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Also as someone who is not allowed to install PV panels due to HOA restrictions, why can’t I subsidize this and own my own piece over the aqueduct, the same as

Also as someone who is not allowed to install PV panels due to HOA restrictions, why can’t I subsidize this and own my own piece over the aqueduct, the same as if they were on my roof? This seems so obvious, to allow people like me and others who live in apt complexes to have some skin in the game. Why do the solar panels need to be on my roof to benefit, why can’t they be over the aqueduct or in Palm Springs?

jedberg 4y ago
If you live in California your HOA can’t legally block you from installing panels. I like your idea though. Let people who can’t get solar for whatever reason invest in solar elsewhere and get some money back or a credit against their own usage.
latchkey 4y ago
Interesting. Started to google things to see if I could find anything existing and came across this article... https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/295876008 https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/295876008 Solar development required private investment to supplement public spending, the researchers found. For the projects to be valuable investments, developers managed their financial risks by increasing the size of the projects and spreading the risks across multiple projects. Large solar developers seek to build or acquire new projects to spread their risks and generate more profits, which in turn makes it easier to get low-cost loans. ... The result is an energy system characterized by a few very large generating stations linked to consumers over long transmission lines, rather than a more distributed system serving communities closer in proximity. That makes consumers vulnerable to an extreme weather event 1,000 miles away, Kennedy said.
epistasis 4y ago
This is a good idea, and it exists. Look for a community solar program that lets you buy a share, they are in most states now: https://www.nrel.gov/state-local-tribal/community-solar.html https://www.nrel.gov/state-local-tribal/community-solar.html
- milleramp 4y ago
  Thanks for the link, I will look into this.
- rr808 4y ago
  Yes I have this in NJ and is a great solution. It isn't very well explained how it works though, I'll have to write a post one day.
jjeaff 4y ago
If you are in California, a 2018 law (civil code 714) makes it illegal for your HOA to prohibit solar. You have a right to put up solar even if the roof is jointly owned and controlled by the HOA. According to the law, the HOA may make reasonable restrictions but they may not increase your cost by more than $1000 or decrease your solar efficiency by more than 20%. So tell your HOA to shove it.
- dotancohen 4y ago
  I don't live in the US, but you guys post HOA horror stories frequently enough. How many times have we heard "I go the HOA that way, so they stuck it to me here, and here, and here". Maybe that's a bear not worth poking.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > How many times have we heard "I go the HOA that way, so they stuck it to me here, and here, and here". Maybe that's a bear not worth poking. This varies HOA to HOA. Mine has one-page bylaws mostly dealing with outdoor parking rules and not putting explosives in places.
  - NoNotTheDuo 4y ago
    I'm with you. Read way too many horror stories that I didn't want to deal with it. I'm in the US and when we were looking for a new house a few years ago, one of the hard requirements was no HOA. We compromised on other factors, but not on the HOA!
  - wil421 4y ago
    You only hear the horror stories. My HOA is very reasonable and just wants to make sure no one doing anything stupid. They don’t even enforce their own bylaws in most cases or fine people. People outside the US have HOAs they are just called something different in apartments/condos or even when the local city runs things. Not sure why people complain about HOAs when they bought the house knowing full well what they were in for. I had to agree to the HOA rules well before I bought the house.
dotancohen 4y ago
> why can’t I subsidize this and own my own piece over the aqueduct, the same as if they were on my roof? How would that be insured? Suppose e.g. hail damage. Do you own a specific group of panels that you must fix if those panels get damaged?
- brnt 4y ago
  in the Netherlands there are coops that are no more than a group that pool their money to build a 'sun meadow', and then have a share in the installation, and thus ongoing costs and returns.
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  I feel like you gave a perfectly good answer to your own question. A big program like this would buy insurance with some of the solar revenue and the investor wouldn't have to do anything.
alexvoda 4y ago
The HoAs in the US are crazy. Why are they against PV?
- RF_Savage 4y ago
  Likely looks.
  - devmor 4y ago
    Yep. Uniformity and control. Most are against any "non standard" paint colors, flowers in your lawn, etc.
    - ncmncm 4y ago
      You can threaten to put up a ham radio antenna if they interfere with whatever else you are doing. They cannot block ham antennas because they contribute to public safety. But they would much rather live with flowers.
      - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
        That's not true at all - please cite your source.
        ncmncm 4y ago
        It probably varies by state.
        devmor 4y ago
        They would have been correct up until 6 years ago. FCC regulations prevented any governing body from prohibiting the installation of a HAM radio antenna. After the passing of H.R. 1301 in 2016, the HOA may legally require you to get their prior approval before installing an outdoor antenna of any kind.
        4y ago
guerby 4y ago
Where I live I'm a member of a coop named "Enercoop Midi Pyrénées" that uses the coop capital to build PV arrays, in the past few years 10 250kW arrays have been built locally and a multi MW one is in the pipes. Here the one 2km from my home: https://www.enercoop.fr/blog/actualites/midi-pyrenees/pousse-pisse-premiere-operation-dautoconsommation-collective-sol-france https://www.enercoop.fr/blog/actualites/midi-pyrenees/pousse...
IshKebab 4y ago
You effectively can by investing in solar funds. I'm planning on moving house so that's what I've done. It's not quite the same but it's pretty close.
gonzo41 4y ago
Omg yes, I really want someone to open up a solar co-op where I can buy panels that get installed on a farm and get a cut of the money produced. For anyone who rents or moves a lot they effectively can't get the benefits of solar because something like this does exist.
tekknik 4y ago
I personally am adamantly against private equipment permanently installed on public land. That’s everybody’s land, not just yours.

