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From YouTube: Bloomington HRA Seminar: Making Smart Energy Investments, Home Efficiency and Solar Options
Description
Want to make your home more energy efficient? Thinking about investing in solar? Learn about solar options including rooftop and community solar gardens and efficiency measures that should be considered in making smart energy investments. Stacy Boots Camp with Center for Energy and Environment and Trevor Drake with Great Plains Institute will discuss the many options available to you.
A
A
Tonight's
topic
is
making
smart
energy
investments,
home
efficiency
and
solar
options
before
our
before
I.
Introduce
our
speakers
I
just
a
couple
things
if
you
did
not
fill
out
a
door
prize
drawing.
Please
do
so
at
the
conclusion.
We
will
draw
two
names
and
you
can
get
a
$25
gift
card,
one
per
household.
We
have
a
light
crew
here
tonight,
so
it's
going
to
be
spread
out
a
little
bit
in
the
back
to
some
snacks
and
drinking
water
from
Bloomington
award-winning
drinking
water.
A
That
is
help
yourself
to
that
and
then
finally,
the
HRA
where
I
works.
We
support
the
seminars
every
year
and
I
wanted
to
mention
a
couple
things
about
that.
Our
mission
is
to
provide
affordable
housing
to
its
residents
in
Bloomington
and
affordable
housing
options,
and
we
accomplished
that
through
many
different,
affordable
housing
programs,
but
the
one
I
want
to
touch
on
quickly
is
a
rehab
loan
program
that
we
have
it's
a
deferred
loan.
A
You
can
use
it
to
make
home
improvements
and
not
pay
that
the
pay
the
loan
back
until
you
sell,
transfer
Tyler
no
longer
live
in
the
home.
It's
a
very
low
interest
rate
at
two
percent
and
equity
require
requirements
and
income
limits
do
apply,
but
if
you're
eligible
for
a
program
that
program,
we
have
a
brochure
there.
I
can
answer
questions
at
the
conclusion.
If
you
have
any
questions
about
that
program,
so
with
that
I'll
introduce
our
speakers,
we
have
Trevor
Drake
from
Metro
Great
Plains
Institute.
A
B
Good
evening
so
I'm
just
going
to
kick
us
off
and
then
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
and
just
to
let
you
know
what
the
agenda
is
for
the
evening.
I'll
just
get
a
little
bit
of
context
about
energy
in
Minnesota
and
then
cat
from
center
for
energy
and
environment
will
come
up
here.
To
talk
about
energy
efficiency
in
the
home.
Dathan
will
talk
about
individual
solar
options
and
then
I'll
wrap
it
up
to
talk
about
community,
solar
gardens
and
green
pricing.
Programs
and
I
should
say
I'm
with
the
Great
Plains
Institute.
B
We
are
in
nonpartisan
nonprofit
organization
working
to
transition,
the
energy
system
to
be
environmentally
and
economically
sustainable
and
I
do
that
work
through
a
partnership
called
the
clean
energy
resource
teams
and
we
serve
as
a
resource
for
Minnesotans
who
want
to
take
action
on
clean
energy,
so
just
to
just
feel
a
little
bit
of
background
in
Minnesota
and
actually
in
throughout
the
u.s..
There
are
two
to
sort
of
energy
markets:
there's
the
retail
market,
which
involves
customer
activity,
so
the
kind
of
market
that
you're
involved
in
and
then
there's
wholesale.
B
So
that's
where
energy
is
generated
and
then
transmitted
across
large
areas
and
in
Minnesota
we
deliver
retail
energy
through
regulated
monopolies.
So
we
have
three
different
kinds
of
utilities.
In
the
state
there
are
investor
owned
utilities
which
Xcel
Energy
is
one
of.
There
are
Rural
Electric
Cooperative's
and
there
are
municipal
utilities,
and
each
of
these
utilities
has
purview
over
a
certain
territory
area
and
is
regulated
by
somebody
and
I
just
want
to
ask
whoo-hoo
here's
an
Xcel,
Energy
customer.
C
B
Right,
you
don't
have
a
choice,
so
it
depends
on
where
you
live,
and
so
we'll
talk.
Actually.
This
is
why
I'm
saying
this
will
talk
about.
Why
why
you
have
some
choices,
even
though
you
can't
choose
who
your
utility
provider
is,
and
so
Excel
is
regulated
by
the
Public
Utilities
Commission,
their
their
state
body,
and
we
have
three
policies
that
enable
you
to
have
some
choice.
The
first
is
Minnesota's
conservation,
Improvement
Program.
This
is
a
law
that
requires
utilities
to
spend
some
portion
of
their
annual
operating
revenue
on
energy
efficiency
investments.
B
So,
if
you've
ever
participated
in
a
program
where
you've
got
a
rebate
back
from
the
utility,
this
is
a
falling
under
this
larger
policy.
Second,
we
have
a
state
renewable
energy
standard
that
requires
utilities
to
generate
or
procure
some
portion
of
their
electricity
from
renewable
sources
by
a
certain
date,
and
then,
lastly,
we
have
this
net
metering
policy,
which
says
that
if
you
are
to
have
a
small
renewable
energy
system
on
your
property,
you
have
to
be
able
to
plug
that
into
the
local
utilities
grid.
B
As
long
as
it
qualifies
and
you
have
to
be
able
to
get
compensated
for
that,
and
so
these
policies
together
enable
you
to
have
the
opportunity
to
have
some
clean
energy
choices,
which
is
what
we
are
going
to
talk
about
here
tonight.
So
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
cat
who's,
going
to
talk
about
energy
efficiency
in
the
home.
D
D
There
are
many
different
ways
that
we
use
energy
in
our
daily
lives,
but
the
energy
that
we
use
at
home
is
one
that
we
have
the
most
control
over.
So
today,
we'll
be
talking
about
low
cost
and
no
cost
energy
saving
things
that
you
can
start
doing
today,
we'll
talk
about
larger
scale,
home
improvements
that
will
help
your
home,
save
energy
and
also
talked
about
how
the
home
energy
squad
can
help.
You
figure
out
all
of
those
things.
