Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When will the freEner-g Pilot Project start and how long will it last?

• The freEner-g Pilot Project, partly funded by customers of Xcel Energy through a $1.5M grant from the Renewable Development Fund, is launched in two phases: a Solar Assessment phase, which started August 1, 2008, and a Solar Installation phase, which starts January 1, 2009.
• The freEner-g Pilot Project will last 15 months during the Installation phase, which is the time it will take freEner-g to install the 50 or so solar systems. To be exact, freEner-g will deliver 280 KW of installed solar capacity, which translates roughly to 50+ homes and small businesses, depending on the number of panels that each homeowner and/or business owner selects.
• Once the systems are installed, freEner-g will continue to operate and maintain the solar systems beyond the 15 months of the Pilot Project. In addition, freEner-g will continue to grow and add more customers after that.

In summary, the freEner-g Pilot Project is just the beginning! 

What selection criteria will be used to determine the 50+ homeowners or businesses to be included in the freEner-g Pilot Project? 

The key selection criteria for participating in the program include the following:   

• Homeowners or small businesses must have a long term plan to stay at their current locations
• Located in the Twin Cities area
• Currently an Xcel Energy customer
• Sufficient roof size with proper orientation to the sun
• Roof condition (depending on the time since installation, re-roofing, etc.)
• Shading factors (Ex: blockages due to trees, neighboring buildings, etc.)
• Ensure that homeowners insurance coverage includes solar panels

What is the proper insurance coverage? 

As required by Xcel Energy, the homeowner’s property and liability insurance shall be sufficient to cover the solar panels on the roof. 

Is solar really viable in Minnesota? 

Yes, it is viable.  As a matter of fact, the Twin Cities have more annual solar energy potential than Houston, Texas, and nearly as much solar potential as Miami, Florida.  Even during cold winter days, Minnesota is blessed with blue skies and plenty of sun shine. 

Will my house or business still be connected to the power grid? 

Yes, you will be able to draw electricity from Xcel Energy when needed. You will also be able to sell back any excess energy to Xcel Energy when it is produced.  Actually, this will be the expected operation of the freEner-g system:  ebb and flow of electricity providing the benefits of solar plus the reliability of the power grid.  And remember that your electric bill will be reduced either significantly or almost completely, depending on the number of panels that you select for your home. 

What is Net Metering? 

Minnesota state law provides net metering of electricity.  That means the following:

• At any time during the day, solar panels in your home will generate electricity depending on the sun conditions of that moment. 
• At the same time, you will consume whatever amount of electricity you require to carry on with your normal activities.
• The difference between what is generated and consumed either flows in or out of the house (thru the electric meter), ensuring that the solar panels and the power grid work together to serve your home. 
• Naturally, the meter will track the ‘net difference’ between what flows in and out of the house, thus the name ‘Net Metering’.

Are there any up-front costs to homeowners?

• The only up-front cost to home-owners is the deposit.  
• The deposit will be returned to the homeowner at the end of year 15* of the Service Contract, unless the homeowner decides to end the Service Contract before that term.  In that event, freEner-g keeps the deposit. 
• FreEner-g will hold deposits in interest bearing accounts, thus returning each deposit with the interest earned.  

*Note: The above 15 year period duration is currently under review, since it depends on financing terms that freEner-g is still negotiating with banks – our intent is to obtain the best possible terms.  We expect this term to be defined 30 days in advance of the start of the freEner-g Pilot Project.

How much is the deposit and how much is the monthly lease? 

Pricing for the program has not been finalized yet, since freEner-g continues to look for the best financing terms to provide the best lease for homeowners. 

• FreEner-g estimates that the deposit amount will be around $1,000. 
• FreEner-g also estimates that the monthly lease payment to be around $200 for an average home consuming 600 KWh per month, but it will vary depending on the number of solar panels that the homeowner selects. 

The final pricing of the deposit and the monthly lease will be published approximately 30 days before the start of the freEner-g Pilot Project. 

