Town of New Hartford Zoning Board of Appeals June 27, 2016 Page 7

Excerpt: I wanted to put a few things in writing to help explain solar photo-voltaic systems, particularly in the residential sector of NYS.

The average size residential system that we install is around 9kW. That could be 35 panels(about 5.5ft x 3.33ft each) or 20 panels of the same dimension. There are different outputs for different models. The modules that produce more, cost more, and are typically used in situations where additional production is needed in a limited roof space. The industry average output of these modules is about 260 watts each(.26kW). The largest that we use are 320 watts each(.32kW). They produce about 30% more and cost about 25% more.

4 years ago, the average panel was closer to 200 watts(.2kW), and the premium modules were closer to 250 watts(.25kW). The square footage needed to fit the same amount of kW today is less than it was 4 years ago. The average system we install is about 9.1kW. The average size of a system that size is 660 square feet. The production of the system is dictated by the tilt, azimuth, and amount of shading. Someone who needs to offset 11000kWh of annual usage may need a 9.1kW system with a nice, south roof, where there neighbor with the same usage, may need a 11.44kW system to reach the same production due to having east and west roofs. The size of the 11.44kW system would be about 830 square feet. A 15.6kW system would be about 1130 square feet.

Many homes use more than the average amount of electricity for a wide variety of reasons. Some people use electricity to heat their homes. Some have electric vehicles. Some have hot tubs or jacuzzis. Some have large or extended families living under the same roof. These are all things that are acceptable ways for people to consume electricity. They are not all avoidable uses of electricity. They could produce all of the electricity with power generated from the sun.

NYSERDA funds residential projects up to 25kW. There is a very small portion of single family residences that use more than the usage that can be offset by a 25 kW system. NYSERDA also limits the production of a system to 110% of the consumer's previous 12 months of usage. Each year, a consumer's usage can vary by several percent for many reasons such as an extremely cold winter or hot summer, having a child returning home from college for a year, etc. It is for this reason NYSERDA allows a slight margin of over production.

In New York, per the public service commission's(PSC) regulations, utility companies "net meter" the production of the solar. While the sun is high, the systems typically produces more than is being used at the moment, and spin the meter "backwards". At night, it spins "forward" again. In the summer, the over production typically outweighs the usage, and any excess kWhs that were produced in the current billing cycle are added as a kWh credit to the consumer's bill. In the late fall through early spring months, the systems usually produce the same or less than the usage, in which case the credits are applied to the bill prior to and supply or delivery charges.

Once a year, on what is known as the anniversary month, remaining credits, if any remain, are to be paid out to the consumer. The utility company pays less than 1/3 of the average cost per kWh, as regulated by the PSC. There is not a financial advantage to this, as the real value in solar is offsetting full price kWh. Due to NYSERDA's regulation, and the poor return on investment of over production, solar companies like Apex Solar Power do not over size systems. It would hurt the return on investment.