No need to go solo when going solar




Solar panel technician installing solar panels on roof.

Solar panel technician installing solar panels on roof.

If you ask Julia Herbst, area coordinator for Solar United Neighbors co-op, there’s never been a better time to convert a home to rooftop solar. And a local co-op is open to new members, which makes the process easier and less expensive.

But why now? Equipment is becoming more affordable and more accessible, the technology keeps getting better, battery storage options are more flexible — and electrical utility rates are going up, according to Herbst.

“There’s a big opportunity here,” she said.

The local Estero Council of Community Leaders, now called Engage Estero, held an information session in mid-January to inform residents about the ins and outs of “going solar.” It’s not the first time a co-op has been open in this area; in fact, Spotlight ran a story three years ago about a local co-op.

The same information shared with Engage Estero is available via an informational video at solarunitedneighbors.org. The website lists sample co-op pricing, tax credits, savings per year and per decade and other information.

Solar United Neighbors organizes 50 to 100 residents in a group to go solar together.

Solar United Neighbors organizes 50 to 100 residents in a group to go solar together.

What does a co-op do? Solar United Neighbors organizes 50 to 100 residents in a group to go solar together. Its experts support and advise homeowners on each stage of the process. In addition, co-op members have the advantage of bulk-buying prices on materials and installation. But they also have choices; each member signs an individual contract specific to his or her power needs. Communication and information-sharing is another factor that binds co-op members. There is no cost to join the co-op and no obligation to go ahead with solar conversion, either.

Mario Wolf of Naples didn’t, at first. He joined a SUN local co-op in 2019. But the installer the selection committee chose was from out of town and he wasn’t comfortable with that. In 2021 — in the middle of the pandemic — the co-op chose a local installer and he went ahead with it. “I haven’t had a power bill since then,” he said.

Herbst said that ushering in a new rooftop solar opportunity was and is the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last August, which restores and extends federal solar tax credits.

While some critics allege that the act doesn’t go far enough for Black or indigenous people, immigrants or people of color — with less protection of lands than was hoped for — others consider it an indication that climate change is being taken more seriously and praise it for passing along some savings via Florida sunshine.

“This was a really big legislative boost for rooftop solar,” Herbst said.

“Thanks to the bill, homeowners who install solar between the start of 2022 through the end of 2032 will be able to deduct 30% of the cost from their federal income taxes,” Herbst explained. “If you owe less than that amount in federal taxes for the year you install your system, you can carry over any unused credit to the next year.”

In addition, a “direct pay” option for 2023 will allow nonprofits to recoup 30% of the cost of solar installation and battery storage. Private nonprofit and public schools, faith-based organizations, local, state and tribal governments and rural electric cooperatives will be able to receive cash payments in lieu of tax deductions, Herbst said.

“So, does a school want to go solar and save money to put more into education?” Or a city to direct that money to services instead of utility payments?

Herbst said that the solar co-op approach to energy is “people-based” rather than profit-oriented. Solar United Neighbors is a nonprofit founded in 2007. The first co-op started with 45 neighbors in Mount Pleasant, N.C., with a mom and her teenage son who watched the cautionary climate-change film, “An Inconvenient Truth.” And then they found out how expensive it was to go solar without partners. In two weeks, they had knocked on doors and signed up 50 neighbors for a co-op.

Although the local co-op — open to residents of Lee and Collier counties — is closing to new members April 30, the deadline could be extended if necessary.

More information about educational sessions in March can be found at solarunitedneighbors.org/swfl/events.