D
So
at
siiii
we've
come
up
with
a
recipe
for
an
energy
smart
home
that
includes
good
habits,
good
products
and
good
investments.
You
can
have
a
good
product
like
a
programmable
thermostat,
but
if
you
don't
have
the
good
habit
of
programming
it
then
you're
not
really
capitalizing
on
the
savings
that
it
could
offer.
D
D
We
have
water
heating
that
takes
up
about
ten
percent
appliances,
account
for
about
fifteen
percent
of
the
energy
use
lighting
in
electronics,
at
about
twenty
percent,
and,
as
you
might
imagine,
heating
and
cooling,
our
homes
takes
the
most
amount
of
energy
in
Minnesota,
so
we'll
kind
of
go
over
ideas
that
you
can
take
home
today
to
start
looking
at
all
these
areas,
so
it
kind
of
started
talking
about
water,
saving,
energy
that
goes
into
water
heating.
So
a
good
habit
would
be
to
make
sure
your
water
heater
is
set
to
a
good
temperature.
D
D
Other
good
products
are
high,
efficient,
showerheads
and
faucet
aerators.
Those
can
save
about
a
gallon
of
water
per
minute
of
use
and
if
we're
using
less
hot
water,
your
water
heater
is
not
working
so
hard.
During
a
home
energy
squad
visit,
we
can
install
those
water
saving
fixtures
and
the
water
heater
blankets
as
well.
D
In
terms
of
our
appliances.
Refrigerators
are
kind
of
one
of
the
big
ones.
This
lovely
avocado,
green
refrigerator
can
use
almost
up
to
two
hundred
dollars
a
year
and
electricity
to
run
if
it's
pretty
old
and
if
you
were
to
replace
that
refrigerator
with
a
new
energy
star-rated
fridge
those
only
costs
about
forty
dollars
a
year
to
run
so
it's
quite
a
bit
to
be
saved
by
upgrading
your
appliances
with
Energy
Star
appliances.
D
If
you're
looking
to
recycle
a
refrigerator,
Xcel
Energy
does
have
recycling
programs.
Well,
they
will
come
and
pick
it
up
for
you.
We
don't
recommend
putting
your
old
fridge
in
the
basement
as
a
beer
fridge,
because
then
you're
not
really
saving
any
energy,
as
anyone
here
already
using
high
efficient
bulbs
in
your
homes.
D
Excellent,
that's
a
super,
easy
thing
that
you
can
do
compact
fluorescent
light
bulbs,
say
or
use
about
75%
less
energy
than
a
standard
incandescent
bulb
and
LEDs,
which
are
a
newer
style
of
light,
bulb
use
even
less.
The
quality
of
these
light
bulbs
has
increased
or
has
improved
quite
a
bit
since
they
first
came
out.
So
if
you
haven't
tried
using
high
efficient
light
bulbs,
I'd
suggest
giving
them
another
shot.
D
Does
this
look
like
a
room
in
anyone's
home
little
lights
kind
of
flickering?
This
looks
like
your
living
room.
All
of
those
electronics
that
have
little
indicator
lights
even
when
the
electronics
are
turned
off
like
your
TV,
it's
always
waiting
for
the
remote
to
tell
it
to
turn
on,
and
that
is
drawing
just
a
little
bit
of
electricity,
which
may
not
seem
like
much.
But
you
add
up
all
of
the
electronics
in
your
home
they're
doing
that
24
hours
a
day
and
it
really
adds
up.
D
So
we
recommend
using
a
smart
strip,
which
is
just
a
electrical
strip,
that
you
can
tell
certain
appliances
or
electronics
to
turn
off
when
the
strip
is
turned
off,
and
if
you
need
to
leave
other
electronics
on,
maybe
like
your
internet,
modem
or
a
security
system,
then
you
have
the
option
not
to
turn
those
off,
but
just
like
you
would
turn
off
lights
when
you're
leaving
the
room.
It's
a
great
idea
to
turn
off
your
electronics
as
well.
C
C
D
E
D
It
probably
varies
between
different
electronics,
I
guess,
I
wouldn't
be
able
to
say
an
exact
number.
It's
it's
a
small
percentage,
but
it
all
adds
up
so
so
programmable
thermostat
and
is
another
good
product
that
you
can
use
to
help
save
energy
in
your
home
in
the
winter
time.
This
allows
you
to
automatically
turn
the
heating
temperature
down
when
you're
away
at
work
or
when
you're
sleeping.
D
If
your
house
feels
a
little
bit
drafty
or
leaky,
you
can
use
the
window
film
to
go
over
the
windows
and
stop
air
leaks
through
the
windows.
You
can
also
call
around
the
trim
of
the
windows
to
stop
air
moving
through
there
and
also
gasket
seals
for
outlets
on
exterior
walls.
Those
can
help
make
your
home
feel
more
comfortable
in
the
winter
time,
but
they're
not
really
addressing
the
cause
of
your
house
feeling,
drafty
or
leaky.
That's
likely
to
be
a
lack
of
insulation
and
air
sealing
in
your
home.
D
So
we
all
know
that
warm
air
rises
and
as
it
rises
through
your
house,
it
will
find
little
gaps
and
cracks.
You
know,
through
light
fixtures
through
your
ceiling
or
your
attic
hatch.
Plumbing
stack
lots
of
different
areas
that
go
from
your
living
space
into
your
attic
and
if
those
aren't
sealed
off,
then
the
money
that
you're
paying
to
heat
with
your
furnace
is
escaping
that
can
also,
as
it
gets
into
the
attic
and
warms
the
Attic
up
in
the
wintertime
that
can
cause
I
stand
switch.
D
So
I've
mentioned
the
home
interview
squad
a
few
times:
it's
a
partnership
between
the
center
for
energy
and
environment,
your
utilities,
Xcel
Energy
and
CenterPoint
Energy,
and
the
city
of
Bloomington
also
offers
a
discount
to
Bloomington
residents.
A
visit
is
normally
one
hundred
dollars,
but
the
blooming
city
of
Bloomington
offers
it
for
fifty
dollars
and
what
we
do
at
the
visit,
our
diagnostic
tests
of
your
house.
