U.S. patent application number 12/274217 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-18 for facilitating the ownership of solar-powered electricity-generating systems.
This patent application is currently assigned to Morgan Stanley. Invention is credited to Martin D. Mobley.
Application Number | 20090157545 12/274217 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40754511 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090157545 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mobley; Martin D. |
June 18, 2009 |
FACILITATING THE OWNERSHIP OF SOLAR-POWERED ELECTRICITY-GENERATING
SYSTEMS
Abstract
Methods of facilitating a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system are disclosed. The
methods may comprise entering into, by the lender, an agreement
with the party whereby, in exchange for a payment amount paid by
the lender to a seller of the solar power system, the lender owns
and is to sell up to 100% of the electricity generated by the
party's solar power system after installation for a contract time
period defined by the agreement. The methods may also comprise
paying, by the lender, the payment amount to the seller for the
solar power system. The contract time period may extend, for
example, until sales of the electricity by the lender after
installation generate an aggregate payment amount that meets or
exceeds a specified level. The contract time period or unit
quantity might also be fixed. The lender may also receive renewable
energy certificates and any other environmental attributes from the
party.
Inventors: |
Mobley; Martin D.;
(Fairfield, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
K&L GATES LLP
535 SMITHFIELD STREET
PITTSBURGH
PA
15222
US
|
Assignee: |
Morgan Stanley
New York
NY
|
Family ID: |
40754511 |
Appl. No.: |
12/274217 |
Filed: |
November 19, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61038916 |
Mar 24, 2008 |
|
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|
60988978 |
Nov 19, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/40 ; 705/35;
705/412 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G07F 15/003 20130101; G06Q 30/0283 20130101; G07F 17/0014 20130101;
Y04S 50/10 20130101; G06Q 20/127 20130101; Y04S 50/14 20130101;
G07F 15/00 20130101; G06Q 50/06 20130101; Y02P 90/90 20151101; Y04S
50/12 20130101; G06Q 20/102 20130101; G06Q 40/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/40 ; 705/35;
705/412 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00; G06Q 20/00 20060101 G06Q020/00; G06Q 90/00 20060101
G06Q090/00 |
Claims
1. A method of facilitating, by a lender, a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system, the method comprising:
lending, by the lender, funds to the party for the purchase and
installation of the solar power system, wherein the party repays
the funds to the lender with up to 100% of the electricity
generated by the party's solar power system after installation for
a contract time period defined by a loan agreement between the
party and the lender, wherein the party owns the solar power
system; and selling, by the lender, the up to 100% of the
electricity generated by the solar power system after installation
to the third party, wherein the selling comprises determining with
a computer system the cost of the electricity delivered from the
solar power system based on readings from a meter connected to the
solar power system that measures electricity delivered by the solar
power system.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selling further comprises
tracking an amount of electricity sold to the third party with the
computer system based on readings from the meter connected to the
solar power system.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising entering into, by the
lender, a supply agreement with a third party for the lender to
supply electricity generated by the solar power system for the
contract time period.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the lender is has market-based
rate authority from FERC.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein lending the funds to the party
comprises at least one action selected from the group consisting of
paying the funds directly to one or more sellers of the solar power
system, and paying the funds directly to the party.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third party is an electric
utility.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the supply agreement specifies
that the price for the electricity sold by the lender to the third
party is based on a prevailing electricity rate charged by the
electric utility to the homeowner.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein: the party is a homeowner; and
the solar power system is for installation in the homeowner's
home.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising paying, by the lender,
the funds to a solar integrator that sells and installs the solar
power system at the homeowner's home.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein during the contract time period,
the electric utility sells electricity to the homeowner from at
least one of the electricity purchased from the lender and an
electrical power grid.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the contract time period extends
for at least one period selected from the group consisting of a
specified period of time, a period of time until the lender has
sold a specified quantity of electricity, and a period of time
until the lender sells enough electricity from the solar power
system to reach a specified aggregate payment level.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the funds paid by the lender are
less than the full retail price of the solar power system.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the funds amount paid by the
lender are a discounted retail price less an incentive payment
amount.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the specified aggregate payment
level corresponds to the full retail price of the solar power
system less the incentive payment.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the solar power system comprises
photovoltaic modules.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the party is required to
transfer renewable energy environmental attributes associated with
the solar electric system's electricity generation during the
contract time period.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the renewable energy
environmental attributes comprise at least one of renewable energy
certificates and carbon credits.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the party is required to
transfer all of the renewable energy certificates earned by the
party during the contract time period to the lender.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising at least one of
selling, by the lender, the transferred renewable energy
environmental attributes and using, by the lender, the transferred
renewable energy environmental attributes.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the party repays the funds to
the lender with interest.
21. A system for facilitating a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system, the system comprising: a
processor; a communication device coupled to the processor and
adapted to communicate via a communications network; a storage
device in communication with the processor and storing instructions
adapted to be executed by the processor to: calculate a contract
time period, wherein, in return for a payment amount funding all or
a portion of a party's purchase and installation of the solar power
system, up to 100% of the electricity generated by the solar power
system during the contract time period accrues to the lender, and
wherein the party owns the solar power system; and determine the
cost of electricity delivered from the solar power system and to be
sold by the lender to a third party, wherein determining the cost
of the electricity comprises considering readings from a meter
connected to the solar power system that measures electricity
delivered by the solar power system.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein calculating the contract time
period comprises at least one action selected from the group
consisting of retrieving a predetermined amount of time; monitoring
whether the lender has sold a specified quantity of electricity;
and monitoring whether the lender has sold enough electricity from
the solar power system to reach a specified aggregate payment
level.
23. A method of facilitating, by a lender, a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system, the method comprising:
selling, by the lender, the solar power system to the party
pursuant to an agreement, whereby, in exchange for the solar power
system, the lender owns up to 100% of the electricity generated by
the solar power system after installation for a contract time
period defined by the agreement, wherein the party owns the solar
power system upon the party's purchase; and causing the solar power
system to be installed at a property of the party.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising selling, by the
lender, the up to 100% of the electricity generated by the solar
power system after installation to the third party, wherein the
selling comprises determining with a computer system the cost of
the electricity delivered from the solar power system based on
readings from a meter connected to the solar power system that
measures electricity delivered by the solar power system and
tracking, with the computer system, electricity sales to the third
party.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the third party is an electric
utility.
26. The method of claim 23, further comprising entering into, by
the lender, a supply agreement with a third party for the lender to
supply electricity generated by the solar power system for the
contract time period.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising paying, by the
lender, for installation of the solar power system.
