Friday, February 26, 2010

Miami-Dade looks into tax financing of solar for homeowners

Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson pushed a piece of legislation through the Commission calling on the Mayor to develop the "Berkeley model" for renewable energy financing.  Basically a person who lives in an area offering this type of service (currently the City of Berkeley and Palm Springs County, California, Boulder Colorado and a couple other places in the country) can "op-in" to a taxing district like you have for street lights or landscape maintenance.  But instead of mowing the commons of a development, the property owner can use funds to install solar or do major efficiency enhancements like super-efficient windows or an A/C or cool roof and pay back the loan through an assessment on their tax bill.

The resolution calls for a plan to come back for the legislative body's review in three months.

You can read the resolution here

and if you really want a glimpse of what nonsense the Board of County Commissioners can be, watch how long the "debate" dragged out because perennial opponent to Sorenson - Natash Sejas tried to kill the idea and ended up voting against the item along with allies Diaz and Martinez: Video  and click on item 11A9 on the left.