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managed over time, with the benefit for the subscription manager to own the <br /> system and subscriptions, so if an original subscriber moved out of the system, it <br /> could be sold back to the subscription manager for resale, but the entity had to <br /> know how to manage the system for twenty five year or more. <br /> At the request of Member Seigler, Mr. Ross advised that he didn't see financing <br /> for community solar systems to be a problem at this time, especially with 30% tax <br /> credits available until 2016; with the City considering financing options for <br /> facilities on City buildings, as confirmed by Mr. Schwartz. <br /> Ms. Barsel asked for comparisons on a private community solar versus one hosted <br /> by the City on the City Hall campus, or versus the City owning its own system. <br /> Mr. Ross noted there was uncertainty in how those different options played out, <br /> with the City of Falcon Heights entering into a PPA and not owning their system, <br /> with charges based on the system's production; while the City of Minneapolis <br /> bought the system and installed it on their fire station using grant monies, and <br /> capturing all the benefits of it, and since it is a fire station, it pays a demand <br /> charge making it difficult at this point to determine how much of a benefit they'll <br /> receive from that arrangement. <br /> Ms. Barsel noted that the City of Minneapolis still had liability, whereas with an <br /> external developer, they had the risk for liability and maintenance. <br /> Mr. Ross concurred, but noted the average lifespan for a solar system was twenty- <br /> five years or more, with the typical problem being failure of some solar panels, <br /> but typically those panels lasted for a long time and usually outlasted their <br /> projected life cycle. Mr. Ross advised that the failure usually was in the wiring or <br /> inverters (e.g. electronics) requiring some maintenance, and periodic cleaning of <br /> panels to keep their production at maximum. <br /> Mr. Schwartz noted, confirmed by Mr. Ross, that the expected life for the inverter <br /> was 15 years, with some replacement needed during the lifetime of the system. <br /> Mr. Schwartz questioned if it was safe to say that buying your own system, unless <br /> getting grant monies, the payback was long-term compared to the role of a private <br /> financial partner able to take advantage of tax credits. <br /> For a public entity unable to take advantage of tax credits, Mr. Ross advised that <br /> there was a big difference. However, Mr. Ross advised that his firm was working <br /> on the potential GESP (government energy savings program) to assist local <br /> governments in capturing credits, with the state overseeing the program to meet <br /> their goal for energy savings. However, at this time, Mr. Ross advised that <br /> contracts were private versus public so any public systems were at the mercy of <br /> the performance contractor. Therefore, Mr. Ross opined a municipality would <br /> almost always do better on their own, but if they didn't have experienced staff to <br /> Page 6 of 15 <br />