Putting a solar system on your house is expensive and you might not see the payback for 20 years. But if you're a school or a business, a Columbus start-up says it has a way to help you tap into solar power, benefit as a "green" operator and do it for no money down.
Thomas Van Cleef, principal of
Shine On Solar, says he launched the company earlier this year because "there are ways that businesses looking at this correctly can make it pay."
His approach hinges on power purchase agreements. Shine On's plan is to enlist third parties to own and operate each solar energy system as a limited liability partnership, thus qualifying for federal and state energy tax credits. The building owners would then purchase the power at affordable rates -- and the system owners could realize additional revenue from the sale of renewable energy credits to utilities.
"I'm going to put together an LLC for that particular power plant," Van Cleef explains. "And I'll bring investors to it and in some cases it could be wholly owned by the company that owns the roof. But it could also be you, me and our neighbors wanting to put solar on the school down the way."
Van Cleef, who helped found Solar Vision -- a similar company operating in central Ohio -- says he's working on four such projects currently and preparing to hire four employees in the next 60 to 90 days.
In the meantime, "what's really taking off for me right now are people saying what can be done?" to take advantage of advanced and alternative energy." He says the consulting side of the business is focused not just on solar, but on any energy source that makes sense for the customer.
Source: Thomas Van Cleef, Shine On Solar
Writer: Gene Monteith