28. The method of claim 23, further comprising calculating the
contract time period with a computer, wherein the calculating
comprises at least one of retrieving a specified period of time,
determining whether the lender has sold a specified quantity of
electricity, and determining whether the lender has sold enough
electricity from the solar power system to reach a specified
aggregate payment level.
29. The method of claim 23, wherein the agreement between the party
and the lender requires the party to transfer renewable energy
environmental attributes earned by the party during the contract
time period to the lender.
30. The method of claim 29, further comprising tracking, with a
computer system, the creation of renewable energy environmental
attributes based on readings received from a meter connected to the
solar power system.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein the renewable energy
environmental attributes comprise at least one of renewable energy
certificates and carbon credits.
32. The method of claim 29, further comprising at least one of
selling, by the lender, the transferred renewable energy
environmental attributes, and using, by the lender, the transferred
renewable energy environmental attributes.
33. A system for facilitating a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system, the system comprising: a
processor; a communication device coupled to the processor and
adapted to communicate via a communications network; a storage
device in communication with the processor and storing instructions
adapted to be executed by the processor to: calculate a purchase
price at which a lender will sell the solar power system to the
party; calculate a contract time period, wherein, in return for a
payment amount the solar power system to the party, up to 100% of
the electricity generated by the solar power system during the
contract time period accrues to the lender, and wherein the party
owns the solar power system upon the party's purchase; and
determine the cost of electricity delivered from the solar power
system and to be sold by the lender to a third party, wherein
determining the cost of the electricity comprises considering
readings from a meter connected to the solar power system that
measures electricity delivered by the solar power system.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the storage device further
comprises instructions adapted to be executed by the processor to
track electricity sold to the third party.
35. The system of claim 33, wherein calculating the contract time
period comprises at least one action selected from the group
consisting of retrieving a predetermined amount of time; monitoring
whether the lender has sold a specified quantity of electricity;
and monitoring whether the lender has sold enough electricity from
the solar power system to reach a specified aggregate payment
level.
36. The system of claim 33, wherein the purchase price is less than
a full retail price of the solar power system.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein the purchase price is a full
retail price less an incentive payment amount.
38. A method comprising: financing, by a lender, the purchase by a
plurality of parties of electricity-generating solar power systems
wherein the parties own their respective solar power system, and
wherein the lender owns and is to sell up to 100% of the
electricity generated by the parties' solar power systems after
installation for a contract time period defined by a financing
agreement with each party respectively, and wherein, pursuant to
the financing agreements, the parties are to transfer renewable
energy environmental attributes earned by the parties to the
lender; tracking, with a computer system, the creation of energy
environmental attributes earned by the parties, wherein the
tracking comprises, for each of the plurality of parties,
determining with a computer system the energy environmental
attributes derived from the respective solar power system based on
readings from a meter connected to the respective solar power
system; aggregating, by the lender, the renewable energy
environmental attributes transferred by the parties; and by the
lender, at least one of selling the aggregated renewable energy
environmental attributes and using the aggregated renewable energy
environmental attributes
39. The method of claim 38, wherein the renewable energy
environmental attributes comprise at least one of renewable energy
certificates and carbon credits.
40. A system for facilitating a party's purchase of an
electricity-generating solar power system, the system comprising: a
processor; a communication device coupled to the processor and
adapted to communicate via a communications network; a storage
device in communication with the processor and storing instructions
adapted to be executed by the processor to: for each of a plurality
of parties, calculate a contract time period, wherein, in return
for a payment amount funding all or a portion of the party's
purchase and installation of the solar power system, up to 100% of
the electricity generated by the solar power system during the
contract time period accrues to the lender, wherein the party owns
the solar power system, and wherein the parties are obligated to
transfer renewable energy environmental attributes earned by the
parties to the lender; and aggregate the renewable energy
environmental attributes transferred by the parties for sale.
41. The system of claim 40, wherein the instructions are further
adapted to be executed by the processor to determine with a
computer system the cost of the electricity delivered from the
solar power systems and to be sold to a third party based on
readings from a meter connected to the respective solar power
systems that measures electricity delivered by the respective solar
power systems.
42. A method of facilitating, by a lender, a property owner's
purchase of an electricity-generating solar power system, the
method comprising: entering into, by the lender, an agreement with
the property owner, whereby in exchange for a payment amount paid
by the lender for the solar power system, the lender owns and is to
sell at least a portion of the electricity generated by the solar
power system for a contract time period defined by the agreement,
wherein the lender owns a first property interest in the solar
power system; and selling, by the lender, at least the portion of
the electricity generated by the solar power system to a third
party for the contract time period, wherein the selling comprises
determining with a computer system the cost of the electricity
delivered from the solar power system based on readings from a
meter connected to the solar power system that measures electricity
delivered by the solar power system.
43. The method of claim 42, further comprising tracking, with the
computer system, sales of electricity to the third party based on
readings from the meter.
44. The method of claim 42, wherein the first property interest is
full ownership of the solar power system.
45. The method of claim 44, wherein at the expiration of the
contract time period, the property owner owns and is to sell to the
third party at least the portion of the electricity generated by
the solar power system.
46. The method of claim 45, wherein the property owner is required
to transfer to the lender renewable energy environmental attributes
earned by the property owner after the expiration of the contract
time period.
47. The method of claim 45, wherein renewable energy environmental
attributes earned by the lender after the expiration of the
contract time period are retained by the lender.
48. The method of claim 42, wherein the property owner owns a
second property interest in the solar power system.
49. The method of claim 48, wherein the second property interest is
a future interest vesting upon at least one occurrence selected
from the group consisting of: an expiration of the contract time
period; an election by the party; and an election by the
lender.
50. The method of claim 42, wherein the first property right is an
easement terminating at an expiration of the contract time
period.
51. The method of claim 42, wherein the property owner is required
to transfer renewable energy environmental attributes earned by the
property owner to the lender during the contract time period.
52. The method of claim 51, further comprising selling, by the
lender, the renewable energy environmental attributes.
53. The method of claim 51, wherein the renewable energy
environmental attributes comprise at least one of renewable energy
certificates and carbon credits.
54. The method of claim 42, wherein the property owner is required
to transfer at least one governmental incentive to the lender.
55. The method of claim 42, wherein at least one governmental
incentive accrues to the lender.
56. The method of claim 42, wherein the lender also owns an
easement to a property of the property owner on which the solar
power system is installed, wherein the easement to the property of
the property owner allows the lender to access the solar power
system.
