This document provides an overview of an investment grade solar feasibility study course. The course objectives are to help students get to feasible solar projects faster by leveraging tax incentives, technology, and customer needs to develop viable projects. The course will cover identifying the right customer, site, system design, and financing structure to determine if the potential benefits outweigh the costs and risks. It will also review the 12 step solar feasibility and development process from initial customer and site assessment through permitting, construction, and operations. The goal is to teach students how to properly evaluate, design, and build commercial solar projects.

1. Investment Grade Solar
System Feasibility
Underwriting, Production, and Presentation of
Investment Grade Studies
UCBX 430
Produced and Presented By Theodore Horton, LEED AP, Managing Member NorCal PV LLC.

2. Key Concepts
Instant Feasibility
Quantifying Demand
The Value Stack vs the Cost Stack
Harvesting & System Design
Let’s Make A Deal

3. The Five Questions
You Need to Answer on any Project
1. Why is this the Right Customer?
2. Why is this the Right Site?
3. Why is this the Right Way to Buy Solar?
4.Is the Pain Worth the Gain?
5. Why Do It Now?

4. Course Objectives
•Get to feasible projects faster
•Use tax, technology, customer to get to a deal
•Do it right, build it now.

5. Instant Capitalize
Feasibility Right
ID Host ID SITE(S)
The Route Design
Right
PRESENT
PROJECT ID TEAM
Pull It Selling
All Together Solar
FIX SIZE &
ID RISKS
CAPSTACK

6. PV
POWER
PARTNERING
WHERE PV
WORKS.

7. YES Wants YES
Tax Appetite?
Performance Risk?
Got Cash? Balance Sheet
NO NO Capital Lease
NO
AB811?
NO
Bankable? NO PROJECT
YES
Wants YES
Operating Lease
Performance Risk?
NO NO
Which CREBs
YES
Financing Structure? > 400kW? PPA

8. 26%
VALUE
STACK

10. Tour of Commercial Solar Project

11. Tilt & Azimuth Matter

12. Student Presentations on Solar Project as Course Capstone

13. 50 The Right Customer—14SEP10
40 The Right Site—21SEP10
25 The Right Design—28SEP10
Meeting the Need—5OCT10
10 The Deal—12OCT10
4 1 Do It Now

14. The 12 Step Solar System Feasibility Process
Step Task Goal
1. Host Customer Description Solar intent, Onsite Loads Define Need
2. Tax Equity Monetization Treasury cash grants, ITC, MACRS Capitalization
3. Production Forecast Energy production, guarantees Onsite Savings
4. Site Control Lease, license, easement Control
5. System Costs Contracts, leases, finance package Contract
6. Risk Factors Design, Construction, Operation Buy Out Risk
7. Capitalization PBI, Lease, debt, equity, SRECs Low Cost of Funds

15. The 12 Step Solar System Development Process
Step Task Goal
8. Permitting Fire, electrical, site code compliance Building Permit
9. Procurement Component & equipment delivery Vendor Agreements
10. Construction Quality, pace and intensity On-time, On-budget
11. Commissioning Reduce errors and defects Utility Connection
12. Monitoring & Operations System yield, warranty service Beat Projections
Reversion & Expansion Add’l sites, sale/xfer of PV assets Profitability

16. The scientists
represented by the
IPCC have spoken —
what we need now
are passionate, even
partisan political
soldiers to lead the
way and push the
final tipping point
from awareness to
action.
--Bill Walsh, CNN

17. See you
Saturday 11SEP 9A
Registration: http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/cat/course1885.html