So
we
do
a
blower
door
test
to
see
how
airtight
or
leaky
your
home
is.
D
We
inspect
your
insulation
and
try
to
find
where
all
those
red
arrows
are,
and
we
also
do
a
safety
check
of
your
heating
system
and
water
heater,
and
then
I
also
mentioned
that
we
install
products
to
save
energy.
That
day
we
do
the
programmable
thermostat.
The
water,
saving
fixtures
will
rather
strip
doors
and
also
high
efficient
light
bulbs
are
all
included.
D
E
Everybody,
my
name
is
day
'then,
let
go.
I
work
for
an
organization
called
the
midwest
Renewable
Energy
Association
were
based
out
of
Wisconsin
middle
of
the
state.
Little
town
called
Custer
have
we
been
around
since
1990,
and
we
opened
our
st.
Paul
office
in
november
of
last
year
and
I
do
a
lot
of
solar
education
around
the
state,
mostly
around
residential
solar,
solar
home
ownership.
E
I
have
some
cards
there
at
the
back
of
the
table
or
if
you
want
to
talk
to
me
afterwards
or
ask
questions
during
the
presentation,
feel
free
I
usually
do
this
presentation
in
about
45
minutes,
so
I'm
going
to
try
and
do
it
in
about
10.
But
it's
not
the
whole
thing.
This
is
kind
of
a
condensed
version.
So
if
you
have
any
questions
whatsoever,
let
me
know,
but
I'm
going
to
be
specifically
talking
about
rooftop,
solar,
so
owning
your
own
solar
system,
so
just
a
little
kind
of
background
information.
E
Current
state
of
solar.
We
have
about
30
gigawatts
of
PV
solar,
photovoltaic
solar
panels
in
installed
in
the
United
States,
which
is
about
six
million
homes
worth,
but
it's
growing
rapidly.
It
represented
twenty.
Twenty.
Nine
point
four
percent
of
all
of
the
new
energy
generated
in
2015,
which
was
more
than
natural
gas.
E
So
if
you
can
imagine
another
consumer
good
where
the
price
would
drop,
you
know
more
than
sixty
percent
seventy
percent
that
would
be
like
buying
a
you
know,
car
for
thirty
thousand
dollars
one
year
and
then
turning
around
ten
years
later
and
buying
that
exact
same
car
for
nine
eight
nine
thousand
dollars.
So
the
price
has
dropped
quite
a
bit
and
it
makes
it
really
attractive
to
homeowners
at
this
point,
because
it's
kind
of
reaching
that
limit
of
it
probably
won't
be
getting
much
cheaper.
E
Yet
2015
broke
the
record
last
year
and
we're
looking
to
hopefully
maybe
close
to
double
that
this
year,
and
probably
within
the
last
10
to
15
years,
the
real
estate
market
has
really
kind
of
caught
up
with
solar
before
they
really
didn't
know
how
to
market
it.
They
didn't
know
how
to
make
it
look
like
an
asset,
because
people
didn't
really
understand
what
it
was,
how
it
worked
and
people
just
kind
of
saw
it
as
like.
Oh
there's,
this
thing,
I
don't
get
that's
on
this
house.
E
I
don't
want
to
get
involved,
but
as
solar
and
you
know,
conservation
sustainability,
you've
become
more
of
a
like
common
themes
and
the
culture
has
shifted
a
little
bit.
People
are
looking
for
homes
that
have
solar
panels
or
renewable
energy
systems
already
in
place,
and
so
25
percent
in
the
United
States
solar
homes
sold
for
twenty
five
percent
faster
and
for
twenty
percent
more
than
other
non-solar
homes.
So
it's
really
good
for
your
home's
portfolio.
E
E
I
won't
get
too
much
into
the
physics
of
how
a
solar
panel
actually
creates
electricity,
but
just
know
that
the
Sun
shines
and
there's
some
magic
that
happens
and
those
little
photons
are
little
molecules
and
atoms
from
the
Sun
hit
those
solar
panels
and
they
create
electrical
charges
and
that
flows
out
of
that
solar
panel
as
a
type
of
electricity
called
DC
energy
or
DC
power,
so
direct
current
power.
Unfortunately,
our
houses
don't
use
direct
current
electricity.
E
There
are
several
types
of
solar
systems,
the
most
common
and
especially
in
urban
areas.
Is
this
the
utility
interactive
grid-tied
system?
A
lot
of
people
are
familiar
with
solar
systems
for
off-grid
housing,
where
you
have
a
battery
backup
system
and
whatnot,
those
tend
to
be
pretty
expensive
and
batteries
tend
to
make
systems
doubled
in
size.
However,
if
you're
in
a
place
like
northern
Minnesota,
where
you
don't
have
power
lines
coming
to
your
property,
then
that
might
be
a
good
idea,
but
in
the
city
we
tie
right
into
the
grid.
E
So
you
basically
have
that
solar
system
on
your
roof,
and
that
goes
right
into
excels
grid.
So
when
you're
over
producing
electricity,
it's
going
right
to
your
neighbors
or
to
the
the
grid
itself
and
when
you're
under
producing
such
as
at
night,
when
there's
no
Sun,
then
you're
taking
energy
from
the
grid.
So
you
never
add
a
loss
of
energy.
E
As
long
as
that
grid
is
function,
the
one
kind
of
down
followed
this
system
is
that
if
the
grid
does
go
down,
then
your
system
goes
down
because
utilities
don't
want
power
going
to
that
grid
if
they're
trying
to
work
on
it.
So
you
know,
because
that
PV
system
is
a
power
plant.
That's
on
your
home
that
inverter
will
shut
down
electricity
or
house
if
the.
E
If
the
grid
goes
down,
they
are
the
least
expensive
and
they
allow
for
net
metering,
which
trevor
talked
about
a
little
bit
and
what
net
metering
is
is
basically,
you
sell
electricity
that
you
produce
back
to
the
utility,
so
in
this
case
excel.
If
you
make
more
energy
than
you
use,
then
they
give
you
a
credit
on
your
utility
bill
for
that
electricity
that
you're
producing
so
two
examples
of
that.