57. The method of claim 42, wherein the payment amount paid by the
lender is for the solar power system and its installation.
58. The method of claim 42, wherein paying the payment amount
comprises directly paying the payment amount to at least one of a
seller of the solar power system and/or an installer of the solar
power system.
59. The method of claim 42, wherein selling electricity generated
by the solar power system comprises determining with a computer
system the cost of electricity delivered from the solar power
system based on readings from a meter in communication with the
solar power system that measures electricity generated by the solar
power system.
60. The method of claim 42, wherein the third party is an electric
utility.
61. The method of claim 42, wherein: the property owner is a
homeowner; and the solar power system is for installation at the
homeowner's home.
62. The method of claim 42, wherein: the property owner is a
landlord; and the solar power system is for installation at a
rental property of the landlord.
63. The method of claim 42, wherein the solar power system is for
installation at a commercial property of the property owner.
64. The method of claim 42, wherein the contract time period
extends for at least one period selected from the group consisting
of a specified period set forth in the agreement, a period
extending until the lender has sold a specified quantity of
electricity, and a period extending until the lender sells enough
electricity from the solar power system to reach a specified
aggregate payment level.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/988,978 filed on Nov. 19, 2007, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application
also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/038,916 filed on Mar. 24, 2008, which is also incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many people have an interest in installing
electricity-producing solar panels on their property because of the
cost savings, governmental incentives, and environmental impact
that solar power can provide. For almost as many people, however,
the cost of purchasing and installing such solar panels is
prohibitively expensive. For a typical two-story, 2,000-square-foot
home, the cost to install solar panels and the related equipment
for generating electrical power can range between $20,000 and
$50,000. Many states provide cash rebates to homeowners and various
other entities who install solar panels, but the rebate is usually
only a small portion of the total installed costs. The remaining
costs the homeowner or other entity (e.g., business owner,
nonprofit organization or governmental entity) ("Property Owner or
party") must pay are too great in many cases, which may be
contributing to the delay of widespread adoption of residential
solar power.
[0003] Recently, there have been several proposals to improve the
economics of purchasing rooftop solar panels. One proposed business
model is for a company (commonly referred to as a "solar
integrator") that sells and installs solar panels and related
equipment ("solar power system") to install the solar panels and
related equipment at the Property Owner's property. However, the
solar integrator retains ownership (and in this context is commonly
referred to as a "PPA Provider") of the solar power system, and the
Property Owner, instead of paying for the solar power system,
merely pays for the electricity produced by the solar power system,
which may be governed by the terms of a power purchase agreement
("PPA") or lease agreement or some combination of each. In some
models, the electricity rate charged by the solar integrator is
fixed below what the local utility is expected to charge over time.
At the end of the lease or PPA term, which typically ranges from
five to 25 years, the Property Owner usually has the right to
purchase the equipment outright. In this type of arrangement,
however, the Property Owner typically will not be entitled to
federal tax credits or state rebates during the PPA term because
the Property Owner is not the owner of the solar power system
during this time period. Also, in this type of arrangement the
solar integrator is exposed to the risks associated with billing
the Property Owner for electricity for solar electricity used. For
example, the solar integrator is forced to expend the
administrative expense necessary to implement customer billing.
Also, the solar integrator is exposed to the credit risk of each
individual customer.
SUMMARY
[0004] In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to
methods of facilitating a party's purchase and/or ownership of an
electricity-generating solar power system (e.g., through the
tracking and transfer of the electricity produced by the system).
The party purchasing the solar power system may be a homeowner
seeking to install the system at his/her home or other type of
property owner. The financing (e.g., the funds to purchase and/or
install the solar power system) may be provided by a lender. The
method may comprise the step of entering into, by the lender, an
agreement with the party ("Property Owner," e.g., homeowner),
whereby, in exchange for a payment amount paid by the lender for
the solar power system and its installation, the lender owns and is
to sell (such as to the local electric utility) up to 100% of the
electricity generated by the Property Owner's solar power system
after installation for a contract time period defined by the
agreement. In addition, the method may comprise the step of
entering into, by the lender, a supply agreement with a third
party, such as the local electric utility, to supply electricity
generated by the Property Owner's solar power system for the
contract time period. In such an arrangement, the Property Owner
(e.g., the homeowner) owns the solar power system after
installation.
[0005] The payment amount paid by the lender may be paid to a
seller, or solar integrator, who sells and installs the system.
Alternatively, the payment amount could be paid to the Property
Owner, who pays the solar integrator. The contract time period, as
described further below, may extend until, through sales of the
electricity by the lender after installation, the aggregate payment
amount received by the lender meets or exceeds a specified level. A
computer device may be used to track the electricity sold (e.g.,
via communications with a meter) and determine the end of the
contract time period. At that point, the lender would no longer own
the electricity nor have the right to sell it. Rather, the Property
Owner could use it to power their home (or other building).
Alternatively, the contract time period could be fixed, based on
estimates at the time of installation.
[0006] In addition, the Property Owner may assign to the lender, in
connection with such a arrangement, all or a portion of any
environmental attributes, such as renewable energy certificates
(collectively, "RECs"), associated with the electricity generated
by the solar power system. The lender may then sell the RECs in the
secondary market or use the RECs to meet its own renewable
portfolio standards requirements or similar regulatory mandates
("RPS"). The lender could also aggregate for sale a number of RECs
from a number of Property Owners for whom the lender facilitated
the purchase of solar power systems.
[0007] In various implementations, the payment amount may be paid
by the lender to the seller (e.g., a solar integrator), and the
payment amount may be a discounted price off the full retail price
for the solar power system and its installation, less any incentive
payments received by the seller (and/or down payment made by the
Property Owner). The specified aggregate payment level (at which
point the lender no longer receives the electricity generated by
the solar power system) may be the full retail price of system and
its installation less any incentive payment received by the seller
(and/or down payment made by the Property Owner). Thus, the lender
may earn an amount less than the retail price, although the
lender's earning will be earned over the contract time period,
which may span several years depending on the rate at which the
lender sells, or estimates it can sell, the electricity.
