NEWS / BLOG

LATEST ARTICLES

Thinking of adding an ADU to your property? Now Angelenos can save up to $30K

By: Linh Tat – Los Angeles Daily News | July 14, 2023 at 2:09 p.m.

L.A. City Councilmember Kevin de León, on Thursday, July 13,...

Homeowners thinking of building a granny flat or guest house in their backyard can now shave tens of thousands of dollars off their costs because of a new program offered to residents in the city of Los Angeles.

City Councilmember Kevin de León on Thursday, July 13, announced the city’s first free, pre-approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Standard Plan, called the YOU-ADU plan. Because Angelenos can use it free of charge, officials say it will save homeowners $20,000 to $30,000 in architectural and design costs. And since the plan’s been approved by various city departments already, it is expected to shave about two to four months off the time it takes to obtain permits.

The goal is to save homeowners time and money – a typical ADU project costs $150,000 to $200,000 to construct, de León said. Not only would this enable more homeowners to have a relative move onto their property or to rent out an ADU to generate rental income, it could also help increase the city’s housing stock.

“It’s not a secret that Angelenos are struggling to find affordable housing,” de León said during a news conference outside the city’s Department of Building and Safety.

“Given the fact that Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the nation, we need more housing, plain and simple,” he added.

De León called the demand for housing “astronomical” and spoke of a possible “tsunami” in which a new wave of Angelenos could become homeless following the end of the city’s pandemic-related eviction moratorium earlier this year.

Using about $250,000 in discretionary funds from his office, plus an additional $250,000 secured from the city’s general fund, de León commissioned the firms Kadre Architects and Lehrer Architects to develop the YOU-ADU plan. When built, the ADU will measure about 455 square feet, will feature a gabled roof and will be designed to include solar panels for more sustainable living.

Nerin Kadribegovic, principal of Kadre Architects, said there are about 500,000 single-family residential lots throughout the city. Of those, about 186,000 properties are considered ready to go, meaning the homeowner could easily use this plan to build an ADU on their land. The remaining property owners could also use the plan, he said, but may need to address additional issues as part of the approval process if their properties are located in a hillside area, are part of a historic district or come with other restrictions.

Thursday’s announcement marked the latest effort by city councilmembers to address L.A.’s homelessness and housing crises.

Earlier this year, the City Council adopted a package of tenant protections in response to the end of the eviction moratorium, with the hope of preventing people from falling into homelessness.

Additionally, in June, the council codified key provisions of Mayor Karen Bass’ executive directive to streamline the process for building affordable and supportive housing by permanently exempting 100% affordable housing projects from the city’s lengthy discretionary review process.

The City Council also recently passed an ordinance, which the mayor signed last week, that exempts all affordable housing units from counting toward a threshold that triggers when a developer, who is proposing a housing project, must undergo a time-consuming “site plan review.” City officials hope that exemption will encourage developers to build more housing.

Kadribegovic, the architect, said the YOU-ADU plan can further efforts to address L.A.’s housing crisis.

“Our housing emergency, in the simplest terms, is caused by lack of affordable housing and numerous regulatory obstacles to build new housing,” he said. “Solutions exist, but we need the public will to realize it.”

For more information about the free ADU Standard Plan or to download a copy of the plan, visit ladbs.org/You-Adu.

For more detail click here

Stimulus Bill Extends Federal Energy Tax Credits

By: DSIRE Insight Team | January 27, 2021

In a nearly annual tradition, Congress made a number of important changes to the tax code in the waning days of 2020. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020 extended the expiration date of a number of tax incentives, giving system owners and developers additional time to place their systems in service or begin construction.

Investment Tax Credit

Legislation enacted in previous years established a step-down in the credit amounts for the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The deadlines for solar systems were extended by two years. Projects placed in service before December 31, 2022 will qualify for a tax credit based on 26% of the installed cost. Projects placed in service before December 31, 2024 will qualify for a 22% tax credit, before permanently dropping to 10%. Projects started before the end of 2024 and placed in service before the end of 2026 will also be eligible for a 22% tax credit.