What is the freEner-g Service Contract and what are the lease terms? 

The freEner-g Service Contract is the document that regulates the services delivered to the homeowner and also the payment terms and such other commitments that the homeowner makes.   The terms of the Service Contract are fairly simple:

• The lease starts with the signing of the Service Contract and the payment of the deposit.
• The lease is designed to have a 15 year duration, at the end of which the homeowner receives the deposit back with interest. 
• If the homeowner for whatever reason wants to end the lease before 15 years, the penalty is that freEner-g keeps the deposit. 
• After 15 years, the homeowner can actually choose to renew the lease every year for up to 25 years without the need for a deposit. 
• At the end of 25 years, the lease will necessarily end.

What happens at the end of the freEner-g Service Contract if it extends to 25 years? 

At the end of the 25 years, the homeowner has a choice:

• Either to keep and maintain the equipment from that point on (in other words, the homeowner will own the solar system); or
• Enter into a new Service Contract with new solar equipment that freEner-g would install after the removal and proper re-cycling of the old equipment.  Our sustainable business model also includes end-of-life costs for the solar panels.

What is the estimated monthly cost for solar energy compared to conventional electricity from Xcel Energy? 

The estimated monthly cost for solar electricity will initially be higher than conventional energy from Xcel Energy.  It is important to know, however, that the social and environmental externalities associated with electricity generation are rarely contained in the market price. These include health costs to treat pollution related sicknesses and costs associated with global warming. A study¹ done by the University of California-Berkeley concluded that the cost of externalities associated with conventional coal may be as much as 53.5 cents/kWh, while the external cost of using solar is 1 cent/kWh or less. Conventional practices are also heavily subsidized by the U.S. government, widening the difference between the true cost and the market price. The freEner-g long-term goal is to drive down the costs of solar leasing to a level which is competitive with conventional sources. The more customers that choose solar, the cheaper it will become.  

How long will it take to install the solar panels in my home? 

Actual installation of the solar system in your home will take approximately one day.  The first few installations may take a bit more time, and our intent is to develop ‘Best Practices’ so that we can install in one day and make solar more affordable overall.   

Please note that the entire process from the time that a homeowner signs a Service Contract until the solar system is operational may take as much as 6-8 weeks.  This is because there are additional steps which are not controlled by freEner-g:

• Obtaining & paying for permits and approvals
• Testing and approvals by city/state inspectors and Xcel Energy. 

What exactly will be done to my home and roof as part of the installation of the solar panels?

• The freEner-g installation first requires securing solar panels to the structure of the roof. This is a straight forward process done with attention to structural soundness and water tightness of the roof (no leaks!).  Our in-house licensed building contractor will recommend and monitor all decisions with regard to your roof.
• In addition, freEner-g will run conduit on the exterior (backside, ideally) of your home to the location where Xcel Energy brings electricity to your home.  Installing conduit on the exterior is part of the freEner-g strategy to lower solar installation costs. 
• Lastly, addressing the homeowner’s aesthetic concerns is also important.  Our work plan includes a discussion and joint decision-making around the exact placement of the conduit and inverter, plus an optional use of techniques to ‘blend’ into the architectural appearance of your home.    Given that aesthetic concerns are very personal, freEner-g would quote and deliver such optional services on a Time and Materials (T&M) basis if needed. 

What differences will I notice inside my home and how I use electricity? 

There will be no differences in the electricity service and use inside your home. Every electrical appliance and light in your house will continue to operate just the same.   

In terms of ‘seeing’ the solar system work, you may enjoy watching the electricity meter run backwards during sunny days!  The other option to visualize solar electricity production will be on the freEner-g website, where we plan to post real-time data of the solar production in your home.   

Can a homeowner easily convert back to regular electricity if she chooses to? 

Yes, you can do this by simply terminating the Service Contract.  If the contract is terminated during the first 15 years, then you will lose your deposit.  After that, there will be no financial impact to the homeowner.   