Preferably, the rate received by the lender from the utility is the
utility's prevailing market rate or one substantially close
thereto. During the contract time period, the electric utility may
also deliver electric power to the Property Owner at the prevailing
market rate. Preferably, the lender has market-based rate authority
from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
[0008] In another arrangement, the lender could sell the solar
power system to the Property Owner. In such an arrangement, the
lender could contract out the installation of the system. The
lender would recoup the price of the system and its installation as
before, through the receipt and sale of the electricity from the
system. In yet another arrangement, the lender may lend proceeds to
the Property Owner to purchase the solar power system. The Property
Owner may repay the loan amount with electricity from the solar
power system, which the lender may sell to the local utility per
the supply agreement. In this way, the solar-generated electricity
becomes a type of currency that the Property Owner uses to repay
the lender. In each arrangement, ownership of the electricity will
transfer from the lender to the local electric utility when it
reaches a solar system meter that measures the quantity of
electricity produced by the solar power system and tracks sales to
the utility.
[0009] In yet another arrangement, the lender may maintain a full
or partial property interest in the solar power system. The lender
may be entitled to sell solar electricity generated by the solar
power system and may sell said solar electricity to a utility, in
which case ownership of the electricity would transfer from the
lender to the utility when it reaches a solar system meter that
measures the quantity of electricity produced by the solar power
system and tracks sales to the utility. The utility may, in turn,
sell the solar electricity to the Property Owner or other utility
customer. The lender's ownership interest in the solar power system
may be a full ownership interest or an interest that expires at
some point in time (e.g., at the option of the lender or the
Property Owner). For example, at the conclusion of a contract time
period, ownership of the solar power system may transfer from the
lender to the Property Owner.
[0010] The arrangements described above provide numerous benefits.
In embodiments where the Property Owner (e.g., the homeowner) owns
the system, the Property Owner may be entitled to federal tax
credits. This is in contrast to many solar system financing
structures where the Property Owner does not take immediate
ownership of the system (if at all) and, as a result, is not
eligible for federal tax credits. Also, the electric utility may
have two sources of electricity to call upon in serving the
Property Owner, one of which is a renewable energy source (the
electricity from the Property Owner's solar system), which may help
the utility meet its RPS requirements during the contract time
period. Further, the lender could aggregate RECs or other types of
renewable energy environmental attributes from a number of Property
Owners and sell the aggregated RECs (or other types of
environmental attributes) in, for example, commercially attractive
lot sizes. Solar system meters associated with individual solar
power systems may track the creation of REC's. In addition, the
lender has no direct credit exposure to the Property Owner and does
not collect electricity payments from the Property Owner. This is
in contrast to many conventional financing arrangements where the
solar integrator owns the installed solar power system and sells
the electricity generated by the system (or leases the solar power
system) to the Property Owner. These and other benefits of the
invention will be apparent from the description to follow.
FIGURES
[0011] Various embodiments of the present invention are described
herein by way of example in conjunction with the following figures,
wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a solar power system;
[0013] FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams illustrating a financing
structure for solar power systems according to various embodiments
of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a computer system according to
various embodiments of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates a financing structure according to
another embodiment of the present invention; and
[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates a financing structure according to yet
another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to
systems for facilitating the purchase of a solar-powered
electricity generating system (sometimes referred to herein as a
"solar power system" or "solar system"). The techniques described
herein can be used, for example, by residential homeowners to
facilitate the purchase and installation of a solar power system
for their home. The techniques could also be used to facilitate
solar power system purchases for essentially any property owner,
including, but not limited to, commercial property owners,
industrial property owners, nonprofit organizations, governmental
entities, farmers, and schools. Before describing the techniques, a
description of a typical solar power system may be useful. The
description below describes a typical installation in a home,
although it should be recognized that the invention covers
nonresidential installations as well. Further, the description to
follow describes one type of solar power system. Of course, the
techniques described herein could be used for other types of
systems.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of a house (or building) 7
having a solar power system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the solar power
system 10 may comprise an array 1 of solar panels (sometimes
referred to as "photovoltaic modules") which may be (but are not
required to be) located on the rooftop of the house 7. The solar
panels may comprise, for example, a number of photovoltaic cells
that are used to convert sunlight to electrical power. The number
of panels may be appropriately determined so that a desired voltage
level can be achieved. A collector box 2 may collect the output
from the solar panels of the array 1 and forward it to a power
conditioner 3. The power conditioner 3 may convert the DC power
from the array 1 into AC power for use by the house 7 or for sale
back to the electric utility servicing the house 7. A solar system
meter 5 may measure the power generated by the solar power system
10.
[0019] The house 7 may further comprise, as shown in FIG. 1, a
switchboard 6 that distributes electrical power throughout the
house 7, such as from outlets 4. The switchboard 6 may receive
power from the solar power system 10 as well as from the utility
grid 12 servicing the house 7. A buying power meter 14 may measure
the electrical power sold to the house 7 from the utility power
grid 12, and a selling power meter 16 may measure the electrical
power sold from the house 7 (and generated by the solar power
system 10) to the utility. In other embodiments, rather than having
separate power buying and selling meters, there may be a single
meter that measures the net electrical power delivered by the
utility to the house 7. In such an embodiment, if the amount of
electricity sold from the house 7 was greater than the amount sold
to the house over a given time period, the net power delivered to
the house 7 would be negative over that time period.
[0020] As mentioned above, such solar power systems can be
relatively expensive. For example, the present cost of a system for
a 2,000-square-foot single family home can range from $20,000 to
$50,000. At such a high cost, many homeowners often believe that it
will take too long to recoup the costs of the investment through
lower energy bills, or they simply cannot afford the investment.
Therefore, many homeowners forego investing in solar power
systems.
[0021] FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating in simplified form a
transaction structure for facilitating the purchase of a solar
power system by a Property Owner 20 from a seller 22 according to
various embodiments. FIG. 2 shows the agreements and initial
expenditures at the inception of the transaction. FIG. 3 shows the
ongoing payments and electricity flows. As shown in FIG. 2, the
Property Owner 20 and the seller 22 may enter into a sales
agreement 23 stipulating the terms of the sale. The Property Owner
20, as mentioned above, may be a homeowner wishing to install the
system in his/her home, or the owner of nonresidential property,
for example. The seller 22 may be, for example, a manufacturer
and/or an installer of the solar power system 10, such as a solar
integrator. Although only one seller/solar integrator 22 is shown
in FIG. 2 for the sake of convenience, there could be more than one
seller/solar integrator in various embodiments. The purchase money
is provided by a lender 24, which is described in more detail
below.
