LLP

 Solar  The

Development

Ideal Solar Site



Job Creation  More than 8,135 New Yorkers are Employed in Solar  6th Largest Solar Employer in the U.S.  The solar industry added $84 billion to the US GDP in 2016



Economic Benefits  Solar Installers median wage $26.00 per hour



Carbon Reduction



Reduces Reliance on Fossil Fuels



Reduces Wear on Aging Energy Infrastructure



Long Term Trends and Policies    

Declining cost of solar power Extension of federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) until 2021 Other state and local incentives Solar + Storage potential to drive market expansion *National Solar Jobs Census 2016, The Solar Foundation



Net Metering  Receive a credit on your utility bill for the energy you generate  Energy producing asset is built and tied to the utility meter at the same facility where some of the energy is being consumed



Remote Net Metering  Allowing for the generator of power and the consumer of power to be located at different physical sites providing the sites share a common utility and load zone



Community Solar Farm  Build a single solar farm and have multiple offtakers (any utility customer is in same utility and NYISO load zone) opt-in to purchase the clean energy produced  Take advantage of economies of scale  Gives access to solar energy to those that don’t own their facilities, don’t have an ideal site for solar, can’t afford the capital investment to build solar, etc.

Courtesy of Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. Private and Confidential

 Roof

Mounted

 Small-Scale  Ground-Mount

Solar

 Rows of solar panels (modules) strung together are an array  Refers to a large (non-residential) array built on a remote location, typically on underutilized agricultural land, landfills, brownfields, etc.  Can credit multiple accounts held by a single offtaker via remote net metering Courtesy of Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. Private and Confidential

 Minimum

of 3 Acres

Size necessary for around a 1Megawatt System Shading Considerations Less than 15 Degree Slope Free of Vegetation Wetlands, wet areas or streams don’t break up site Environmental Considerations

Courtesy of Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. Private and Confidential

 Proximity

to Existing Utility Infrastructure (point of interconnection)

 Too

Far Can be Too Expensive

 Local

Distribution Grid Needs to be able to Handle Additional Load from Solar Farm

 Utility

Load Zones that Qualify and their Ability

to Handle Additional Load  Explicit

Application Process Courtesy of Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. Private and Confidential

 Roof

mounted

 Ground

mounted

serving individual home Consider adopting NYS Unified Solar Permit

 Farms

Agricultural use if supplying only farm  Businesses  Schools  Group

and Non-Profits

of home owners

 Where

should they be permitted

 Proper

set backs, screening and mitigation

of any visual impacts  Height

of structures

 Fencing

and security

 Removal

and decommissioning

 Address

Fears and Misconceptions

Fear of Clear Cutting forested areas Fear of loss of large areas of farmland Fear of use of massive amounts of o pesticides to control vegetation growth Disposal of solar panels when no longer used

John C. Cappello Partner of Jacobwitz & Gubits LLP • Lead partner in J&G’s Green Team focusing on advising a wide array of clients on the opportunities available in this emerging field of law • Admitted in New York and California • Board President of Orange County’s Regional Economic Community Action Program Inc. (RECAP); Orange County Citizens Foundation Land Use Committee and Pattern for Progress Affordable Housing Committee



Due Diligence Period



What happens to crops that may have been planted



Term of Lease and Options



Impact of Increased Assessment  Rollback taxes  Solar exemption – Opt out  Proportionality



Assignment of Lease



Insurance



Impact on Remaining Lands



Removal



Utility Easements

 Implications

Impacts of option out Notification Provision Consideration of PILOT Consider PILOT Law

 NYSERDA

Model

 NYSERDA

Solar Toolkit (see page 117)

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov//media/NYSun/files/solar-guidebook.pdf  Methods

To Determine Amount For

PILOT Approval  NYSERDA

Guidelines

Utility

Low ($/MW AC)

High ($/MW AC)

Central Hudson

$2,600

$7,600

118)

Orange & Rockland

$3,200

$9,500

 https://www.nyserda.ny

National Grid

$1,700

$5,100

NYSEG

$1,700

$5,000

Con Edison

$3,700

$11,100

Rochester Gas & Electric

$1,700

$5,000



NYSERDA Solar Toolkit (see page

.gov//media/NYSun/files/sola r-guidebook.pdf

John C. Cappello Partner-Jacobowitz and Gubits LLP

jcc@jacobowitz.com

845.778.2121 www.jacobowitz.com

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