The recent passage of the Solar Financing and Free Market Act of 2015 has paved the way for affordable access to solar energy for homeowners and home builders in Liberty County and surrounding areas.

House Bill 57, which took effect July 1, will help homeowners finance some of the cost of having solar power systems installed at their homes.

Coastal Solar is a fledgling company. Its director of operations, Doug Hutto, said the company was started based on research done by Clay Sikes in 2013.

“He began looking at solar energy. … Back in 2013 it wasn’t economically viable,” Hutto said. “Since the passage of that bill, it has opened a lot of doors up both in the industrial and educational areas as well as made it more accessible to individual homeowners.

“Primarily, what it does is it allows for grid-tied systems,” he said. “When you put a solar panel on your roof, it will be a part of an energy grid.”

Hutto said the law allows for some reimbursement to the homeowner — not a check, but a credit on the energy bill.

Hutto said the rates in Georgia are a bit lower than some of the rates being offered in other states, but it’s a start.

“It does begin to make the economics of a solar installation more attractive to a homeowner,” Hutto said, explaining that local utilities involved in the program will pay back what they call their avoided costs.

“Which means since they don’t have to add energy in the form of a nuclear plant or coal or natural-gas plant, there is a certain quantity of saving to them that they are willing to credit the homeowner who is putting solar energy on the grid,” Hutto said. “That amounts to between 4 or 5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Locally, Georgia Power, Coastal EMC and Canoochee EMC are all on board.

“But to different extents,” Hutto said. “Each EMC can have its own policy. Some are more generous than the avoided-cost formula, and some less. And you have to ask them.”

Hutto said Coastal Solar is a one-stop shop to learn all about solar power — from inception to design, costs, financing and home installation.

“Our design and engineering staff has a very well-thought-out method,” Hutto said. “Brad Sherman is our lead systems guy, and he’s been in this particular field for nine years. You want to make sure that the equipment is put on to the highest standard and tied to the grid according to local electrical requirements and National Electrical Code, which we operate to all of those things. We would establish that in putting together a proposal.”

Hutto said the company’s engineer has state-of-the-art tools to look at homes via satellite.

“It’s much more accurate than Google Earth,” he said. “It is a service we use to evaluate roof angles, and we’ll look at that aspect. … Some people have enough land where we can place the solar arrays on the ground, which is easier to do.”

Hutto said the first step for interested homeowners would be to call or visit Coastal Solar’s office on Gen. Screven Way.

“We can tell them what solar power is all about and see what their needs are and see if we can meet those needs,” he said. “Then, we will do a site visit and actually get into some hard numbers and what is available and what we can put on the house or property.”

During their site visit, engineers will determine whether there is enough land to place the arrays in ground or if roof-mounted is the better option. They will determine the energy needs of the home, roof angles, whether tree canopy is a factor and inspect every detail to determine the best installation option.

“Part of HB 57 is a limit on the amount that you can place on your roof,” Hutto said, adding that the largest system allowed is 10 kilowatts.

“Depending on how we have to place the system, there is some variability in installation costs,” he added. “And it depends on your needs. … A three-bedroom, two-bath house, if it is energy efficient, might have a lower power bill than one that is not, so we look at a lot of different factors.”

Coastal Solar would pull all the required permits for the installation, Hutto said.

“As far as financing goes, there is some good financing available through SunTrust Bank,” he said. “They have the light-stream loan. And the rates depend on your credit situation.”

With the passage of HB 57 Hutto said many banks are beginning to recognize and see the value of solar energy. The return on investment can be seen in around seven years.

“At that point, the value of having a solar array is highly significant and climbs because every month you don’t have to pay a power bill, you are essentially receiving a pre-tax benefit,” Hutto said. “You are not having to pay that power bill with your after-tax income. … It just goes into the pot, so to speak.

Currently, the Internal Revenue Service offers a 30 percent straight tax credit.

“Which means if you paid $30,000 for a system, it is actually going to cost you $20,000, and that is significant.”

Hutto added that people looking to cash in on that credit need to do so soon.

“That is likely going to change at the end of 2016,” he said. “It may very well go down to 10 percent at that point.”

Hutto said that having a solar system installed can also increase the resale value of your house significantly.

New home developers can start looking into solar-power installations in the preconstruction phase. Hutto said there is a big push right now in working with home developers to offer solar power in new homes.

“In fact, within three months, we should have our first energy-efficient solar home built here in Oak Crest,” he said. “That is a plus and benefit for homebuilders to be able to offer solar from construction because then, the cost of solar is amortized into the loan. We have significant efforts going on there to streamline that process.”

Hutto said Coastal Solar also hopes to offer solar power to veterans sometime in the near future.

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on the new available options for solar energy in Liberty County. This article introduces the options available to homeowners and builders regarding the passage of House Bill 57, the Solar Financing and Free Market Act of 2015, which took effect July 1. The first part focused on benefits for industry and schools.