[0022] Many states have cash incentive programs for residential and
nonresidential solar power systems 10. These incentive payments are
often related to the expected or actual energy producing
capabilities of the system; higher energy producing systems (which
generally cost more) are typically eligible for a greater
incentive. Accordingly, the governmental entity (e.g., state) 27 in
which the Property Owner 20 resides may pay the Property Owner 20 a
rebate to pay partially for the system 10. Typically, as shown in
FIG. 2, the state's payment may be paid directly to the solar
integrator 22 or to another third party at the direction of the
Property Owner 20, but it may also be paid directly to the Property
Owner 20. The solar integrator 22 is preferably a state-eligible
installer of such solar power systems.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment, neither the solar integrator 22
nor the lender 24 retains an ownership interest in the Property
Owner's solar power system upon installation. Rather, once
installed and/or once the solar integrator 22 is paid, the Property
Owner 20 takes title to and owns the solar power system. Because
the Property Owner 20 owns the system 10, the Property Owner may be
eligible for tax credits from governmental entity 21, such as the
federal government. Under current federal tax provisions, a
Property Owner could claim a federal credit to cover 30% of the
system's cost.
[0024] In the illustrated embodiment, the terms of the financing
between the lender 24 and the Property Owner 20 are set forth in a
form of commodity sales agreement 28, which, for reasons that will
be apparent from the description to follow, is sometimes referred
to herein as a "prepaid forward contract." Under the terms of the
prepaid forward contract 28, the lender 24 pays the Property Owner
20 up-front for enough of the electricity generated by a proposed
solar power system such that the Property Owner is able to purchase
said system. However, the lender may pay the money directly to the
solar integrator 22 on the Property Owner's behalf, as shown in
FIG. 2. The price paid by the lender 24 may be some discounted
amount off the retail price for the system (e.g., 85% of the retail
price, including installation costs) less the amount of the state's
incentive payment (if any) and/or Property Owner down payment (if
any) to the solar integrator 22. In mathematical terms, suppose the
full, non-discounted retail cost of the system is X, the state's
incentive payment is Y, and the discount off the retail price the
lender 24 receives is z (e.g., a 0.15 or 15% discount). Thus, the
lender's payment to the solar integrator 22, referred to
hereinafter as the "Lender Payment Amount," would be:
Lender Payment Amount=(1-z)X-Y
assuming no down payment by the Property Owner 20.
[0025] In exchange for the payment to the seller 22, under the
terms of the prepaid forward contract 28, the lender 24 owns a
physical commodity, i.e., the electricity generated by the Property
Owner's solar power system 10 during the term (or period) of the
prepaid forward contract (referred to as the "Prepaid Forward
Contract Period"), which time period is further described below.
Further, the lender 24 enters into a supply agreement 31 with the
utility 26 to supply up to 100% of the electricity from the
Property Owner's solar power system to the utility 26 during the
Prepaid Forward Contract Period. Ownership of the electricity will
transfer from the lender to the local electric utility when it
reaches a solar system meter that measures the quantity of
electricity produced by the solar power system and tracks sales to
the utility. The agreement 31 may specify that the rate paid to the
lender by the utility 26 is the prevailing rate for electricity
charged by the utility 26 or substantially close to the prevailing
rate (such as within a few percentage points of the prevailing
rate). The prepaid forward contract 28 between the lender 24 and
the Property Owner 20 may reference the supply agreement between
the lender 24 and the utility 26, and may obligate the lender 24 to
sell up to 100% of the electricity to the utility 26 (for resale to
the Property Owner 20) and may obligate the utility, in turn, to
sell that electricity to the Property Owner during the Prepaid
Forward Contract Period.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, during the Prepaid Forward Contract
Period, the lender 24 sells the electricity generated by the
Property Owner's solar system to the utility 26. The utility 26, in
turn, sells electricity to the Property Owner 20 for consumption by
the Property Owner for powering the Property Owner's house or other
building, the Property Owner 20 paying the prevailing rate to the
utility 26. The utility 26 could sell the electricity from the
lender 24 back to the Property Owner 20 and/or sell electricity
from its grid 32 to the Property Owner. Thus, the utility 26 has
two sources for delivering electricity to the Property Owner 20. As
a convenient result of this arrangement, the Property Owner 20
would only get one electricity bill (from the utility 26) and would
not have to make any ongoing payments for the solar system 10.
Also, the lender may not be exposed to the risk and expense of
billing the Property Owner directly. In addition, the Property
Owner's total effective electricity rate would remain unchanged (or
could even decrease to the extent the Property Owner retained some
percentage of the electricity during the Prepaid Forward Contract
Period) from before the installation to after during the Prepaid
Forward Contract Period. Also, purchases by the utility 26 from the
lender of the electricity produced by a solar power system should
help the utility 26 meet its renewable portfolio standards (RPS)
obligations.
[0027] According to various embodiments, the Prepaid Forward
Contract Period ends when the lender 24 has sold enough electricity
to the utility 26 (or another party) to recoup an amount of money
equal to the full, non-discounted retail cost of the solar power
system less the amount of the state's incentive payment (if any)
and/or Property Owner down payment (if any). In mathematical terms,
suppose the full, non-discounted retail cost of the system is X,
the state's incentive payment is Y1, and the Property Owner down
payment is Y2. Thus, the Prepaid Forward Contract Period ends when
the lender recoups an amount of money from the utility 26 (or
another party) equal to X-Y1-Y2, referred to hereinafter as the
"Lender Return Amount." Thus, the Lender Return Amount may be
expressed as follows:
Lender Return Amount=X-Y1-Y2
Similarly, according to these various embodiments, the number of
units of electricity received by the lender 24 during the Prepaid
Forward Contract Period and sold to the utility 26 (or another
party), multiplied by the price per unit of electricity paid by the
utility 26 (or another party) would equal the Lender Return Amount.
In mathematical terms, suppose the price paid by the utility 26 (or
another party) during all relevant periods of time in the Prepaid
Forward Contract Period, per unit of electricity is Z. Thus, the
number of units of electricity received by the lender, referred to
hereinafter as the "Lender Quantity," during the Prepaid Forward
Contract Period would equal the Lender Return Amount divided by Z.
Thus, the Lender Quantity may be expressed as follows:
Lender Quantity=Lender Return Amount/Z
That is, in one embodiment, the Prepaid Forward Contract Period
lasts until the lender 24 recovers the Lender Return Amount from
the utility 26 through the sale of the electricity received from
the Property Owner's solar system.
[0028] Alternatively, the Prepaid Forward Contract Period could be
a fixed time period, such as a number of months or years, or the
Lender Quantity could be fixed, such as a number of units of
electricity. The duration of the fixed contract time period or the
fixed Lender Quantity preferably would be based on estimates at the
time of installation regarding the amount of time required to
achieve the Lender Return Amount. In such an embodiment, the lender
24 may own and sell up to 100% of the electricity from the Property
Owner's solar system for the fixed period of time or until the
Lender Quantity is achieved. The fixed time period or Lender
Quantity may be chosen based on forecasts regarding electricity
prices and solar power system efficiency so that the lender 24 is
likely to be adequately compensated.
