15.6 MW Solar Power $46,000 question

[Charlie Price]

I welcome any and all ideas and critiques regarding this issue. Please comment or PM me if you have any thoughts. Good or bad. :-) I am installing a 15.6 megawatt Grid Tied solar system on my 30 unit apartment complex. Cost will be $46K all in. With 30% federal tax credit and accelerated deprecation for the system net payback is scheduled to be 6-8 years. This would be phase one as there are actually 3 electric meters on the property. 5 separate buildings. The solar for the other two meters would be 5.9 kW for $19K and 17.1 kW for $50K. That is should I decide to continue and the first one works out to my liking. I'm also doing roofs at the same time to the tune of another $50K. OUCH! I pay all utilities on the property. I've rehabbed everything and put in thousands of dollars of insulation new windows, doors, new HVAC's etc...so fairly efficient at this point. 2016 Electric bills ran 17K ok $240K gross rents. 2017 should be higher in both categories as I've renovated and put an addition 5-6 apartments on line. Some questions for thought? 1. Has anyone done this or considered doing this on this scale? 2. Considering that it will lower my electric bill, which is a dir ft operating cost I will in essence be raising my NOI, this raising value/equity in property. My thinking...I save 4K in electric translates to $40K in equity w/ a 10 CAP. Save $15K in electric for all three phases and I've added $150K in value. 3. Electricity costs will only go up in future so these numbers should hopefully get even more favorable. 4. Wondering what kind of value I would get whenever/if ever I sell. Certainly someone would be willing to pay something extra for solar panels installed. Even if I just got an extra .50 on the solar on the back end that would an extra $60K or so on the back end. 5. Still all said, hard to bite the bullet and come out of pocket $100K when I could use that same $$ and go buy another project...

[Lee S.]

Originally posted by @Joseph Gozlan:

@Charlie Price a few things to think about:

1) search RUBS on the forums or google. You don't need sub-meters to implement a RUBS system. Make sure you match your competition though because if you'll be the only property that implemented RUBS and still charge the same rents, you'll have a challenge leasing the units. 

2) solar panels have a diminished rate of return. The effectiveness of the cells is reduced over time and will not provide as much energy 10 years from now as they would today. 

3) don't assume everything will be peachy. Solar systems requires maintenance as well so calculate that into your opex (so your NOI won't grow that much).

4) make sure not to oversize the solar system because you will have vacancy and electric consumption won't always be at full capacity. 

5) if you DO oversize it, see if your local electricity company buy back overages of electricity generated by your system. It requires installing specific panels that facilitate the reverse flow. 

6) solar panels make roof maintenance more complicated so keep that in mind. 

7) solar systems will have different outputs depending on location, direction and climate. If you live in Boston and your roofs face the wrong way, the same system will generate a lot less electricity than in Texas or Arizona. 

Lastly, while some people see that as an asset, there will be some that will be concerned about buying your propert for all of the above reasons. 

Responses to your points:

2) yes solar panels output diminishes over time, almost all are guaranteed to be producing a minimum of 80% of their initial output at year 25, twenty years after they already paid for themselves and they will continue to produce for many decades.

3) inverters are typically warrantied for 10 years, again, long after they already paid for themselves.  My system has not been touched in 6 years.  No moving parts, almost zero maintenance over their lifetime.

5) most do, mine does. Panel type has nothing to do with selling power back to power company. You technically give all your power back to the grid, you can't run your house off of a solar system when the power is out (without a backup battery system due to variability of solar output).

6) I wouldn't install on an old roof, no issues otherwise.

7) solar company will discuss location and output before instillation, non issue.  Micro inverters allow each panel to work to full capacity and won't be pulled down by an adjacent shaded panel. 

*you clearly know nothing about solar and have spent no time doing the math.  People are fools to not buy a property with a paid for solar system for the rate arbitrage alone.  Home loan 5%, solar return 15%, get extra home loan to pay for higher value of solar house and pocket the difference.  YOU LITERALLY GET PAID TO BUY A SOLAR HOUSE/BUILDING.