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ENVIRONMENT LOSS Of -,tax credits clouds future of rooftop solar energy BY DAVID NEAL This is another in a series of articles by the Orange County Commis- sion for the Environment. Each article highlights an environmental issue of interest to the residents of Orange County. The CFE is a volunteer ad- visory board to the Board of County Commission- ers. This past year, with the help of the Solarize Orange cam- paign, Orange County experienced a surge in the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In 2015 the Solarize campaign helped 50 homes install rooftop systems that can gener- ate a total of 298 kilo- watts (kW) of electricity using sunlight. Each par- ticipant saved an average of $1,500 through bulk- purchasing of solar pan- els and related equip- ment. In combination with the two previous Solarize campaigns, solar PV sys- tems have been installed on a total of 135 homes in Orange County, with the capacity to produce 1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy per year! This is the greenhouse gas equiv- alent of not burning 740,000 pounds of coal or the amount of carbon stored in 565 acres of forest. For more information in the Orange County State of the Environment 2014 report go to bidy/ImTE5K2 Some of our neighbors were spurred to go solar by the anticipated expira- tion of the state's renew- able energy tax credit, which our General As- sembly let sunset at the end of 2015. For others, it was the dramatic de- crease in the cost of solar panels and their, installa- tion. For some, an oppor- tunity to reduce the amount of air pollution generated from the burn- ing of fossil fuels, in- cluding coal, that supply much of our electricity was enough of a motiva- tor. All three of these factors drove my family's participation in the Solar- ize Orange campaign. Since we installed our system, we have not paid Duke Energy for a single kilowatt hour. During these short winter days, we will need to rely more on the electric grid for power, but our panels produce electricity every day, even when overcast. Unfortunately, clouds of a different sort hang over the Solarize initia- tive. The expired state renewable income tax credit had made solar PV systems significantly more affordable, allow- ing homeowners to re- FACEBOOK.COM/CHAPELHILLNEWS1 » TWITTERMM/THECHAPELHILLNEW! coup up to 35 percent of their costs. Without it, solar is out of reach for many Orange County residents. Those who balk at state or federal tax credits for renewable energy sys- tems should remember that fossil fuels and nu- clear power have re- ceived substantial sub- sidies for generations. In addition, the use of fossil fuels incurs social and health costs that we all bear in the form of in- creased rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, polluted surface waters, and altered land- scapes. We should pet- ition our state repre- sentatives to restore the state renewable tax credit and thank our congres- sional delegation for recently extending the federal tax credit through 2020. In spite of the loss of the tax credits, between now and April 30, two of the biggest Solarize cam- paign organizers in North Carolina, NextClimate and NCWARN, are join- ing together to "Solarize the Triangle." Besides increasing solar installa- tions, the Solarize cam- paign is working to lower the cost of solar through education and easing' access to more affordable financing. On a larger scale, the market for residential solar could be expanded by changing state policies that prevent third-party power purchase agree- ments. In these arrange- ments, solar energy com- panies install solar panels for little to no cost and then bill the homeowner for the energy these pan- els produce. In states where these agreements are allowed, they have been very successful at bringing solar to home- owners who otherwise might not be able to af- ford solar power. A solar system is a great hedge against in- creases in electricity rates, and provides tangi- ble savings to those who otherwise may spend much of their limited income on electricity. My family is thrilled to have been able to afford the upfront costs and partici- pate in the Solarize orange campaign. As a community, let's find a way to make the benefits of solar available to all of our neighbors. David Neal s a member of the Orange County. Commission for the Environment.