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Court Ruling: Financed Residential Solar System Is a Consumer Good, Not a Fixture

solar panels found not to be fixtures by New Mexico court

By Jay Bender, Monica Wilson Dozier, R. Aaron Chastain, Britney M. Crawford of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Whether a solar system is a “fixture” sounds like a mundane legal issue – but it has significant implications for the residential solar industry and for the financing of residential solar systems.

If a system is regarded as a “fixture” of the house to which it is attached, then the enforceability and priority of the finance company’s lien on the system will be subject to applicable real estate law. If, however, the system is not a “fixture,” then the system would be viewed as a “consumer good” with the finance company’s rights in the system governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) – which provides for a much more straightforward process for finance companies to preserve and protect liens on their financed systems.

The risk to a finance company is particularly acute if a solar system is deemed a “fixture” of the house on which it is installed, as that could render the finance company’s lien on the system either unenforceable or subordinate to any mortgages on the house itself.

Despite the significance of this issue, few courts have considered the issue of whether residential solar systems should be viewed as fixtures or consumer goods. Recently, however, in the In re Evans case, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico addressed the issue, first determining whether the home of the couple in bankruptcy was encumbered by a purchase money security interest in the solar system installed on the roof of the couple’s house before it could consider the otherwise unrelated issue of a judgment lien asserted by another creditor against the house.

In a potentially significant ruling for solar power finance companies, the bankruptcy court held that “solar panels are not fixtures” and that the residential solar system retained its character as a consumer good even after installation (see In re Evans, No. 23-10622 T13, 2023 WL 8606655, at *1 (Bankr. D.N.M. Dec. 12, 2023).

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Tribe’s enormous solar farm will be eight miles long, one mile wide

By Clark Adomaitis, Voices From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau

A proposed solar farm on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation will have 2.2 million solar panels and will be eight miles long and one mile wide.

Tribal officials worked with the international renewable energy company Canigou Group to plan the Sun Bear Solar Farm near Towaoc, Colorado. Officials say the project will create more than 500 local jobs for electricians and laborers.

Officials are planning to break ground on the construction of the Sun Bear Solar Farm later in 2024, with the goal of producing electricity in 2026. Annual capacity is estimated to be about 756 megawatts.

Canigou Group and Adkins Consulting conducted biological and archeological surveys of the grounds where Sun Bear is set to be constructed. — *Canigou Group and Adkins Consulting conducted biological and archeological surveys of the grounds where Sun Bear is set to be constructed*.

Canigou Group’s director, Justin Passfield, said the project will cost more than $1 billion. Passfield said electricity generated from the solar farm will connect to the Western Area Power Administration power line. Still, it’s unclear what regional entities Canigou will sell the electricity to.

“We’re thinking about the power needs within Colorado,” said Passfield. “But also, it makes sense not to transmit power too far from where you are. Having said that, we’re going to be producing a large amount of power. So I’m not sure that all of it will be able to be consumed within Colorado.”

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Small solar project funding available from the DOE

From the Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) 2024 funding opportunity. This annual funding opportunity will award $6.5 million for seedling R&D projects that focus on innovative and novel ideas in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) and are riskier than research ideas based on established technologies.

This funding opportunity is designed to streamline the application process to encourage applications from early-career researchers who have never applied or been selected for a SETO project award. Applicants must submit a plan to broaden the participation of well-qualified members of underrepresented groups on their teams. These efforts will help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to increase the diversity of those working in applied energy research fields.

SETO expects to make approximately 14 to 24 awards, each ranging between $250,000 and $400,000. Diverse teams from universities, federally funded research and development centers, nonprofits, community-based organizations, state agencies, local governments, and solar developers are encouraged to apply. 

Learn more about the topics in this funding opportunity and apply by March 6 at 5 p.m. ET. 

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Final Senate voting agenda of the 250th NJ Legislature

Senate: Board List For 01-08-24 (Second Revised).
New Legislature opens on January 9, 2024

S3176 – Requires DEP and Drinking Water Quality Institute to perform a study concerning the regulation and treatment of perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.

A1755 – Requires installation of operational automatic rain sensor or smart sprinkler as condition of sale of certain real properties, and on certain commercial, retail, and industrial properties and common interest communities within specified timeframes.

S2505 – Requires installation of operational automatic rain sensor or smart sprinkler as condition of sale of certain real properties, and on certain commercial, retail, and industrial properties and common interest communities within specified timeframes.