This
person
over
here
is
a
net
user.
E
You
know
they
might
have
really
done
a
lot
of
work
in
that
department,
they're,
really
careful
about
phantom
loads
and
those
kind
of
really
nitty
gritty
details-
and
you
know
they're
going
to
produce
more
than
they
use
and
so
they'll
get
credited
on
their
electric
bill
and
the
law
in
Minnesota
right
now
is
that
whatever
the
current
cost
of
electricity
that
you
buy
from
the
utility
is
they
have
to
pay
that
to
you?
So
that's
really
nice,
because
it's
not
necessarily
how
it
is
in
other
states
and
I
get
this
question
a
lot.
E
Is
there
enough
sunlight
for
solar
in
Minnesota
and
the
and
the
answer
is
absolutely
yes.
This
is
a
solar
irradiance
map
of
the
United
States.
You
see
us
up
there
at
the
top
we're
kind
of
in
that
green
area.
Obviously
the
Southwest
you
know
has
got
a
better
solar
window
than
we
do
the
Pacific
Northwest
a
little
worse,
but
this
map
right
here
is
of
Germany
and
they
have
about
half
the
sunlight
that
we
do
and
they're
the
world
leaders
in
solar
energy
production.
Currently,
so
we
definitely
have
enough
sunlight.
E
You
know
we
have
to
contend
with
things
like
winter
and
snow,
but
solar
panels
actually
are
more
efficient
at
colder
temperatures.
So
if
you
really
have
like
those
like
cold
sunny
days,
those
can
be
really
high
for
production
and
then
just
thinking
about,
if
your
house
is
good
for
solar,
just
a
few
questions,
you
might
want
to
ask
yourself
and
if
you
do
get
involved
and
talk
to
an
installer,
they
can
certainly
help
you
with
some
of
these.
But
do
you
have
a
south-facing
roof?
E
Generally,
you
can
get
away
with
an
east-west
depending
on
the
pitch.
You
can't
get
away
with
the
north-facing
roof.
It's
not
worth
it
shading
issues.
So
do
you
have
power
lines,
trees,
other
buildings,
kind
of
coming
onto
the
property
and
shading
them
not
just
today,
but
also
you
know
throughout
the
year,
because,
as
the
sun's
angle
kind
of
declines
in
the
winter,
you
might
get
more
shading
than
you
would
in
the
summer.
When
do
you
anticipate
reroofing?
It's
not
really
a
price.
E
It's
not
viable
to
do
a
reroof
and
have
to
have
someone
come
and
take
those
solar
panels
down.
So
you
want
to
make
sure
that
your
roof
is,
you
know
relatively
new
and
structurally
sound.
So
if
you
have
any
problems
with
that,
are
you
going
to
be
in
the
house
for
a
while?
It's
a
good
question.
Ask
yourself
if
you're
planning
on
moving
in
a
few
years
might
not
be
the
best
investment
it
might
be,
it
just
depends,
and
then
is
your
home
efficient.
E
That's
a
really
big
step
in
going
to
renewables,
especially
if
you're
owning
your
own
system
for
every
dollar
that
you
spend
on
renewable
improvements.
You
save
three
dollars
on
renewable
energy
production.
So
if
you've
done
some
of
those
home
improvements,
then
then
that
really
pays
off
in
the
long
run
and
then
some
costs
factors
are
you
know
how
big
is
your
system
going
to
be?
Where
is
it
going
to
be
on
your
property?
E
If
it's
going
to
be
on
the
garage
you
might
have
to
pay,
you
know
for
trenching
for
cabling,
there's
all
kinds
of
things
that
go
into
each
system:
the
module
types
of
the
type
of
panel,
just
like
any
other
product
they're,
like
literally
hundreds
of
choices
out
there
inverters
as
well
your
system
sighting
so
like
what
are
kind
of
some
of
the
specifics
there.
The
efficiency
measures
you've
taken
if
your
home
is
really
efficient.
E
So
I'm
just
going
to
talk
about
some
of
the
incentives
that
are
out
there
for
people
who
want
to
install
their
own
solar
system
on
the
roof.
There
are
a
lot
of
them
and
some
of
them
are
really
easy
to
get,
and
some
of
them
are
a
little
more
difficult,
but
you
can
generally
bring
the
cost
of
a
system
down
by
fifty
percent
on
average.
If
you
apply
for
all
the
incentives
and
get
them
the
first
one
is
the
residential
renewable
energy
tax
credit.
E
That
is
a
thirty
percent
return
on
your
tax
return
that
you
get
it's
thirty
percent
off
the
total
system
cost
of
a
system
that
thirty
percent
is
only
good
until
2019,
at
which
point
it
starts
to
sunset.
That
was
supposed
to
expire
at
the
end
of
this
gear.
But
we
have
a
few
more
years
thanks
to
some
dedicated
people
in
Congress.
So
thirty
percent
is
a
big
deal
that
would
be
like
I'm
going
to
go,
buy
this
car
and
the
government
is
going
to
give
me
thirty
percent.
E
You
know
a
third
of
that
car
price
is
pretty
good,
so
that's
a
great
incentive.
That's
out
there,
there's
a
made
in
Minnesota
rebate
and
the
deadline
for
that.
Each
year's
februari
28-
it
usually
is
open
from
the
first
of
the
year.
Up
until
the
end
of
februari,
it's
only
available
in
those
utilities
and
it
does
provide
a
really
good
incentive.
It
is
getting
a
little
more
difficult
to
get
as
it
becomes
more
popular,
but
if
you're
able
to
get
it
and
it's
based
on
the
lottery,
so
it's
not
first
come
first
serve.
E
E
So
Excel
also
has
a
really
good
incentive
program
called
Excel
solar
rewards
and
they
pay
you
eight
cents
per
kilowatt
hour
that
you
produce,
on
top
of
whatever
your
are
they're
already
paying
you
for
production,
so
that's
eight
cents
a
kilowatt
hour
for
up
to
ten
years.
That's
really
good,
too.