[0029] Regardless of whether the commodity sales agreement 28 has a
fixed or a nonfixed term or quantity, the agreement 28 between the
Property Owner 20 and the lender 24 may require the Property Owner
20 to assign or otherwise transfer to the lender 24 all or a
portion of any RECs earned by the Property Owner 20 due to
electricity generated by the solar power system over the term of
the contract. The lender 24 may then sell the RECs in the secondary
market or use the RECs to meet its own RPS requirements. The solar
system meter 5 may directly or indirectly track the creation of
REC's. For example, the solar system meter 5 may sense units of
electricity generated by the solar system 10 and convert them to
REC's. In some embodiments, the solar system meter 5 may report the
units of electricity generated by the solar system 10, which may
then be converted to REC's by another device.
[0030] According to various embodiments, the Lender Return Amount
may be the nondiscounted retail cost of the Property Owner's solar
power system 10 less the state's incentive payment (if any) less
the Property Owner's down payment (if any). In most such
arrangements, it may take five to ten years for the lender 24 to
recover the Lender Return Amount. After that, the Property Owner
will own all electricity generated by the solar power system 10 and
will no longer have to deliver the electricity to the lender 24
(or, in other words, the lender 24 no longer owns the electricity
generated by the system). The Property Owner 20 instead can use the
electricity generated by the system 10 to power the Property
Owner's house or other building, thereby reducing its reliance on
power from the utility 26. Typically, solar panels are guaranteed
to perform at or above a certain level for 20 to 30 thirty years,
so if it took eight years for the lender 24 to recover the Lender
Return Amount, the Property Owner 20 could probably use the system
for its own benefit for another twelve to twenty-two years.
[0031] In such an arrangement, the lender 24 is providing the
Property Owner 20 with the funds to pay for the solar power system
10 and its installation, which payment constitutes the up-front
payment obligation of the lender 24 (paid to the seller 22) under
the prepaid forward contract 28. In the illustrated arrangement,
the lender 24 earns the difference between the discounted amount it
paid to the solar integrator 24 for the solar power system 10 and
the nondiscounted retail amount it recovers from the sale of the
electricity generated by the system 10 to the utility during the
term of the supply contract 28 (or zX), although the lender 24
earns this difference over the number of years it takes to sell
enough electricity to recover the nondiscounted retail cost. As
mentioned before, this may take five to ten years, for example,
although it should be noted that since the ongoing sales of
electricity to the utility 28 are at or close to the
then-prevailing rates, if the price of electricity rises the
Property Owner's obligation to the lender 24 under the prepaid
forward contract 28 will be paid off sooner under certain
embodiments.
[0032] Consider the following numerical example. Assume a homeowner
is installing a 3 kW solar system that has a retail cost of
$24,000. The state's incentive payment for such a system may be as
much as $15,000. If the discount off the full retail price paid by
the lender 24 is 15%, the Lender Payment Amount would be $5,400
(calculated as (1-0.15) times $24,000, less $15,000). The Lender
Return Amount in this example, which is the quantity of money the
lender 24 receives over the term of the supply contract through the
sale of the electricity from the homeowner's solar power system to
the utility 26, would be $9,000 (calculated as $24,000 minus
$15,000).
[0033] In the illustrated embodiment, the lender 24 pays for the
equipment and installation costs on the Property Owner's behalf
directly to the solar integrator 22, although in other embodiments,
the lender 24 may pay the funds to the Property Owner 20, who in
turns pays the solar integrator 22.
[0034] Because the lender 24 sells the electricity generated by the
Property Owner's solar power system 10 during the term of the
prepaid forward contract 28, the lender 24 preferably has
market-based rate authority from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC).
[0035] As mentioned above, pursuant to the prepaid forward contract
28, the Property Owner 20 may transfer or assign to the lender 24
RECs. In states that have a REC program, a green energy provider
typically is credited with one REC for every 1,000 kWh of
electricity it produces. An average residential customer consumes
about 800 kWh in a month. Thus, the lender 24 could earn about ten
or so RECs per year for each such deal with a residential
homeowner. The lender 24 could then sell the RECs in the secondary
market or use the RECs to meet its own RPS requirements. Further,
where the lender 24 facilitates the purchase of solar power systems
for a number of Property Owners, the lender 24 could aggregate the
RECs from the various Property Owners and package them in unit
sizes that are more attractive for sale in the commercial market,
e.g., one hundred RECs, or the lender could use the RECs to meet
its own RPS requirements.
[0036] Variations of the above-described transaction structure
could also be used and are within the scope of the present
invention. For example, the Property Owner could be a homeowner
seeking to install the system at his/her house, although it should
be recognized that aspects of the invention are also applicable to
other types of buildings and/or to nonresidential property owners.
In addition, instead of a discounted price, the lender 24 may pay
the solar integrator 22 the full retail price (less any state
incentives). In such an embodiment, the Lender Quantity may be full
retail price plus a premium (less any state incentives).
[0037] In another embodiment, the lender 24 may own the solar power
system before installation. In such embodiments, the lender 24 may
hire and pay an installer to install the solar power system. In
this arrangement, the Property Owner 20 may own the system upon
installation as before, with the lender 24 owning and selling up to
100% of the electricity received from the Property Owner pursuant
to the prepaid forward contract. The Lender Return Amount in such
an embodiment may be the price of the solar panel system charged by
the lender, plus installation costs, plus a premium, less any
incentive payments and/or down payments by the Property Owner 20.
Such an embodiment could be beneficial because, due to economies of
scale, the price of the solar panel system charged by the lender 24
plus the installation costs may be less than the discounted retail
price the lender 24 pays the seller in the embodiments described
above. Similarly, in this embodiment, the agreement between the
lender 24 and the Property Owner 20 may require the Property Owner
20 to transfer and assign all or a portion of the RECs or other
environmental attributes earned by the Property Owner 20 to the
lender 24, who may resell them in the secondary market or use the
RECs to meet its own RPS requirements.
[0038] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the lender 24 may
lend the Property Owner 20 the funds to purchase the solar power
system and its installation pursuant to a loan agreement 40. In
such an embodiment, the Property Owner 20 may repay the loan amount
to the lender with electricity from the system 10, which the lender
24 may sell to the utility 26 until it has been fully reimbursed
with applicable interest, if any. As part of the lending
arrangement, the Property Owner 20 may also be required to transfer
and or assign all or some of the RECs acquired by the Property
Owner 20 to the lender 24.
