Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • July 6, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com caps the amount of electricity that the systems can collectively sell or share at $10 million. Furthermore, the law divides VNM projects into three categories — municipality, farm and state — and no category can use more than 40 percent of the $10 million cap. As a result, the proposed municipal projects can't gen- erate more than $4 million of combined power, leaving more than half of the developments in the cold. "Those projects are going to die on the vine," said Paul Michaud, executive director and founder of the Hartford trade association Renewable Energy & Effi- ciency Business Association. "It is a very popular pro- gram. The municipalities would be eating it up." The VNM cap joins a string of other policy decisions since 2011 where Connecticut seemingly takes two steps forward and one step back toward Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's goal of creating a clean energy economy, Michaud said. Other issues included failing to exempt commercial renewable energy systems from property taxes, which slowed the rate of commercial solar instal- lations until the law was changed in 2013. There was also a three-year ban on wind turbine development that wasn't lifted until 2014 after legisla- tors approved regulations governing new installations. "The cap is frustrating because we have a great project that would help lower taxes for our residents and businesses by creating savings on our energy bills," said Woodbridge First Selectman Ellen Scalettar. "Very importantly also, we would like to maximize our reli- ance on clean energy, be better stewards of the environ- ment and lead by example." Woodbridge is working with German installer Deutsche Eco to put a 1 megawatt solar array on the town's closed landfill, but using the VNM program is key to the system's affordability, Scalettar said. Raising or eliminating the $10 million cap and the 40 percent provision would have to be done by the Connect- icut General Assembly, but the legislature balked at mak- ing any changes during the session that ended in June. "The concern at the time the law was written, espe- cially among the agricultural community, is that munici- palities would eat that $10 million all up," said Jessie Stratton, policy director for the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. The clock is ticking, too, for proposed municipal proj- ects in Branford, Cheshire, Putnam and Bethel. Besides the VNM program, municipalities are using Zero-Energy Renewable Energy Credits (ZREC) to finance their projects. That $720 million ratepayer-subsidy program allows solar array owners to receive 15-year contracts for electric utili- ties to purchase credits created by clean energy systems. The ZREC program, which awards contracts annu- ally, is in its fourth year and set to expire after its sixth year. Municipalities that applied June 18 for this year's round of ZREC contracts will find out July 24 if they received them. If awarded, the cities and towns will have a year to bring their projects online. Without virtual net metering in place, however, it will be hard for towns to justify the costs, said Walt Gancarz, town engineer for Cheshire. "That is a key component to getting a lot of the savings we are anticipating," Gancarz said. The Cheshire Energy Commission is considering a 1 megawatt solar array on five acres of its closed landfill, Gancarz said, set to be installed by California-based SolarCity, which has offices in Rocky Hill. Cheshire would expect to save about $1.7 million in energy costs over 20 years, as the solar system would supply roughly 20 percent of the town's electricity needs. Those savings can only be realized because VNM allows the town to spread the solar array's electricity around to multiple properties. Typically, solar system owners can only apply the electricity generated to one utility meter, so a solar array could power a wastewater pump station and any excess power would be sold onto the grid at lower cost. With VNM, municipalities can maximize their savings by spreading the power around to up to 10 municipal properties. They also can sell power directly to their neighbors, as long as they are either farms or state- owned properties. Cheshire plans to use the solar power at seven town properties, including the fire station, town hall, library and a wastewater pump station, Gancarz said. "It can be a real neat and effective tool in helping towns and cities reduce their energy costs," said Shaun Chapman, vice president of policy and electricity mar- kets on the East Coast for SolarCity. Chapman said policies and programs Connecticut has put forth since 2011 — including ZRECs and the formation of the Connecticut Green Bank public financing authority — have made the state a desirable place to install solar. "We want a great partner who at the very least won't get in the way, and Connecticut has gone above and beyond that," Chapman said. Connecticut's programs have helped drop solar costs and increased the number of systems installed each year, Chapman said. VNM gives installers the ability to create even larger systems, which will further drive down costs. That will help push the state towards its goal of having solar costs be equal with the cost of grid power, after which subsi- dies will no longer be needed. "Now that the rules and best practices are proven, we need to move forward with virtual net metering," Chapman said. n from page 1 Law inhibits solar P H O T O | H B J F I L E Connecticut has made a push to install solar arrays on closed landfills, as Hartford has done, in order to create positive environmental use out of the properties. Q&A CT legal industry faces evolving landscape Q&A talks with William Clendenen, the new president of the Con- necticut Bar Association. Q: From your perspective as the new president of the Connecticut Bar Association, how is the overall health of Connecti- cut's legal industry? Is any one segment doing better than the other? A: The legal pro- fession is strong in this state, after weathering one of the worst recessions in decades. While there have been challenges confronting the prac- tice of law in Connect- icut, we have clearly turned the corner. Hiring of new law- yers has increased, and many law firms are projecting strong future growth. Q: What is the state of law schools in Connecticut? Does our state follow what seems to be the national trend of too many graduates and too few jobs? Is a Juris Doctorate still a good degree to pursue? A: Connecticut has out- standing law schools. Unfor- tunately, our schools have fol- lowed the nationwide trend of declining enrollments as they respond to adjustments in the job market. While there has been a shift in legal recruit- ment at large firms, there are opportunities in medium and small firms, solo practices, nonprofits, government, busi- ness and clerkships. The CBA has responded to this shift. Today's law students are more proactive in capital- izing on networking, profes- sional development program- ming and practical training. We work with law schools to develop future attorneys and cultivate up-and-coming lead- ers in the law. Among the ways we help give them a head start on success is by offering free membership to law students and newly admitted attorneys. We also have a mentoring program and offer complimen- tary membership in our young lawyers section, our largest and most vibrant group. These opportunities fos- ter key relationships to build professional networks and offer the tools to become a successful practitioner. Q: Where is the future growth in the legal profession? A: We believe there will be an increase in the use of very specif- ically trained attorneys who will staff firms on a per- job basis for as long as the case or cases are ongoing. This will enable firms to deliver services to corporations at a lower fixed rate. Q: According to Bureau of Labor statistics, the legal profession lags behind others in terms of racial diversity. What is the CBA doing to make the profes - sion in Connecti- cut more diverse? A: The leaders of Connecticut's legal community understand the value of diversity and the importance of having our profession reflect the people it serves. We are working together with other legal associations to take proactive steps to become inclusive as a community. Most recently, the CBA has enacted a new diversity policy, featured one of the most diverse slates of annual award recipients in the history of the organization, and elected a future president who understands the struggles of diverse attorneys. We are a richer and more effective association because of diversity. Through increased diversity, our organization can more effectively address member and societal needs with the varied perspectives, experiences, knowl- edge, information and under- standing inherent in a diverse relationship. Q: How is the CBA doing as an organization? What chal- lenges does the group face in the short term? A: We have a strong, involved membership and are proud to be the largest legal community in the state. Like all membership organizations, our challenge is to continually demonstrate our value. With a healthy, growing membership of nearly 10,000 legal professionals, the CBA will prog- ress with the profession and con- tinue to be a prominent resource for our members. n WILLIAM CLENDENEN Incoming president, Connecticut Bar Association

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