You
know,
depending
on
a
system
size
that
could
be
anywhere
from
three
to
seven
thousand
dollars,
that
you're
going
to
get
in
these
payments
over
year
over
the
years
and
credited
on
to
your
bill
and
like
anything,
costs
and
incentives.
E
Very
so
you
gotta
make
sure
that
you're
working
with
an
installer,
if
you
would
like
me
to
give
you
the
names
of
a
few
qualified
ones,
I
would
be
happy
to
do
that.
My
advice
to
you
would
be
to
get
a
few
site
assessments
if
you're
really
interested
most
installers
will
give
free
site
assessments.
If
they
don't,
then
I
would
stray
away
from
them.
But
if
you
call
up
a
solar,
installer,
they'll
come
out
to
your
house
and
they'll
review
your
energy
goals.
E
That,
if
you
are
interested
in
financing
a
portion
of
your
system,
the
few
state-run
programs
and
nonprofits
that
do
offer
financing
for
solar,
because
a
lot
of
banks
still
are
just
kind
of
like
I,
don't
you
know
they
might
not
necessarily
know
how
to
how
to
deal
with
it.
Obviously
work
with
your
bank
or
credit
union
bank.
If
you
feel
comfortable
with
that
center
for
energy
environment
has
a
really
great
solar
loan.
I
think
it's
five
point:
nine
percent
fixed
for
30
years
up
to
fifty
thousand
dollars.
So
it's
a
really
good.
E
E
That's
a
good
question,
so
what's
the
life
expectancy
of
a
solar
system
and
did
they
degrade
over
time?
Generally
speaking,
most
PV
systems
are
warrantied
25
to
30
years
of
the
the
panels
they're
coming
out
with
right.
Now
we
there's
no
empirical
data
of
how
long
they
last,
because
we
just
haven't
had
them
long
enough.
So
there
are
panels
that
are
from
you
know
the
1970s
and
80s
that
are
still
producing
at
seventy-five
percent
4045
years
later.
E
There
is
a
built-in
degradation
with
them,
I
believe
it's
one
percent
per
year,
so
generally
speaking
after
that,
25
years,
you're
still
producing
it's
generally,
seventy-five
or
eighty
percent
efficiency
and
there's
a
the
warranties
build
that
into
so.
If
it
ever
drops
below
that
kind
of
efficiency
rating-
and
you
find
a
panel-
that's
not
producing
it
that
what
it's
expected
to
at
that
point
in
its
life,
then
that
gets
replaced
any
other
questions.
B
So
de
'then
talked
about
doing
solar
as
an
individual
and
community
solar,
sometimes
called
community
shared
solar,
solar
gardens
is
different
in
that
you
are
getting
together
with
a
group
of
people
and
you're
all
buying
into
or
subscribing
to
a
central
solar
system
and
then
you're
all
receiving
a
benefit.
That's
proportional
to
how
much
you
subscribe
to
in
Xcel
Energy
territory.
You
can
subscribe
to
up
to
a
hundred
and
twenty
percent
of
your
average
annual
electricity
usage
and
benefit
that
you
get
is
delivered
to
you
as
a
credit
on
your
monthly
utility
bill.
B
B
So
a
few
just
upfront
facts
about
solar
garden
subscriptions
in
excels
program,
which
is
different
than
almost
all
the
other
programs
in
Minnesota.
The
subscriptions
are
offered
by
third-party
solar
developers,
so
excels,
not
offering
these
their
private
companies,
and
I
mentioned
earlier.
That
Excel
is
regulated
by
the
Public
Utilities
Commission.
These
companies
are
not
regulated
so
when
you
go
to
sign
up
for
a
solar
garden
subscription
the
way
you
do,
that
is
by
signing
a
contract
with
one
of
these
companies
and
generally
those
contracts
are
written
the
way
they
want
them
to
be
written.
B
So
you
need
to
be
prudent
and
read
through
that,
and
the
term
of
the
agreement
that's
being
offered
right
now
is
about
20
to
25
years.
We
haven't
seen
much
less
than
that,
so
that's
a
long
period
of
time.
So
that's
concerning
to
you.
We
suggest
that
you
understand
clearly
what
the
exit
clauses
are
in
that
contract
and
normally
they're
spelled
out
in
a
few
different
ways.
B
So
if
you
have
to
move
out
of
the
service
territory
often
times
there
might
be
a
small
administrative
fee,
if
you
pass
away
oftentimes
they'll
just
take
it
back,
they
won't
charge
anything
to
your
family
members
if
you
move
within
the
service
territory.
So
if
you
are
just
going
to
move
somewhere
else
in
Bloomington
you're
still
in
the
same
County,
you
can
just
take
it
with
you
and
if
you
decide
you
just
don't
want
it
anymore.
B
Often
there
is
a
fee,
and
so
you
want
to
know
what
that
is
upfront
and
then,
lastly,
one
of
the
exciting
things
about
solar
gardens
is
that
there's
an
opportunity
to
lower
your
electricity
bill
starting
on
day
one,
so
it
can
be
a
good
opportunity,
so
we're
just
going
to
walk
through
conceptually
as
if
we
had
subscribed
to
a
solar
garden.
So
you
can
see
what
the
process
is
like.
B
So
you
start
by
determining
how
much
electricity
you
use
in
a
given
year,
I'm
going
to
use
9600
kilowatt
hours,
which
is
the
use
for
an
average
minnesota
household,
and
then
you
want
to
ask
how
much
do
you
want
to
offset
with
a
solar
garden
subscription?
So
let's
go
one
hundred
percent,
it's
about
eight
kilowatts
of
solar,
and
now
we
can
shop
around
to
find
a
developer.
Who's
got
an
opportunity.
So
luckily
we
have
a
online
database
called
the
clean
energy
project
builder.
B
So
you
might
have
received
something
in
the
mail
but
know
that
you
you
can
shop
around
and
so
the
one
that's
sending
you
mail,
there's
might
not
be
the
one
that
you
want
to
sign
up
with
her.
Maybe
it
is,
but
you
have
options
which
is
great,
so
a
few
things
we
think
you
should
ask
solar
developers
are
one
what's
the
pricing
structure
and
is
your
payment
tied
to
production
of
the
garden?
