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ID:
179682
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| Summary/Abstract |
About 1 in 10 rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) customers who sign a contract to install a PV system cancel their contract before the system is installed. Although some cancelation risk is inherent in the solar industry, there may be ways to reduce cancelation volume, such as reducing project delays. Delays can occur at each stage of PV adoption processes, which take several weeks to months from contract signature to system operation. Using data from a recent survey of PV installers, we explore the factors that explain PV project delays and cancelations. The survey data suggest that PV adoptions take about 16 weeks, on average, from contract signature until system operation. Survey respondents consistently identified permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII) processes as key drivers of project delays. Most respondents then suggested these PII-related delays increase contract cancelations. However, larger-scale installers report higher cancelation rates, and these installers rank changes in customer financial situations higher than PII-related delays as the main cause for cancelations. Most respondents also reported avoiding jurisdictions with particularly onerous PII requirements or charging more in these jurisdictions. On balance, the results provide a rationale for measures to streamline PII processes to reduce delays and potentially mitigate cancelation risk.
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| 2 |
ID:
176848
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| Summary/Abstract |
A growing number of municipalities have developed clean energy goals and policies to reduce their carbon emissions among other objectives. One emerging pathway municipalities have used to achieve clean energy goals is through including these objectives in electric franchise agreements. An electric franchise agreement is a negotiated contract between a municipality and an electric service provider which among other stipulations grants the utility the right to serve customers in the municipality's jurisdiction. This is the first nationwide assessment of the municipal opportunity to pursue franchise agreements with electric service providers, along with the potential impact of these agreements on achieving clean energy goals. We conclude that municipalities across at least 30 states have the authority to pursue franchise agreements. Our bounding scenarios suggest widespread deployment of renewable energy via franchise-driven partnerships could result in 164 – 911 TW h of renewable energy potentially serving 15.8 – 87.7 million households. Though there is immense opportunity to leverage franchise agreements to achieve renewable energy objectives, future deployment will be dependent on the negotiations between an electric service provider and individual municipalities.
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