A solar feasibility study determines whether your property is both technically and financially appropriate for the installation of a solar energy system. It is the first step in the process of transitioning to solar energy and involves the inspection of several important aspects of your potential site.
At Avila Solar, our team of professionals will perform a thorough inspection and analysis of your property and provide you with a thorough report based on our findings.
Our solar feasibility stud is for either grid-tied and battery backup systems. We will examine the following site-specific factors:
- The amount of potential solar energy generation
- Whether there are any risks to mitigate
- Any available regional or state financial incentives
- Cost assessment for the technical design, installation, and operation of the solar energy system
- Creation of simulations and models of the project
- Calculations of the long term yield, return on investment and projected payback including uncertainty assessments
- Overall technical and financial feasibility report
The cost of a standard solar feasibility study is highly dependent on which jurisdiction (state, city, rural vs urban, etc) the project address is in. For the most part, the 5 variables that typically affect the cost of a feasibility study are:
- Location of the project
- Permit fees
- Local building codes
- Utility interconnection costs
- Your business category
Because of this, we recommend contacting us to discuss what solar incentives and rebates are available in your area for a better sense of the cost of a solar feasibility study.
There are several financial incentives available to help mitigate the cost of solar feasibility studies. Some incentives are through the federal government while others are state-specific. Below are three examples of incentives. It’s important to note that in order to apply for any USDA solar grants, a feasibility study is required for projects above $200, 000.
Please call us for the most up to date incentives at 971-249-8442.
Solar Early Design
Only Available to Portland General Electric & Pacific Power Customers in Oregon.
This incentive is provided by the Energy Trust of Oregon and is designed to help share their belief in the benefits of solar power which include lower energy bills for homeowners and business owners and fewer carbon emissions. As such, they provide cash incentives and technical support to help you go solar.
For the Solar Early Design incentive, you can receive up to $500 for having a Solar Trade Ally present at your Early Design Assistance meeting – a super simple way to earn some cashback during the planning process.
Solar Ready Design
Only Available to Portland General Electric & Pacific Power Customers in Oregon.
Solar Ready Design is another part of the same incentive from the Energy Trust of Oregon, but this one allows you to receive up to $15,000 to include Energy Trust solar-ready standards in your new construction if you can’t for any reason install solar panels at the time of construction.
Solar Development Assistance Grant
Only Available to Portland General Electric & Pacific Power Customers in Oregon.
The Solar Development Assistance Grant offers up to $1,800 to determine the solar potential of your project, which can be put towards a solar feasibility study for your site.
Just a reminder, all the above-mentioned incentives are all subject to funding availability and may change year to year, Please confirm the availability of funding before you begin.
Don’t see any feasibility incentives in your state? We’re always adding more. If you know of an incentive that we don’t have updated, please contact us and let us know.
A Solar Request for Proposal (RFP) is a process used to solicit bids from potential contractors who will ultimately take over the permitting, purchasing, and installation of your solar energy system. It is essentially like posting a job listing to which contractors apply and then you are able to choose the best candidate for the job.
The steps are much the same:
- Develop and issue an RFP
- Administer it by receiving bids and responding to questions from contractors
- Evaluate all of the bids, and finally
- Select the winning candidate.
There are two common types of solar RFP: direct buy and power purchase agreement.
A direct Buy RFP is more common for smaller projects such as residential or business solar power installations, and it means that the selected contractor will design, buy, install, and entirely commission the project.
A power purchase agreement means that the issuer of the RFP will purchase only the electricity produced from the system, rather than the system itself. This type of arrangement is more common with government agencies.
Always keep in mind these best practices when you are issuing an RFP include starting with having a clear goal and an outcome-based request that can be evaluated based on the performance of the system and;
Be sure to provide as many details and as much information as possible about your proposed site, so that potential contractors can create specific proposals that are relevant to your site’s needs.
Request a timeline of major developments so you can ensure the project is staying on schedule.
Be sure to include in your RFP that you will require the selected contractor to adhere to all local, state, national, and/or international building and electric codes as applicable and that all equipment that will be used meets codes for your area.
Provide copies of your local ordinances and regulations so the applicants can take those into consideration in their proposals.
We recommend searching for local RFP databases to find larger commercial and government solar energy projects in your state or use a solar-specific RFP database, such as Energy Acuity.
It always pays to plan ahead, especially when it comes to installing a solar panel system. At Avila Solar, we do everything we can to assist you smoothly through the planning and feasibility study, so you know exactly what you’re getting into.
We offer free consultations about our feasibility study services as well as with our solar plan set deisgns. We will answer any of your questions about the process, and explain it more in detail. Schedule your free consultation and start the process of switching over to solar energy.