Once a Service Contract has been terminated, freEner-g will proceed to remove the solar panels, inverter and service panel.  The removal of the remaining auxiliary hardware (brackets on the roof, conduit, etc) will require discussion and agreement with the home owner.  Given that there are likely to be different options and related costs, the discussion could potentially yield an optional quote for T&M work to address the needs of each home if needed.   

What happens if I sell my house and move? 

• Terminate the Service Contract (as explained in the previous question) and have the solar system removed.
• If you believe that the sale of your home will be enhanced by the solar panels, you can advertise and sell the house with the solar panels and transfer the contract to the new owner (in actuality, a new contract will be drafted with the new owner’s name).

Note: If you are interested in moving your system to your new house, please remember that your solar system is likely not the right size for your new home, and a new site assessment would be required.  If the new home happens to be equivalent in solar and electric terms and you prefer to ‘move’ your solar system, then you can pay a moving fee and keep your Service Contract.  The moving fee price has not been finalized yet and will be announced 30 days prior to the start of the Xcel Energy Pilot Project.

What happens if I need to re-roof my house during the lease? 

Is there any provision for upgrading the equipment as new technologies are available? 

Can renters participate in the program? 

Not directly, since the person signing the solar lease and the owner of the house need to be the same person.  However, if you find that your landlord is interested in solar leasing, you may guide him/her to our program.    Your landlord could potentially be interested in differentiating his/her rental units to create renter loyalty. 

How will freEner-g determine if the Pilot Project is a success?  freEner-g will consider the freEner-g Pilot Project a success if we accomplish the following:

• freEner-g installs a total of 280 KW of solar panels in homes and small businesses across the Twin Cities (this will require approximately 50+ installations, depending on the number of solar panels chosen by each customer) in a fifteen month period.
• freEner-g increases the awareness of solar electricity throughout our Twin Cities community, as a viable alternative to non-renewable electricity.
• freEner-g brings hope to customers that they can be a part of the solution to climate change.
• freEner-g obtains for the first time in the United States a financial model for leased residential solar electricity, thus enabling the massive deployment of solar electricity beyond the Twin Cities.

How did you come up with the name freEner-g?

We believe that energy is a natural right of all people, just like air and freedom.  Nature provides planet Earth with all the energy it needs each day, and the sun never sends us a bill for it.  We created freEner-g as a company IN SERVICE to society and our service is to deliver, finance and maintain technology that TRANSFORMS ENERGY from its solar source to a usable electrical form. 

What are the environmental benefits of solar electricity? 

A typical household in Minneapolis uses around 7,200 kilowatt hours per year, which is equal to 12,240 pounds of coal burned to generate that electricity and 8,000 pounds of CO2 emissions resulting from burning the coal. With a total conversion to solar, homeowners will no longer cause release of CO2 into the atmosphere from their electricity usage.  

What were the results of freEner-g's customer survey?
In order to determine the viability of solar leasing in the Twin Cities, freEner-g conducted a customer survey from February 2008 to June 2008.  This survey focused on what Twin Cities' residents would be willing to pay for a solar lease in reference to their current electric bill.  While the survey is no longer a part of our data collection process, we would like to share the results with you.
These results are based on 218 surveys completed:

• The average electricity bill was $80 a month
• 94% of respondents understand that conventional electricity has a negative environmental impact 
• 95% of respondents are interested in solar PV for their home
• Based on the benefits of a monthly fee program, the average respondent is willing to pay 1.49 times their current electric bill
• If a commitment to leasing solar today would result in a decreasing lease rate over five years, respondents would be willing to pay 1.65 times their current electric bill today

freEner-g's intent was to deliver a price guide by the end of July.  However, we are still analyzing financing options in order to deliver the best price to our customers.  freEner-g will provide a price guide as soon as it is available.  We apologize for the delay.

 ^1. Kammen, Daniel M. and Sergio Pacca. "ASSESSING THE COSTS OF ELECTRICITY". Annual Review of Environment and Resources. November 2004. Volume 29: 301-344.