jedberg 4y ago

If you live in California your HOA can’t legally block you from installing panels. I like your idea though. Let people who can’t get solar for whatever reason invest in solar elsewhere and get some money back or a credit against their own usage.

latchkey 4y ago

Interesting. Started to google things to see if I could find anything existing and came across this article... https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/295876008 https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/295876008 Solar development required private investment to supplement public spending, the researchers found. For the projects to be valuable investments, developers managed their financial risks by increasing the size of the projects and spreading the risks across multiple projects. Large solar developers seek to build or acquire new projects to spread their risks and generate more profits, which in turn makes it easier to get low-cost loans. ... The result is an energy system characterized by a few very large generating stations linked to consumers over long transmission lines, rather than a more distributed system serving communities closer in proximity. That makes consumers vulnerable to an extreme weather event 1,000 miles away, Kennedy said.

epistasis 4y ago

This is a good idea, and it exists. Look for a community solar program that lets you buy a share, they are in most states now: https://www.nrel.gov/state-local-tribal/community-solar.html https://www.nrel.gov/state-local-tribal/community-solar.html

milleramp 4y ago
Thanks for the link, I will look into this.
rr808 4y ago
Yes I have this in NJ and is a great solution. It isn't very well explained how it works though, I'll have to write a post one day.

jjeaff 4y ago

If you are in California, a 2018 law (civil code 714) makes it illegal for your HOA to prohibit solar. You have a right to put up solar even if the roof is jointly owned and controlled by the HOA. According to the law, the HOA may make reasonable restrictions but they may not increase your cost by more than $1000 or decrease your solar efficiency by more than 20%. So tell your HOA to shove it.

dotancohen 4y ago
I don't live in the US, but you guys post HOA horror stories frequently enough. How many times have we heard "I go the HOA that way, so they stuck it to me here, and here, and here". Maybe that's a bear not worth poking.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > How many times have we heard "I go the HOA that way, so they stuck it to me here, and here, and here". Maybe that's a bear not worth poking. This varies HOA to HOA. Mine has one-page bylaws mostly dealing with outdoor parking rules and not putting explosives in places.
- NoNotTheDuo 4y ago
  I'm with you. Read way too many horror stories that I didn't want to deal with it. I'm in the US and when we were looking for a new house a few years ago, one of the hard requirements was no HOA. We compromised on other factors, but not on the HOA!
- wil421 4y ago
  You only hear the horror stories. My HOA is very reasonable and just wants to make sure no one doing anything stupid. They don’t even enforce their own bylaws in most cases or fine people. People outside the US have HOAs they are just called something different in apartments/condos or even when the local city runs things. Not sure why people complain about HOAs when they bought the house knowing full well what they were in for. I had to agree to the HOA rules well before I bought the house.

dotancohen 4y ago

> why can’t I subsidize this and own my own piece over the aqueduct, the same as if they were on my roof? How would that be insured? Suppose e.g. hail damage. Do you own a specific group of panels that you must fix if those panels get damaged?

brnt 4y ago
in the Netherlands there are coops that are no more than a group that pool their money to build a 'sun meadow', and then have a share in the installation, and thus ongoing costs and returns.
Dylan16807 4y ago
I feel like you gave a perfectly good answer to your own question. A big program like this would buy insurance with some of the solar revenue and the investor wouldn't have to do anything.

alexvoda 4y ago

The HoAs in the US are crazy. Why are they against PV?

RF_Savage 4y ago
Likely looks.
- devmor 4y ago
  Yep. Uniformity and control. Most are against any "non standard" paint colors, flowers in your lawn, etc.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    You can threaten to put up a ham radio antenna if they interfere with whatever else you are doing. They cannot block ham antennas because they contribute to public safety. But they would much rather live with flowers.
    - NovemberWhiskey 4y ago
      That's not true at all - please cite your source.
      - ncmncm 4y ago
        It probably varies by state.
      - devmor 4y ago
        They would have been correct up until 6 years ago. FCC regulations prevented any governing body from prohibiting the installation of a HAM radio antenna. After the passing of H.R. 1301 in 2016, the HOA may legally require you to get their prior approval before installing an outdoor antenna of any kind.
        4y ago

guerby 4y ago

Where I live I'm a member of a coop named "Enercoop Midi Pyrénées" that uses the coop capital to build PV arrays, in the past few years 10 250kW arrays have been built locally and a multi MW one is in the pipes. Here the one 2km from my home: https://www.enercoop.fr/blog/actualites/midi-pyrenees/pousse-pisse-premiere-operation-dautoconsommation-collective-sol-france https://www.enercoop.fr/blog/actualites/midi-pyrenees/pousse...

IshKebab 4y ago

You effectively can by investing in solar funds. I'm planning on moving house so that's what I've done. It's not quite the same but it's pretty close.

gonzo41 4y ago

Omg yes, I really want someone to open up a solar co-op where I can buy panels that get installed on a farm and get a cut of the money produced. For anyone who rents or moves a lot they effectively can't get the benefits of solar because something like this does exist.

tekknik 4y ago

I personally am adamantly against private equipment permanently installed on public land. That’s everybody’s land, not just yours.