So
if
the
garden
doesn't
produce,
do
you
still
pay
or
not?
B
This
can
be
set
up
so
that
you
only
pay
based
on
what's
produced
and
we
think
that's
probably
the
best
model
is
the
business
model,
something
that
you
agree
with.
Do
you
care
where
the
garden
is
located?
Do
they
have
a
good
customer
service
reputation,
those
kind
of
general
questions
in
working
with
any
contractor
exit
clauses?
We
talked
about
and
then
project
construction
and
timing.
So
you
may
have
heard
that
there
are
a
whole
bunch
of
these
gardens
in
an
application
queue
and
some
of
them
are
sort
of
waiting
in
line
to
get
built.
B
B
Okay,
so
let's
say
that
we
found
this
sort
of
and
I
had
made
these
solar
developers
up
so
fun
in
the
Sun.
Is
my
made-up
name
for
a
solar
garden
developer
they're,
offering
us
this
subscription
opportunity,
14
cents
per
kilowatt
hour
produced
by
the
garden,
so
we're
going
to
pay
them
14
cents
for
every
kilowatt-hour
produced
by
our
portion
of
the
Guardian
that
we're
subscribed
to,
and
that
rate
is
going
to
go
up
by
two
point:
seven:
five
percent
each
year
for
25
years.
B
So
once
that
garden
begins
producing
electricity,
three
things
are
going
to
happen.
One
you
are
going
to
begin
making
payments
to
that
solar
garden
developer.
At
that
rate,
too,
you're
going
to
begin
receiving
credits
on
your
monthly
utility
bill
equal
to
the
PERT
production
of
your
portion
of
the
garden,
and
so
the
rate
of
your
bill.
Credit
is
set
based
on
electricity
prices
by
the
Public
Utilities
Commission,
and
it's
updated
every
year.
Ok,
so
again,
what
you
pay
to
the
developer
is
set
by
them
in
your
contract.
B
What
you
get
on
those
bill
credits,
that's
set
by
the
Public
Utilities
Commission,
and
it
can
change
you
two
year,
we'll
talk
about
that
and
then
lastly,
you
still
pay
your
bill,
so
you've
got
your
bill,
but
it's
getting
credited
based
on
your
productions.
So
if
your
bill
it
might
be
slightly
greater
than
zero,
then
you'll
pay
the
difference
if
it's
less
than
zero.
You'll
have
a
credit
carried
to
the
next
month
and
if,
in
a
given
year
your
credits
exceed
your
total
bills,
then
accelerate
you,
a
check
which
could
be
nice.
B
So
here's
the
bill.
Credit
rates
for
2016
at
the
top
is
the
standard.
Great,
so
they're
saying
point
1
to
59
six
dollars
per
kilowatt-hour
is
what
residents
residential
customers
generally
pay
for
their
electricity
across
the
board
in
Excel
service
territory.
Then
we've
got
this
incentive
in
this
incentive
piece.
So
what
this
is
is
Excel
is
saying:
we've
got
to
comply
with
those
state,
renewable
energy
standards
that
I
mentioned
right
when
we
started,
and
we
will
they're
saying
we
will
pay
you
an
additional
two
cents
per
kilowatt
hour.
B
If
you
sell
us
the
renewable
energy
credits,
so
renewable
energy
credits
are
a
way
to
track
renewable
energy,
that's
been
produced
and
you
are
essentially
selling
that
back
to
xcel
energy
and
in
the
the
solar
incentive
programs
that
day
'then
talked
about
general
you're,
also
selling
those
credits
to
xcel
energy.
Why
does
this
matter
technically?
B
You
can't
claim
that
your
renewably
powered,
if
you
don't
own
those
credits
as
an
individual,
not
really
a
big
deal
if
you're
an
institution
like
a
city
that
has
a
carbon
reduction
goal,
and
you
want
to
back
that
up
with
something.
Then
you
probably
care
about
those
more
and
I've
highlighted
this
in
gold,
because
almost
all
of
the
offers
that
are
out
there
are
at
this
standard
plus
two
cent
incentive
rate
so
point
one
four
or
five
964
smaller
Gardens.
B
You
can
actually
get
an
additional
penny
per
kilowatt
hour,
so
we're
just
going
to
go
I'm
going
to
keep
going
with
this
model
on
this
additional
two
cent
rate
so
month.
One
of
our
solar
garden.
If
we
didn't
subscribe,
we'd
be
paying
about
a
hundred
bucks
for
our
Excel
bill
using
800
kilowatt
hours
per
month,
the
average
minnesotan.
But
if
we
subscribe,
we
still
pay
that
hundred
bucks.
B
But
then
we
have
this
bill
credit
and
it's
more
than
a
hundred
dollars,
because
we
have
that
additional
two
cents
and
then
we
also
have
to
make
a
payment
to
the
solar
garden
developer.
So
we've
gone,
we've
taken
our
bill.
Actually,
we've
offset
it
entirely.
We've
gone
16
dollars
below
our
bill,
but
now
we
need
to
pay
a
hundred
and
twelve
dollars
to
the
developer.
So
at
the
end
of
the
day,
we're
paying
$96
in
the
month
as
opposed
to
one
hundred
dollars,
save
four
bucks.
Okay,.
F
B
So
over
25
years,
you'd
expect
you'd,
probably
save
money
on
a
good
contract,
but
just
to
say
that
in
a
given
in
a
given
year,
if
electricity
prices
go
down,
you
might
actually
spend
more
money
than
if
you
hadn't
subscribe
to
the
garden.
So
just
something
to
keep
in
mind.
We've
got
a
great
calculator
online
at
this
website,
and
I
can
give
this
to
folks.
Afterwards.
You
can
actually
put
in
what
you
think
electricity
prices
might
do
in
the
future,
and
then
we
give
you
what
they've
historically
done.
B
So
this
is
the
same
offer
in
a
red
line,
14
cents
per
kilowatt
hour,
going
up
at
two
point:
seven:
five
percent:
the
blue
line
is
the
historic
electricity
price
increase.
