SOLAR FINANCE AND TECHNIQUES DEMYSTIFIED
Eos Partners Kleeman & Blunt To Lead A Panel of Solar Experts, April 2, 2009

Sponsored by the SBN and Eos Energy Solutions
Co-sponsored by the
City of Philadelphia - Solar City Partnership
Academy of Natural Sciences' Center for Environmental Policy

Thursday, April 2, 2009
5:30 PM reception, 6:30 Program
Academy of Natural Sciences, Main Auditorium

Admission is Free, but RSVP required. Seating in the auditorium may be limited to those that have pre-registered.

REGISTER ONLINE AT www.solarnow.eventbrite.com

Click here to download the Program Details.

SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR (REDUX)
SOLAR REBATES & THE STIMULUS PACKAGE
As we reported in our November 2008 E-Newsletter, the Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Investment Act, providing $650 million in funding authorization and tax credits for alternative energy and conservation is now the law of the land.

So where is the money? It's still coming. There was some movement on the regulations in January 2009, but a continued obstacle remains: the bond markets.

For an outline of Eos' best guess of what the solar rebate regulations may contain, click here.

Most of the funding for the program - and all of the funding for the solar aspects - will come from state bond floats. With the capital market turmoil only worsening since our last E-Newsletter, the ability for the Commonwealth to sell those bonds has not improved. The issue, of course, transcends access to funding for solar rebates.

On February 10, Treasury Secretary Geithner announced the new plan for unfreezing the bond markets. The plan combines the financial resources of the private sector with those of the government through a public/private partnership investment fund. The response of the capital markets over the next few weeks will determine if the Commonwealth bond float for the solar rebate program becomes viable in the short run.

However, there has been some recent talk among some PA State Senators to fund the state's solar commitment with stimulus package money, instead of a dedicated bond float.

The stimulus package, or as it is now known, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed both houses of Congress on Friday the 13th. The plan contains 19 provisions relevant to the solar industry, with a combined economic push of about $25 billion for the solar market. Much of this comes from a portion of the $54 billion state fiscal stabilization fund, which is potentially fungible with the proposed solar rebate bond float.

As the details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are digested, and its impact on the PA program becomes more clear, we will promptly update our e-newsletter subscribers.