The amendments to the ITC also made offshore wind projects eligible for the credit. Offshore wind projects started before the end of 2025 can qualify for a full 30% tax credit. The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit has a similar step-down schedule, except the credit phases out entirely for system installed in 2024 or later.

Federal Investment Tax Credit Step-Down Schedule for Solar Energy Systems

ITC-Graph-2020.PNG

Production Tax Credit

The Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) was also modified in recent years to include a step-down for wind systems, and an expiration date for all systems requiring construction to start by the end of 2020. The new deadline established by the 2020 stimulus bill is the end of 2021. Wind projects started in 2020 or 2021 can qualify for a production tax credit based on 60% of the full rate. Interestingly, the step-down was not applied to the other PTC-eligible technologies, including biomass, landfill gas, waste heat to energy, and certain hydroelectric systems. Instead, the PTC for these systems was initially allowed to expire. When they were later reinstated, the step-down was not applied to them. Thus, the extended expiration date for these technologies allows such projects started by the end of 2021 to claim the full PTC.

Energy Efficiency Tax Credits

The expiration date for the Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit and the Energy-Efficient New Homes Tax Credit for Home Builders were both extended by a year, making eligible projects completed by the end of 2021 eligible. And the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction was made permanent with the exact value of the deduction being adjusted annually for inflation.

For more detail click here

Stimulus Bill Extends Federal Energy Tax Credits

By: DSIRE Insight Team | January 27, 2021

In a nearly annual tradition, Congress made a number of important changes to the tax code in the waning days of 2020. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020 extended the expiration date of a number of tax incentives, giving system owners and developers additional time to place their systems in service or begin construction.

Investment Tax Credit

Legislation enacted in previous years established a step-down in the credit amounts for the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The deadlines for solar systems were extended by two years. Projects placed in service before December 31, 2022 will qualify for a tax credit based on 26% of the installed cost. Projects placed in service before December 31, 2024 will qualify for a 22% tax credit, before permanently dropping to 10%. Projects started before the end of 2024 and placed in service before the end of 2026 will also be eligible for a 22% tax credit.

The amendments to the ITC also made offshore wind projects eligible for the credit. Offshore wind projects started before the end of 2025 can qualify for a full 30% tax credit. The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit has a similar step-down schedule, except the credit phases out entirely for system installed in 2024 or later.

Federal Investment Tax Credit Step-Down Schedule for Solar Energy Systems

ITC-Graph-2020.PNG

Production Tax Credit

The Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) was also modified in recent years to include a step-down for wind systems, and an expiration date for all systems requiring construction to start by the end of 2020. The new deadline established by the 2020 stimulus bill is the end of 2021. Wind projects started in 2020 or 2021 can qualify for a production tax credit based on 60% of the full rate. Interestingly, the step-down was not applied to the other PTC-eligible technologies, including biomass, landfill gas, waste heat to energy, and certain hydroelectric systems. Instead, the PTC for these systems was initially allowed to expire. When they were later reinstated, the step-down was not applied to them. Thus, the extended expiration date for these technologies allows such projects started by the end of 2021 to claim the full PTC.

Energy Efficiency Tax Credits

The expiration date for the Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit and the Energy-Efficient New Homes Tax Credit for Home Builders were both extended by a year, making eligible projects completed by the end of 2021 eligible. And the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction was made permanent with the exact value of the deduction being adjusted annually for inflation.

For more detail click here

Feed-in Tariff (FiT) Program

The FiT program allows property owners and developers to sell the output of local eligible renewable energy projects directly to LADWP (as opposed to consuming the energy onsite to satisfy the customer’s load). This program generates local renewable capacity through a public-private partnership while helping LADWP achieve Renewable Portfolio Standard mandates.

How does the program work?

LADWP will purchase energy, for a term not exceeding 20 years, from projects via a Standard Offer Power Purchase Agreement at a set price dependent on system size and location. This price includes all energy, capacity rights, and environmental attributes associated with the project.