So
if
energy
prices
go
up
at
the
rate
they
have
over
the
past
15
years
you'll
have
you
know
your
savings?
Is
the
difference
between
the
two
and
in
the
green
line.
I've
said:
okay,
three
point
five
percent,
which
is
the
historic
I,
think
that's
high
I'm,
going
to
say
three
percent,
and
so
that's
what
the
green
line
is
here.
B
So
you
can
you
can
test
this
out.
If
you
were
to
see
this
green
line
cross
the
red
line,
then
at
that
point
you
would
begin
losing
money
as
a
result
of
this
subscription.
This
calculator
will
also
spit
out
your
savings
at
different
points
in
and
so
at
the
top
you've
got
what
you
save
on
a
monthly
bill
at
the
bottom.
You've
got
your
cumulative
savings
over
time
and
the
nice
thing
about
this
is
if,
if
you're,
not
saving
money,
if
you're
losing
money,
these
will
turn
red
in
the
calculator.
B
B
So
that's
something
to
think
about
the
technology
as
David
mentioned
is
improving,
so
maybe
the
cost
will
come
down
and
then
the
program
design
could
change,
and
really
all
of
these
things
could
be
for
better
or
worse,
but
I
just
mentioned
them
to
keep
in
mind
on
the
program
design.
It
actually
is
changing,
so
starting
in
January
of
2017,
the
bill
credit
rate
will
change
to
what's
called
the
value
of
solar.
B
So
this
is
something
this
is
a
calculation
where
they
take
all
the
benefits
that
solar
energy
provides
to
the
electricity
system,
minus
all
the
costs
of
it
on
the
system
and
come
up
with
some
value.
So
in
2016
that
value
of
solar
rate
was
nine
point:
nine
five
cents
compare
that
to
the
current
bill:
credit
rate
of
14.5
cents,
it's
quite
a
bit
lower.
So
the
good
thing
is
that
this
only
applies
to
new
gardens
that
are
deemed
complete
in
the
application
process,
starting
in
January
2017.
B
So
when
you
sign
up
under
a
solar
garden,
whatever
bill
credit
rate,
you
sign
up
for
is
the
bill
credit
rate
that
you'll
have
for
the
lifetime
of
that
guard
and
that
won't
change.
So
if
you
sign
up
under
the
old
model,
that's
based
on
electricity
prices
you'll
have
that
for
the
rest
of
your
contract.
If
you
sign
up
under
a
new
garden,
you'll
have
this
value
of
seller
model,
so
some
developers
are
out
there
saying
you've
got
to
sign
up
the
program's
changing
sign
up
right
now
sign
up
today.
B
B
Ok,
so
now
I'm
going
to
talk
about
green
pricing,
there
program
it's
called
wind
source
and
xcel
energy's
territory.
This
takes
about
five
minutes
to
sign
up
for
online
and
you
can
go
one
hundred
percent
renewable
energy.
You
pay
a
small
price
premium
for
this,
so
in
this
program,
what
you
end
up
doing
is
you:
you
pay
a
little
bit
more
for
renewable
energy,
but
then
you
don't
pay
for
the
fossil
fuel
costs
that
go
into
your
energy
bill.
I'll
show
you
an
example
of
a
bill
in
a
second
and
how
that
works.
B
One
way
this
is
different
from
the
solar
garden
program.
Is
that
the
renewable
electricity
that
you're
purchasing
you
actually
keep
those
renewable
energy
credits
they're
yours,
so
this
will
be
beyond
what
xcel
energy
is
required
to
do
under
that
renewable
energy
standard.
It's
additive.
Some
people
are
really
excited
about
that
and
then
the
term
is
just
one
year
initially
and
then
you
can
cancel
anytime
after
that.
So
if
solar
garden
sound
a
little
complicated
to
you,
but
you
want
to
be
a
hundred
percent
renewably
powered.
This
is
a
really
easy
way
to
do
that.
B
E
I
think
it's
important
to
edge
rubber
that
model
for
community
solar.
When
you
were
saying
that
the
price
of
electricity
may
drop
in
a
year
and
you
could
lose
out,
the
price
of
electricity
could
also
like
spike
over
time
way
more
than
we
predict,
and
then
you
could
be.
You
know
you
have
a
fixed
cost
for
electricity
for
25
years,
so
it
could
be
a
huge
benefit
just
depending
on
what
happens.
That's.
C
B
Say
so
on
the
electricity
grid,
one
of
the
interesting
things
is
that
you
can't
distinguish
an
electron
that
came
from
a
fossil
fuel
like
a
coal
plant,
for
example,
from
an
electron
that
came
from
a
solar
power
plant.
So
how
do
you
account
for
that?
We
have
this.
We
have
these
renewable
energy
credits
or
renewable
energy
certificates,
and
one
of
those
is
issued
per
every
unit
of
electricity.
B
That's
generated
everyone,
it's
a
megawatt
hour
of
electricity
and
those
credits
or
certificates
can
actually
be
bought
and
sold
on
a
market,
and
so
in
the
solar
garden
program
that
renewable
electricity
is
being
produced,
and
it's
me
actually
being
tracked
and
those
credits
are
being
generated,
and
so,
if
you
sign
up
under
this,
go
back
here
to
my,
if
you
sign
up
under
this
rate,
which
is
mostly
what's
being
offered
you're,
technically
selling
those
credits
to
xcel
energy.
So
what
that
means?
Is
they
own?
B
The
renewable
pneus
of
that
electricity
you've
actually
sold
the
renewable
electricity
to
the
utility
and
the
electricity
that
you're
getting
is
equal
to
two,
what
you
get
otherwise,
so
the
benefit
is
that
you've
helped
put
that
on
to
the
whole
system.
You've
helped
the
state
meet
its
goals
and
mandates,
but
if
you
really
want
to
say
that
you're,
you
know
one
hundred
percent
renewably
powered
you
own.
E
It's
it's
it's
it's
interesting,
because
if
you
have
your
own
solar
system
on
your
house,
you,
the
energy
that
you're
producing
you're
using
right
there
at
the
source
when
you're
doing
community
solar
you're,
not
I
mean
the
solar,
the
power
that
solar
panels
producing,
isn't
necessarily
like
going
into
the
grid
and
then
going
to
your
house.
