Microbonds or Tax Bill Financing for Solar Electricity in California

You may or may not have heard about California Assembly Bill 811 or "AB 811" that passed last year.  If you haven't, then you should make sure you read more about it.  AB 811 allows local government entities like cities and counties the option to offer loans to property owners for sustainable energy projects (like solar electricity). 

Atfirst this may not sound like a big deal, but it is!  The idea is that local governments can setup small loansfor solar power projects (actually more like very small bonds or"micro-bonds").  It is a powerful solar financing option because it could make financing much easier. 

What is AB 811?
AB811 paves the way for homeowners to finance their solar electric system through a loan that is paid off with their regular semi-annual property tax bill.  It would look like the other bond charges like sewer, water,and trash assessment districts that you may already have on your property tax bill.  AB 811 allows local government entities, such as cities and counties to finance renewable energy projects (like solar electricity) for homeowners.  And give homeowners the choice to finance renewable projects, like solar electricity, and pay through their tax bill. 

What AB 811 is NOT
Property tax bill loans for solar projects are not in place yet (with a few small exceptions).  AB 811 "allows" local governments to provide financing for solar projects, but it is not required. 

Many local governments, like here in San Diego city and county, are working hard to put this solar financing in place. However, it's not done yet.  The key to implementing these loans seems to be finding a way to get the cash for the loans and figuring out how to manage the lending and payments.  A contact of mine in the county Board of Supervisors office tells me they are working hard to get thisfinancing in place (and have been for some time), but it is far from complete.  There are still a lot of details to work out.  There is nodate set for when these solar project loans will be available.  

Also, these loans are not expected to be low-interest or interest-free solar loans, but will be a market rate loan. 

Remember, there are other financing options currently available, as I discussed in my previous entry. 

Robert Morse
BSEE, MSEE
SunCal Solar, Incorporated
www.SunCalSolar.com