Solar Campaign Fuels Interest in Louisville

Imagine a solar city in a leading coal state.Increasingly, advocates and some public officials are doing just that in Louisville, as the price of using the sun to keep the lights on continues to fall.While solar power is still a tiny fraction of the region's energy mix, solar panels on rooftops are no longer an extreme rarity. More people are calculating a solar bottom line in the black, for their household or business finances, as well as for Mother Nature. LG&E shows a 70 percent increase in homes and small businesses hooked up to solar since 2012, from 111 homes to 189.There were no such hook-ups prior to seven years ago."We'd been thinking about it for a while," said Louisville resident and musician Tom Cunningham, who had a solar power system installed by the Louisville business Avery and Sun last week. The panels were bolted down to a back roof on the Clifton home he shares with his wife, Lorraine Venberg. "It's worth it economically, and it's something we wanted to do for the environment."The time it takes to recover the costs from solar investments has been dropping, helped out by federal and state tax credits and improved technology, according to solar installersand their customers. But while Louisville and Kentucky lagfar behind the rest of the country in solar, advocates are seeing signs of change in a state that gets about 90 percent of its electricity from coal.Solar farms have popped up in Bowling Green and Berea. Tennessee Valley Authority policies are making solar more affordable in western Kentucky communities it serves.Kentucky is going to get its first utility-scale and largest solar array, a 10-megawatt facility to be constructed with tens of thousands of solar panels in Mercer County, owned and operated by Kentucky Utilities and LG&E.And the Louisville Metro Council on Thursday passed a strongly worded resolution in support of solar power, led by council members Rick Blackwell and Bill Hollander."It encourages the discussion and promotion of solar use on public and private buildings," Hollander said.Dixie Do-OverMetro Council is now turning its attention toward a possible ordinance that would increase financing options to businesses that want to invest in solar power, or other energy efficiency measures, while Blackwell is promoting a vision for solar-powered street lighting on Dixie Highway.The ordinance would allow for Louisville to have what are called Energy Project Assessment Districts, which open up financing that can be paid back over as many as 20 years as part of property tax assessments. It would not involve public subsidies, Hollander said. "Over 30 states have done this, and progressive states and communities have made this work, and I think we should, too."Blackwell envisions an Interstate 264-Dixie Highway interchange filled with wildflowers and dozens of solar panels, enough to power hundreds of streetlights along a corridor he said is illuminated now only by lights in business parking lots.It's part of a Dixie Do-Over to make part of Dixie Highway more attractive and safer. He said the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the city's public works department have been pushing back, citing cost and safety concerns.But the lack of streetlights is also a safety matter, Blackwell said.Chris Poynter, the spokesman for Mayor Greg Fischer, said city officials are trying to work through the issues.At the same time, the nonprofit Louisville Sustainability Council with a membership that cuts across business, government and nonprofit groups, is preparing a "Solar Over Louisville" campaign.Organizers have tentatively set a goal of adding 2 megawatts of solar power by the end of 2016, when a 30 percent federal tax break on solar power is due to expire.That could add a few hundred new residential solar power systems, supporters said. Currently, LG&E counts a little less than 1 megawatt of solar power from residential and small commercial customers. By comparison, LG&E and KU Energy's new Cane Run natural gas power plant in Louisville produces 650 megawatts of electricity.As envisioned, Solar Over Louisville would be a "strategic, focused, collective effort" to integrate solar thinking across the city, said Colleen Crum, co-chair of a council committee that is coordinating the campaign.A solar push is important for public health and economic development, making Louisville more attractive to young people and others seeking a cleaner environment."I think it's kind of sexy to be able to create your own energy on your own property," she added. "There is a personal pride to say you are doing the right thing."But Louisville has a long way to go.A recent report out of North Carolina State University ranked the city 50th of the 50 biggest cities for solar's value to consumers, in part because of a history of having cheap electricity powered by coal, and also because state, local and utility policies supporting solar power have lagged behind other parts of the country."We figure we have nowhere to go but up," Crum said.How it worksCustomers who have solar power systems installed on their homes sign up for "net metering." In effect, as panels collect energy from the sun, they run the home or businesses' electricity meter backward. When the sun sets, the meter goes the other direction, and for many homes, systems supply all the electricity needed, essentially wiping out electricity bills.That's what LG&E customer attorney Robert Klein, who had a solar power system installed on his Louisville home earlier this month, said he's counting on. He said he expects a payback in about nine or 10 years, down from as many as 14 years just a few years ago. And, he said, he's convinced the solar power will boost the value of his home.Installers say the panels typically