 
 Total = 200 MW
In-Service
67.7 MW
Active
81.8 MW
Available
50.5 MW

Updated as of 1/6/2020

 
FiT Pricing Table
Project Capacity In-Basin Projects Owens Valley Projects
Solar PV Non-PV Solar PV
30 kW – 500 kW 14.5¢ per kWh 11.5¢ per kWh 11.5¢ per kWh
> 500 kW – 3 MW 14.0¢ per kWh 11.0¢ per kWh Not Available
> 3 MW 13.5¢ per kWh 10.5¢ per kWh Not Available

For more detail click here

Commercial EV Charging Station Rebate Program

LADWP is expanding its Charge Up LA! Program to help accelerate electric transportation adoption for its customers. The Program offers rebates to help offset the cost of installing commercial charging equipment, including:

Level 2 charging stations to charge light-duty EVs, up to $5,000 per charging station.
Direct current fast chargers (DCFCs) to charge light-duty EVs, up to $75,000 per charging station depending on its power output.
Charging stations to charge medium and heavy-duty EVs, up to $125,000 per charging station depending on its power output.

New!

See our weekly dashboard for the latest information on application and funding status. Application processing time is currently 90-120 days (provided submitted applications are complete). We are working to improve the reservation and application processing duration and appreciate your patience.
Updated Terms and Conditions for Level 2 Charging Stations for light-duty EVs
LADWP now offers rebate reservations!

For more details click here

NEM 2.0

In January 2016, California regulators voted to extend Net Energy Metering (NEM) in its current form for California solar customers, with some modifications. Commercial, industrial, and public customers in PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E service territories can continue to invest in grid-tied solar projects.

The original NEM program ends for the three utilities when penetration of distributed solar generation in its territory reaches 5% of the utility’s highest aggregated peak customer demand. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) hit its cap in April 2016, and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reached its cap in December 2016. Both utilities are now offering NEM 2.0. Southern California Edison (SCE) has enough remaining capacity under its NEM 1.0 cap to reach the statutory deadline of July 1, 2017, after which point SCE will also offer NEM 2.0.

The new NEM 2.0 program will largely maintain the same favorable design as the current NEM program with a few modifications.

Interconnection Application Fees: While current NEM customers have historically been exempt from paying a one-time interconnection application fee, customers installing solar under NEM 2.0 pay that fee, which is utility specific and for systems under 1 megawatt (MW) is $132 for SDG&E, $145 for PG&E, and $75 for SCE. The cost increases for systems larger than 1 MW. This one-time fee goes to the utility to cover some of the interconnection costs associated with a solar power installation and are paid when the system owner applies to interconnect their solar power installation to the utility grid.

Non-Bypassable Charges (NBC): Customers continue to receive a full retail credit for all energy exported onto the grid, although they now have to contribute more to public programs through NBCs than they were previously paying. NBCs fund public purpose programs considered by law to benefit society, such as low-income ratepayer assistance, Department of Water Resources bond charges, nuclear power plant decommissioning, and energy efficiency activities. These charges are approximately a 2 to 3 cent reduction per kilowatt-hour of credit for exported energy.

Grandfathering: The decision calls for a re-evaluation of NEM 2.0 starting in 2019. However, it provides customers who decide to install solar before that time a 20-year grandfathering of their specific NEM mechanism. This provides customers with confidence to install solar in the next few years knowing that they will maintain NEM 2.0 for the lifetime of their investment.

System Size: Another positive change in the NEM 2.0 program is the lifting of the 1 MW system size cap, so long as the system is sized to customer load. This change will have the greatest impact on larger energy consuming entities in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors. Under NEM 2.0, a single solar array can be larger than 1 MW and tied into a single utility meter as long as the installation does not have a negative impact on the utility grid. California regulators determined that in order to ensure this, customers of systems larger than 1 MW are responsible for all interconnection and upgrade costs. The Net Energy Meter Aggregation (NEMA) program will also continue, and the lifting of the 1 MW system size cap will apply to NEMA customers as well.

EVALUATE YOUR PROPERTY

+1 818 3309186

EMAIL REQUESTS

MrSolar@Solar-Ray.us

WORKING HOURS

8:00am – 5:00pm

OFFICE LINE

1.800.555.6789

EMERGENCY

1.800.555.0000

WORKING HOURS

9:00am – 6:00pm