A4522 – Requires certain disclosures by sellers of single-family homes with solar panels installed.

For general information and assistance, contact the Office of Public Information at (800) 792-8630

A4691 – Requires hazard mitigation plans to include climate change-related threat assessments and hazard prevention and mitigation strategies.

S1530 – Requires hazard mitigation plans to include climate change-related threat assessments and hazard prevention and mitigation strategies.

A4791 – Establishes “Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge Program.”

S3184 – Establishes “Resiliency and Environmental System Investment Charge Program.”

A4794 – Requires request for proposal to establish demonstration projects to develop electric vehicle charging depots serviced by distributed energy resource charging centers for certain electric vehicle use.

A5442 – Directs BPU to conduct a study to determine the feasibility, marketability, and costs of implementing large-scale geothermal heat pump systems in the State.

A5806 – Appropriates $48 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to DEP for State acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including Blue Acres projects, and Green Acres Program administrative costs.

S4165 – Appropriates $48 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to DEP for State acquisition of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, including Blue Acres projects, and Green Acres Program administrative costs.

A5807 – Appropriates $58 million from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues for recreation and conservation purposes to DEP for State capital and park development projects.

A5809 – Amends lists of projects eligible to receive loans for environmental infrastructure projects from NJ Infrastructure Bank for FY 2024.

S4097 – Amends lists of projects eligible to receive loans for environmental infrastructure projects from NJ Infrastructure Bank for FY 2024.

A5810 – Amends lists of environmental infrastructure projects approved for long-term funding by DEP under FY 2024 environmental infrastructure funding program.

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Bradford County, Pa. could allow solar project for 10,000 homes

TOWANDA — The Bradford County Commissioners held a public hearing Thursday morning on the proposed Subdivision And Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) amendment for solar energy facilities within Bradford County.

The proposed amendment seeks to “provide for the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of utility-scale and community solar energy facilities in the county, subject to reasonable conditions that will protect the public health, safety and welfare,” according to Bradford County Planning Director Matt Williams.

County officials have anticipated solar projects within the county and sought to clarify regulations regarding them. Vesper Energy is currently developing a proposed 100-megawatt solar project within the county called Bradford Solar, according to EJay Fyke, the company’s community affairs manager. Vesper is working with up to three private landowners on the project that will take place on 600 to 700 acres of private land. Bradford Solar would generate power for 10,000 homes.

Read the full story here

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Germans study benefits of growing hops for beer under solar panels

Solar panels are mounted on poles above a hops field near Au in der Hallertau, Germany, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Solar panels atop crops has been gaining traction in recent years as incentives and demand for clean energy skyrocket. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

From the Associated Press Posted at 9:08 AM, Jul 22, 2023 and last updated 9:08 AM, Jul 22, 2023

AU IN DER HALLERTAU, Germany (AP) — Bright green vines snake upwards 20 feet (six meters) toward an umbrella of solar panels at Josef Wimmer’s farm in Bavaria.

He grows hops, used to make beer, and in recent years has also been generating electricity, with solar panels sprawled across 1.3 hectares (32 acres) of his land in the small hop-making town of Au in der Hallertau, an hour north of Munich in southern Germany.

The pilot project — a collaboration between Wimmer and local solar technology company Hallertauer Handelshaus — was set up in the fall of last year. The electricity made at this farm can power around 250 households, and the hops get shade they’ll need more often as climate change turbocharges summer heat.

Solar panels atop crops has been gaining traction in recent years as incentives and demand for clean energy skyrocket. Researchers look into making the best use of agricultural land, and farmers seek ways to shield their crops from blistering heat, keep in moisture and potentially increase yields. The team in Germany says its effort is the first agrivoltaic project that’s solely focused on hops, but projects have sprouted around the world in several countries for a variety of grains, fruits and vegetables.

Agrivoltaics is the technical term for using land for both solar energy and crops
Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained (video)

Beer-making hops can suffer if exposed to too much sun, said Bernhard Gruber, who’s managing the project’s solar component — and since there were already solar installations on the farm, it made sense to give them a second purpose by mounting them on poles above the crops.

In addition to shielding plants from solar stress, the shade could mean “water from precipitation lasts longer, leaving more in the soil” and that “the hops stay healthier and are less susceptible to diseases,” Gruber said. A scientific analysis of the benefits for the plants will be concluded in October.

Read the full story here

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