Q. What is a special assessment?

• A special assessment is a fee that will be included on the annual tax bills for affected property owners.

Q. How long will the assessment be?

• The special assessment will be a period of 20 years, or until all debt has been paid.

Q. If I move, do I have to pay the assessment off?

• No, the assessment continues to be assessed against the property regardless of the owner. The assessment is imposed annually and after the initial year of imposition is expected to be payable as part of your tax bill each year.

Q. Why use special assessments to fund capital improvements and not taxes?

• The property taxes you pay may be used in funding all facets of the City/County government. The special assessment for the Renewable Energy Financing may only be used for these specific solar systems.
• By using special assessments as a funding tool, the County can (1) determine which affected properties receive a benefit from the Renewable Energy Financing and (2) allow the affected property owners to assist in funding the improvements in an amount proportionate to the benefits they will receive.

Q. How much energy can my roof space produce

• It takes about 1 square foot of space per 10 to 12 watts.
• Approximately 100 square feet of roof space is needed per kw DC installed for crystalline panels approximately 12%-18% and improving. Thin Film 9% -15% efficient and improving 6 watts per square foot, so you need about 66% more roof space.

Q. How much roof space is needed for a solar system?

• So a typical 3,000 watt residential system would require approximately 300 sq ft of roof space. Each 1000 watts or 1kW of solar will produce approximately 100 kWH per month on average.
• For solar water hot water systems the flat plate collectors are sized at approximately 0.5 to 1 square foot per gallon of daily hot water use.

Q. How much does a typical solar system cost?

• For a 3 kW system with an average monthly production of about 300 and 500 kWh. In New Mexico, that translates into roughly $26,000 to $27,000 (fully installed price including all mounting hardware, inverters, wiring, labor, permits, and inspections). It is also list price before any grants, incentives, tax credits or depreciation are applied that can significantly reduce this cost.

• Installing a system General cost break down

• Complete systems installed: $7-12/watt
• 1 KW System: $11-12,000
• 2 KW System: $18-20,000
• 4 KW System: $33-35,000
• Solar modules: $5-$2/watt, approximately 50% of total cost
• Installation: $1-3/Watt, 10-20% of total cost
• Inverter & Balance of System: $2-5/Watt, 30-40% of total cost

Q. What size system do I need?

• It is very easy to calculate your system size. First, you need to obtain your daily power consumption average in units of kilowatt hours (kWh). This power consumption will be listed on your electric bill. Use the instructions below to make this calculation if this average daily power consumption is not provided by your utility company.
  • Total kilowatt hours (kWh) used: (a)
  • Number of days in billing cycle: (b)
  • Average daily kilowatt hours (kWh) used: (a) / (b)=

Q. What is net metering?

• In New Mexico, consumers can install small, grid-connected renewable energy systems to reduce their electricity bills using a protocol called net metering.
• Under net metering, electricity produced by the renewable energy system can flow into the utility grid, spinning the existing electricity meter backwards.
• Other than the renewable energy system, no special equipment is needed.

Q. Why is net metering important?

• There are three reasons net metering is important. First, as increasing numbers of primarily residential customers install renewable energy systems in their homes, there needs to be a simple, standardized protocol for connecting their systems into the electricity grid that ensures safety and power quality.
• Second, many residential customers are not at home using electricity during the day when their systems are producing power,
• and net metering allows them to receive full value for the electricity they produce without installing expensive battery storage systems.

Q. What are the benefits and costs of net metering?

• Net metering provides a variety of benefits for both utilities and consumers. Utilities benefit by avoiding the administrative and accounting costs of metering and purchasing the small amounts of excess electricity produced by these small-scale renewable generating facilities.
• Consumers benefit by getting greater value for some of the electricity they generate, by being able to interconnect with the utility using their existing utility meter, and by being able to interconnect using widely-accepted technical standards