FEBRUARY 6, 2012

ATTENDEES:

Gary Dornier

Rex Gay

Jim and Bobbie Cochran

Mona Evans

Steve Coppock

Jeff Shaw

Emily McCalla

Craig Page

Thomas Bennett

Dick Ehrlicher

Herbert and Lois Anne Sumrall

Paul Roberts

Barry Meyer

Matthew Newman

Archie Hall

Chris Trimble

Bill Catchings

Niels deHoop

Morgan M. Watson

*Others not signed in

• SOLAR TOUR
  • April 14-15 Saturday and Sunday 9-5
  • Sent emails to our SolarPros and past participants
  • Have 7 homes signed up already
  • Asked if anyone has any news concerning participants etc.
  • Advertising: We have an offer to sponsor an ad in the Advocate
  • Ask if people can help advertise and to email me with info
  • Issues that we’ve had in the past
    • Scheduling conflicts
    • Website issues
• FUTURE SOLAR LEGISLATION
  • Insurance Policies
    • Brought up in last meeting that insurance for solar needs to be mandated by the state
    • Ask about any existing problems with insurance policies that people are aware of
    • LSES will send out a survey to all of our installers and SolarPros asking if they have had any problems with insurance policies for solar.  The installers and SolarPros should then send the survey to all of their customers.
    • What should homeowners do:
      • Notify agent before beginning installation to understand your insurance company’s policy on solar
      • Check your original policy
      • Maybe look for a rider or endorsement
      • “Use diminished cost value after rebate”
    • Meeting Info:
      • Farm Bureau doesn’t cover solar
      • State Farm will cover
• ST. HELENA PARISH JAIL PROJECT POWER POINT
  • Morgan M. Watson presented a Power Point on the St. Helena Parish jail solar energy project
  • Link to the Power Point will provide complete information
  • Summary:
    • Project included a solar electric component and a solar hot water component for St. Helena Parish jail
    • Solar provides all emergency power and hot water, relieving the jail of security issues
    • Program trained 8 previously unemployed individuals to install solar
    • Has been running since the end of December
    • Backup designed to last 5 days
    • Largest Solar PV 3-phase battery backup system in the US
• OPEN DISCUSSION
  • Panels usually have a 25-year life- most only show a 10% degradation after this time
  • Hail damage- not usually an issue.
    • Panels are tested using 1 inch ball bearings at 52 mph
  • Sader Solar
    • Solar panel leasing program- Complete SCAM!
    • Solar calculator on their site shows $140 worth of electricity in one month no matter what numbers you input
    • Predominately in New Orleans, but has been showing up recently in East Baton Rouge Parish
    • Need to check with the Better Business Bureau to help handle this situation