have 25-year warranties and are expected to last even longer.The system was expensive, Klein said. But he added that in addition to being a good financial investment, he said he feels better about not relying on coal and helping to reduce his family's contribution to climate change.Jeremy Coxon's SunWind Power Systems of Floyd County, Ind., did the work. Coxon said the economics varies according to the size of a home, its locationand its efficiency. Typical systems can cost as much as a car, ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, and with good credit, financing can be found, Coxon said.In addition to the federal tax credit, there is also a $500 state tax credit through Dec. 31.Installing solar in Indiana can be even more complex, he said, as there is no state law requiring uniform net-metering policies. "You can be neighbors and one person can be net-metered and other won't (be allowed) to connect."New power plant rules unveiled in early August could also boost the solar industry.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power plan set a goal of cutting carbon pollution from power plants by 32 percent by the year 2030, compared with 2005 levels. It is expected to reward states and utility companies that move quickly to expand their investment in solar and wind power, while facing a legal and political challenge from Kentucky and Indiana by political leaders who argue President Barack Obama is carrying out a "war on coal."Still, some cities and states have been working to develop solar power for years, and those that rankbetter for solar have stronger renewable energy policies, and they often have utilities that provide more incentives for people to use solar.State officials say there is plenty of sunshine. But they also note how solar energy can be politically polarizing in Kentucky, the nation's third largest coal producing state. In the most current Energy and Environment Cabinet's Land, Air & Water magazine, they explain some of that tension that exists between the state's utilities and solar advocates.People who install their own panels tout the benefits of cleaner power for their communities and the utility. For their part, utilities see more solar panels on customers' homes as less electricity they can sell, while they still need to provide power lines and other overhead.Balancing actLG&E spokeswoman Natasha Collins described a balancing act to make sure all customers are treated fairly while the utility provides low-cost electricity. Her company sees net-metering as a subsidy to customers with solar panelsbecause those customers are, she said, getting credits valued at the higher retail price of electricity as opposed to the actual cost to produce it, which is lower.One battleground is over Kentucky's 30-kilowatt limit to residential and commercial solar power systems for participation in net metering. Nancy Givens, marketing director for Avery and Sun Solar Installations, said that shuts out most commercial businesses, which need more power.Collins said LG&E will work with any business that wants to install solar panels, but acknowledges the financial incentives for systems larger than 30-kilowatts are not as great.Solar advocates also point to something as "community solar" as another way to boost its use. It allows people to invest in solar panels in their community and get credit on their bills, as if the panels were on their rooftops. It's helpful for people whose homes may not be suited for solar power, because of shade, structural issues or historic preservation policies, installers said.That could become more important as Louisville also pushes to restore a depleted tree canopy.Berea has such a project, allowed by its locally controlled municipal power provider. LG&E is evaluating community solar, but also has fairness concerns, Collins said."We're committed to maintaining the most affordable energy supply for all customers and working to ensure that costs do not shift between customers and do not harm those who cannot afford solar panels," she said.For her part, Givens argued that solar systems installed by homeowners and businesses actually help the utilities by avoiding costs of buying coal or other fuels."It puts energy on the grid they don't have to purchase," she said. "It really helps with peak demand, which is the most expensive electricity. It also reduces transmission costs by putting electricity on the grid closer to where it's used."Givens and others, including Wallace McMullen of the Sierra Club, were celebrating Metro Council's solar power resolution adopted on Thursday as a milestone and a way to push Louisville energy policies in a greener direction.Fischer's sustainability plan calls for establishing citywide renewable energy goals and strategies. But thatplan is more than two years old and those goals have yet to be worked out."At the end of the day, it's all about the math, and getting the math to add up," said Maria Koetter, the city's sustainability director. "That's harder due to our historically cheap energy.Citizens need to keep making requests, she said, adding the she welcomes a robust community discussion about renewable energy. "We are going to get there. We can't be at the back of the pack forever."Reach reporter James Bruggers at 502-582-4645 and at the numbers:Solar homes and small businesses hooked up to LG&E:2008: 2 2009: 10 2010: 42 2011: 90 2012: 111 2013: 139 2014: 166 2015: 189Source: LG&E and KU EnergyPushing solarThe nonprofit Louisville Sustainability Council with a membership that cuts across business, government and nonprofit groups, is preparing a "Solar Over Louisville" campaign.Organizers have tentatively set a goal of adding 2 megawatts of solar power by the end of 2016, when a 30 percent federal tax break on solar power is due to expire.