Commercial Soft Costs Data Collection 2012

The objective of this data collection effort is to benchmark and track the soft costs (i.e., costs of red-tape, non-hardware, excess overhead and delays) associated with deploying photovoltaic (PV) systems. The information you provide below will help identify regulatory and other processes that may be streamlined or standardized to reduce cost burdens. Please provide information for Q1 and Q2 of 2012 (January 1 - June 30, 2012). The input you provide will be used to generate auto-calculated values, to better assist you in gauging the accuracy of your responses. Responses will be accepted until June 1, 2013. Thank you for your important contribution.

Company Profile

Company Name
Address
City
State
Zip Code
Your Name
Position
Phone
Email

Section A: Number of PV Systems Installed

For the following customer segments, please provide the number of PV systems and the total number of megawatts installed.

Average System Size
Residential	0	kW
Commercial	0	kW
Other	0	kW

	Q1,Q2 TOTAL
Residential # of Systems
Residential MW
Commercial # of Systems
Commercial MW
Other (utility-scale and off-grid installations) # of Systems
Other (utility-scale and off-grid installations) MW
Total # of Systems	0
Total MW	0

Number of Leased Systems Installed
Commercial	0	#

	Q1,Q2 TOTAL
What percent of your total commercial installations were leased systems?

Section B: Commercial Customer Acquisition

What was the total cost of commercial customer acquisition activities in Q1 and Q2 of 2012? (include marketing and advertising, sales calls, site visits, travel time to and from the site, contract negotiation with system host/owner, and bid preparation, but exclude system design)

	Q1,Q2 Total
Total Customer Acquisition Costs [$]
Customer Acquisition Cost/Installation [$]	0

For commercial PV systems, what was the total system design budget in Q1 and Q2 of 2012?

	Q1,Q2 Total
Total System Design Costs [$]
System Design Cost/Installation [$]	0

Check all that apply to your business operations

Use lead referral service (e.g., Global Solar Center, 1BOG)

Act as a contractor for a seller or finance firm

Offer third-party financing through third-party provider

Provide own third-party financing

Do you typically use remote site assessment techniques or google maps prior to an initial site visit?

Yes

Section C: Commercial Permitting, Inspection, and Interconnection

Based on the average system size calculated above (Section A), how many labor hours (both full-time employees and contract labor) per commercial PV installation were spent on the following?

	Labor Hours/Installation
a) Preparing a permit package (including determining a jurisdiction's permitting requirements, travel time to site/verification, drawing system plans, structural calculations, zoning application)
b) Submitting the permit package (including travel time to and from the permitting office and wait time at the permitting office)
c) Completing the permitting inspection (including paperwork, travel time to and from the site, wait time for inspector, and physical inspection)
d) Completing the interconnection process (including paperwork, travel time to and from the site, wait time for representative from utility, and physical interconnection)
e) Applying for and receiving all local, state, and federal financial incentives (including determining eligibility, paperwork, travel time to and from the site, wait time for inspector, and physical inspection)
Total hours per installation	0

Section D: Conclusion

Please provide any additional feedback that would be helpful in better understanding the soft costs associated with PV installation and the PV business process.