You
know
it's
just
going
on
to
the
grid
and
they're
buying
it.
You
and
your
grating
credited
for
that.
E
But
it
is
good
because
you're
getting
solar
energy,
your
proliferating,
solar
energy,
so
you're
making
it
marketable
for
developers
and
companies
that
want
to
come
in
and
say
our
people
buying
this
and
and
so
then
you
know
that
generates
more
of
it
and
then
it's
also
just
yeah.
It's
just
you
know.
You
can
feel
good
that
you're
helping
proliferate,
renewable
energy,
but
you're
not
using
those
electrons
from
that
panel
per
se,
get.
D
E
D
So
a
blower
door
is
measures
the
air
tightness
of
the
home.
So
we
make
sure
that
all
the
doors
and
windows
are
closed
and
we
have
the
house
as
tight
as
possible
and
the
blower
door
pushes
air
out
of
the
house
until
the
house
reaches
a
certain
negative
pressure
and
when
air
leaves
the
house
just
by
the
force
of
physics.
E
You
want,
like
a
system
cost
correct.
Well,
I
mean
there
are
so
many
variables
it's
really
hard
to
say,
but
if
you
wanted
a
ballpark
figure
generally,
the
average
home
in
Minnesota,
you
can
produce
a
hundred
percent
of
your
of
your
electricity
from
probably
anywhere
from
six
to
ten
kill
kilowatt
system
depending
on
how
a
home
how
efficient
your
home
is-
and
you
know
how
good
you
are
with
some
of
the
improvements
that
cat
talked
about
and
that
could
be
anywhere
from
twenty
to
thirty
thousand
dollars.
40
thousand
dollars.
E
However,
with
all
of
those
incentives
and
stuff,
you
can
generally
bring
that
down.
So
if
you
were
to
install
five
kilowatt
system,
which
would
maybe
produce
three
quarters
of
your
electricity,
you
know
you
could
take
that
twenty-thousand-dollar
price
and
probably
bring
it
down
to
more,
like
nine
thousand
dollars
with
all
those
incentives.
And
then
you
would
just
have
to
finance
the
nine
thousand
dollars,
but
keep
in
mind
that
you
would
be
getting
a
much
cheaper
electric
bill
because
you're
producing
so
your
electricity
is
some
of
your
electricity.
E
So
if
you
do,
if
you
do
it
right,
then
the
price
that
you're
paying
on
your
loan
will
equal
the
price
that
you're
saving
on
your
on
your
utility
bill.
So
you
can,
if
you,
if
you
funk,
if
you
figure
it
out
right,
you
can
be
like
cash
positive.
Otherwise
you
could
pay
for
it
in
cash
at
which
point
you're,
creating
free
electricity
for
as
long
as
a
system
last
or
if
you
have
to
finance
it
say
over
like
10
or
15
years
after
that
is
paid
for
then
it's
all
free,
you
know!
E
So
if
you
take
10
years
to
pay
off
your
loan,
you
own
that
system
outright
in
10
years
and
that
system
is
going
to
last
40
years.
You
have
30
years
of
free
renewable
electricity
that
you
know
and
as
electricity
goes
up
and
costs
which
it
will
quote
me
on
that,
unless
cold
fusion
or
something
comes
around
like
it
will
go
up
yeah.
So.
E
F
B
B
Are
they
solar
doors
in
so
there
are
many
solar
gardens
that
are
in
the
application
queue
to
be
built
throughout
the
Metro.
Some
of
them
are
in
hennepin
county.
Currently,
there
are
only
three
gardens
that
are
totally
approved
and
online
and
ready
and
I
don't
actually
know
the
exact
locations
of
them.
E
B
B
Yeah,
sorry
about
that,
so
I
have
a
handout
with
a
little
whole
list
of
questions
that
you
can
ask
and
I
can
provide
that
to
you.
But
for
me
the
main
ones
are
what's
the
pricing
structure.
So
what
are
you
going
to
pay?
And
generally
you
have
a
starting
rate
and
then
an
escalator,
so
you'll
have
some
some
starting
amount
and
that's
going
to
go
up
by
a
percentage
each
year.
You
can
also
set
it
up
to
do
pay
up
front.
B
You
can
just
do
a
lump
sum
payment
on
day
one
and
that's
cheaper
in
in
both
cases.
I
think
one
of
the
key
questions
is:
what's
the
guarantee
that
the
garden
is
going
to
produce
for
what
you're
paying
for
so
in
the
it's
called
the
pay-as-you-go
model,
where
you
have
monthly
payments
and
that
rate
goes
up
year-to-year.
B
You
want
to
see
in
that
contract
that
you're
paying
per
kilowatt
hour
produced
by
your
share
of
the
garden.
So
if
it
doesn't
produce,
then
you
don't
pay
anything,
and
if
it's
a
pay
upfront
model
you
want
to
ask,
is
there
a
guarantee
for
the
performance
and
if
it
doesn't
perform,
is
that
developer
going
to
write
you
a
check
for
your
for
your
money
that
you
put
down?
So
that's
the
first
part
payment.
B
The
second
part
was
the
developers
business
model,
so
some
people
are
really
interested
in
subscribing
to
a
solar
garden
that
they
can
see
that
they
drive
by
every
day.
Other
people
say:
I,
don't
care
it
could
be
way
out
in
wright
county
doesn't
matter
to
me
so
just
making
sure
that
it's
a
company
you
want
to
work
with
and
that
you
agree
with
their
values.
The
third
was
I
think
project
construction
in
timing.
B
So
there
have
been
some
folks
who
signed
up
for
a
solar
garden
and,
a
week
later
they
said:
okay,
where's,
my
bill
credit
I
signed
up
and
they
contacted
the
developer
in
the
developer
said:
oh,
that
guard
is
not
coming
online
until
2017
and
they
said
really
why
what
did
I
sign
up
for
them.
So
you
want
to
make
sure
that
that's
clear
upfront
and
exit.