[0039] In yet another embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, the lender 24
may retain a property interest in the solar power system 10 after
its installation. The various contractual relationships set forth
in FIG. 6 may be established by one or more agreements or contracts
between the lender 24, the utility 26 and/or the Property Owner 20.
For example, the obligations of the lender 24 and the Property
Owner 20 relative to one another may be set forth in a loan
agreement 40, a commodity sales agreement 28 or other suitable
instrument. The obligations of the lender 24 and the utility 26
relative to one another may be set forth in a supply agreement 31
or other suitable document.
[0040] In the transaction shown, the lender 24 may facilitate the
purchase of the solar power system 10, for example, by making a
payment directly to a seller and/or solar integrator 22, or by
making a payment to the Property Owner 20, who may, in turn, pay
the seller 22. During a contract time period (e.g., the Prepaid
Forward Contract Period described above or another time period
agreed to by the parties) the lender 24 may take or retain a
property interest in the solar power system 10. The lender's
property interest in the solar power system 10 may be a complete or
partial interest. For example, the lender 24 may become the
outright owner, having full ownership of the solar power system 10
throughout its useful lifetime, or some shorter period of time.
Ownership of the electricity generated by the solar power system 10
may reside with the lender 24 indefinitely. According to various
embodiments, however, electricity generated by the solar power
system 10 after the expiration of the contract time period may be
owned by the Property Owner. Renewable energy environmental
attributes generated as a result of the solar power system 10 may
be assigned to, or retained by, the lender 24 even after the
expiration of the contract time period.
[0041] Also, for example, the lender 24 may take an expiring
interest in the solar power system 10 (e.g., an interest expiring
at the conclusion of the contract time period, at the option of the
lender and/or the Property Owner, etc.). The lender's property
interest in the solar power system 10 may be any suitable property
interest available under the applicable law including, for example,
an easement or similar property interest against the property
owner's property (e.g., the property where the solar power system
10 is to be installed). According to various embodiments, the
lender 24 may also take an additional property interest in the
property where the system 10 is installed. For example, the lender
24 may take an easement, granting the lender 24 access to the
property owner's property. This may allow the lender 24 to reach
and perform maintenance on the system 10 after installation. In
embodiments where the lender 24 has less than all of the ownership
interest in the solar power system 10, the property owner may
retain a property interest in the system 10 even during the
contract time period. The property owner's interest may be any
suitable property interest available under the applicable law
including, for example, a future interest.
[0042] The length of the contract time period, may be determined as
described above. For example, the contract time period may expire
after the passage of a predetermined amount of time. Also,
according to various embodiments, it may expire after the lender 24
has received some combination of electricity 116 and/or
environmental attributes 92 (e.g., REC's) reaching a Lender
Quantity. The Lender Quantity may be found in any suitable way
including, for example, those described herein above.
[0043] During the contract time period, some or all of the solar
electricity 116 generated by the solar power system 10 (e.g., up to
100%) may be owned by the lender 24. Physically, however,
electricity 116 may be provided to the utility 26, which may, in
turn, reimburse the lender 24 with payment 98. Also, as described
above, the utility 26 may sell all or a portion of the electricity
116 to the Property Owner 20.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 6, solar electricity 116 is routed to a
utility-grade solar system meter 88, which may measure the total
amount of solar electricity generated (e.g., in KWh or another
suitable unit), track sales to the local utility, track REC
creation, etc. At the solar system meter 88, customer solar
electricity 114 may be provided to the Property Owner 20. According
to embodiments where the Property Owner 20 is a landlord, customer
solar electricity 114 may be provided to a tenant of the Property
Owner 20. If the total solar electricity 116 generated by the solar
power system 10, which may be owned by the lender, exceeds the
customer solar electricity 114 (e.g., the electricity used by the
Property Owner 20), then excess electricity 112 may be provided to
the grid, for example, via a utility grid meter 90. If the total
amount of electricity used by the Property Owner 20 exceeds the
total solar electricity 116, then non-solar electricity 110 may be
provided to the Property Owner 20 from the utility 26 (e.g., via
utility grid meter 90). The Property Owner 20, or tenant, may remit
payment 108 for the customer solar electricity 114 and non-solar
customer electricity 110, if any, to the utility 26. In this way,
the billing expenses and risk may be assumed by the utility 26. It
will be appreciated that utility 26 is already exposed to the risks
and expenses of individual customer billing.
[0045] It will be appreciated that any suitable meter/connection
configuration may be utilized in addition to or instead of the
set-up shown in FIG. 6 including, for example, the configuration
illustrated in FIG. 1 and including switchboard 6 and meters 5, 14
and 16. Likewise, the meter/connection configuration illustrated in
FIG. 6 may be utilized with any other embodiments.
[0046] According to the transaction shown in FIG. 6, the lender 24
may also receive various rebates, tax incentives and environmental
attributes resulting from the solar power system 10. For example,
environmental attributes 92 such as renewable energy credits
(REC's), carbon or carbon-related credits, etc., may accrue to
either the Property Owner 20 and/or the lender 24. If all or a
portion of the environmental attributes 92 accrue to the Property
Owner 20, then the Property Owner 20 may be obligated to transfer
the environmental attributes 92 to the lender 24, as shown. The
lender 24 may, in turn, either sell the attributes 92, or use them
to meet its own RPS requirements. In addition to environmental
attributes, the lender 24 may also receive governmental incentives,
such as rebates 102 and/or tax credits 104. For example, the lender
24 may receive one or more rebates 102 from one or more government
entities 27 (e.g., a state government). If the rebates 102 would
otherwise accrue to the Property Owner 20, then they may be
assigned to the lender 24 under the agreement. Also, the lender 24
may be entitled to receive a tax credit 104 from one or more
government entities (e.g., the federal government) based on its
investment in the solar power system 10. According to various
embodiments, the governmental entities 21 and 27 may be the same
governmental entity or agency.
[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a computer system 50 that may be used
(i) to calculate the amount of payments owed by the utility 26 to
the lender 24 during the Prepaid Forward Contract Period pursuant
to the supply agreement 31 and (ii) to aggregate those payments to
determine when the Lender Quantity is reached. As shown in FIG. 4,
the computer system 50 may comprise a computer device 52, such as a
personal computer, a service, a laptop, a mainframe, a workstation,
or any other suitable computer device. Although only one computer
device 52 is shown in FIG. 4, the system 50 may comprise one or a
number of networked computer devices 52.
