Category: Solar Bonds

Solar PPA vs. Lease

Solar PPA vs. Lease

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your solar bonding needs. What’s the Choice? Many people have reached the point where their choice is not whether to acquire solar energy capability but rather how to acquire it. Solar power purchase agreements (PPAs), and lease arrangements are the two options that do not involve the actual purchase of a solar energy system by a property owner. The need to choose between a solar PPA and a solar lease only arises when the property owner has concluded that purchasing a solar system outright or financing the purchase of a solar system is not feasible. That usually has more to do with the property owner’s credit history and financial stability than with any technical matters. And owning a solar system may not make sense for those whose tax liability is so low that they are not incentivized by the 30% investment tax credit (ITC) or other tax benefits derived from solar energy system ownership. Assuming that purchasing or financing a solar system is...

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A Guide to Decommissioning of Solar Sites

A Guide to Decommissioning of Solar Sites

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your solar bonding needs. Why Is a Decommissioning Plan Needed? In most jurisdictions, a project owner applying for a permit to construct a solar generating facility must provide a decommissioning plan. Without a decommissioning plan, these jurisdictions will not issue a permit in the first place. Decommissioning a solar generating facility includes dismantling the equipment and returning the site to its original condition, may involve tasks including: Removing rack wiring Removing panels Dismantling racks Removing electrical equipment Breaking up and removing concrete pads or ballasts Removing racks Removing cables Removing ground screws and power poles Removing fencing Transporting materials from the site Grading the site Seeding/replanting disturbed areas There are costs associated with these tasks. What Does a Decommissioning Plan Include? A decommissioning plan typically is developed by, or at least reviewed by, a qualified engineer and includes such information as: The anticipated useful life of the solar generating facility to be constructed The estimated cost of decommissioning in terms of present value...

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Solar Bond Demand Goes Up

Solar Bond Demand Goes Up

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your solar bonding needs. Is the Demand for Solar Energy Still Growing? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that the demand for solar energy has been increasing steadily and, with the incentives created by recent legislation, is poised for explosive growth. One sure benchmark for growing demand for solar power in the residential market is the increasing popularity of solar bonds as an investment vehicle. These are financial securities, debt instruments, backed by loans made by financing companies—not to be confused with solar surety bonds (more on those in a minute).  Investors are buying up solar bonds because they view the growth of the solar energy industry as an attractive investment opportunity with excellent potential for profit. Drivers of Solar Energy Demand For a long time, demand for solar energy was primarily the result of concerns about the environmental impact of emissions from burning fossil fuels. Now, there also are substantial financial incentives for moving toward electricity generated from...

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Community Solar Subscription Management Surety Bonds

Community Solar Subscription Management Surety Bonds

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your solar bonding needs. What Is Community Solar? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, community solar is “any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits of a solar project flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups.” Typically, the energy producing those benefits is being generated by solar panels at an off-site array. Community solar customers have the option of buying or leasing a subset of the solar panels in the array and receiving a credit on their electric bill for the power generated by those panels. Not everyone can have solar panels installed on their own roof, usually because they are renters rather than homeowners, or because their home is not well situated in terms of exposure to sunlight, or because of the design or size of their roof, or for financial reasons. Community solar allows these folks to participate in and benefit from solar energy generation, nonetheless. There also are...

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