[0048] The computer device 52 may comprise one or more processors
54 and one or more memory units 56 (although only one of each is
shown in FIG. 4). The processor 54 may be single or multiple core.
The memory 56 may be any suitable type of computer-readable medium,
such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory
(ROM), a magnetic medium, such as a hard drive or floppy disk, or
an optical medium, such as a CD-ROM. As shown in FIG. 4, the memory
56 may comprise a payment calculation software module 58. The
payment calculation software module 58 may be implemented as
software code to be executed by the processor(s) 54 using any
suitable computer language. The software code may be stored as a
series of instructions or commands in the memory 56.
[0049] When the processor 54 executes the code of the payment
calculation software module 58, the processor may be caused to
calculate the amount of the payments owned by the utility 26 to the
lender 24 for the electricity sold by the lender 24 to the utility
26. The processor 54 may calculate the payments based on meter data
stored in a database 60. For each Property Owner account, the
database 60 may store readings from the appropriate meter or meters
(e.g., the power-selling meter 16 of FIG. 1, the Utility Solar
Meter 88 and/or Utility Grid Meter 90 of FIG. 6, etc.) The meter
readings may be collected, for example, manually or by using
automatic or remote metering, including web-based monitoring of the
meters. The meter data may be transmitted electronically over
communication links, such as RS-232 or RS-485 wired links, and/or
Power Radio, GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth, or IrDA wireless links. The
meter readings may be transmitted electronically to the database
60, for billing and reporting purposes, as described below.
[0050] Based on the readings at the prevailing rate for electricity
(which the system 50 may receive through a data feed and/or which
may be stored in the database 60), the processor 54 may calculate
the payment amount. The processor 54 may also aggregate the
payments for each Property Owner account to determine when they
reach the Lender Quantity. As mentioned before, according to
various embodiments, when the Lender Quantity is reached, the
prepaid forward contract expires and the lender 24 no longer owns
and sells the electricity from the Property Owner's solar system to
the utility 26. Instead, the Property Owner 24 may use the
electricity to power his/her house.
[0051] The payment amounts calculated by the system 50 could be
stored in the database 60 or another store associated with the
computer system 50. In addition, they could be transmitted
electronically to a computerized bill generation system 64 to
generate bills (either electronic and/or paper) for the utility. In
addition, the aggregated payment values computed by the system 50
could be stored in the database 60 or another store associated with
the computer system 50. They could also be transmitted
electronically to a computerized reporting system 68, which may
generate a report (either electronic and/or paper) for the Property
Owner 20. The billing system 64 and the reporting system 68 may be
implemented with a number of servers or mainframes, for example, in
communication with the computer system 50 via a communication
network 70, such as a LAN, MAN, WAN, or other suitable network.
[0052] The examples presented herein are intended to illustrate
potential and specific implementations of the embodiments. It can
be appreciated that the examples are intended primarily for
purposes of illustration for those skilled in the art. No
particular aspect or aspects of the examples is/are intended to
limit the scope of the described embodiments.
[0053] It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of
the embodiments have been simplified to illustrate elements that
are relevant for a clear understanding of the embodiments while
eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements. Because such
elements are well known in the art and because they do not
facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments, a discussion
of such elements is not provided herein.
[0054] In general, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in
the art that at least some of the embodiments described herein may
be implemented in many different embodiments of software, firmware
and/or hardware. The software and firmware code may be executed by
a processor or any other similar computing device. The software
code or specialized control hardware that may be used to implement
embodiments is not limiting. For example, embodiments described
herein may be implemented in computer software using any suitable
computer software language type, such as, for example, C or C++
using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques.
Such software may be stored on any type of suitable
computer-readable medium or media, such as, for example, a magnetic
or optical storage medium. The operation and behavior of the
embodiments may be described without specific reference to specific
software code or specialized hardware components. The absence of
such specific references is feasible, because it is clearly
understood that artisans of ordinary skill would be able to design
software and control hardware to implement the embodiments based on
the present description with no more than reasonable effort and
without undue experimentation.
[0055] The processes associated with the present embodiments may be
executed by programmable equipment, such as computers or computer
systems and/or processors. Software that may cause programmable
equipment to execute processes may be stored in any storage device,
such as, for example, a computer system (nonvolatile) memory, an
optical disk, magnetic tape, or magnetic disk. Furthermore, at
least some of the processes may be programmed when the computer
system is manufactured or stored on various types of
computer-readable media.
[0056] Certain process aspects described herein may be performed
using instructions stored on a computer-readable medium or media
that direct a computer system to perform the process steps. A
computer-readable medium may include, for example, memory devices
such as diskettes, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs
(DVDs), optical disk drives, or hard disk drives. A
computer-readable medium may also include memory storage that is
physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semipermanent and/or
semitemporary. A computer-readable medium may further include one
or more data signals transmitted on one or more carrier waves.
[0057] A "computer," "computer system," "host," or "processor" may
be, for example and without limitation, a processor, microcomputer,
minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal data assistant
(PDA), wireless e-mail device, cellular phone, pager, processor,
fax machine, scanner, or any other programmable device configured
to transmit and/or receive data over a network. Computer systems
and computer-based devices disclosed herein may include memory for
storing certain software applications used in obtaining,
processing, and communicating information. It can be appreciated
that such memory may be internal or external with respect to the
operation of the disclosed embodiments. The memory may also include
any means for storing software, including a hard disk, an optical
disk, floppy disk, ROM (read only memory), RAM (random access
memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable
PROM) and/or other computer-readable media.
[0058] In various embodiments disclosed herein, a single component
may be replaced by multiple components and multiple components may
be replaced by a single component to perform a given function or
functions. For example, any server described herein may be replaced
by a "server farm" or other grouping of networked servers (such as
server blades) that are located and configured for cooperative
functions. It can be appreciated that a server farm may serve to
distribute workload between/among individual components of the farm
and may expedite computing processes by harnessing the collective
and cooperative power of multiple servers. Such server farms may
employ load-balancing software that accomplishes tasks, such as,
for example, tracking demand for processing power from different
machines, prioritizing and scheduling tasks based on network
demand, and/or providing backup contingency in the event of a
component failure or reduction in operability.
[0059] While various embodiments have been described herein, it
should be apparent that various modifications, alterations, and
adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in
the art with attainment of at least some of the advantages. The
disclosed embodiments are therefore intended to include all such
modifications, alterations, and adaptations without departing from
the scope of the embodiments as set forth herein.
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