California "Solar Gardens" Bill Passes Committee 9-0

California assembly bill AB1014 has unanimously passed the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce.  The bill has had some significant changes in order to work with a new green power purchase program.

According to the committee's analysis at http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1001-1050/ab_1014_cfa_20130426_160156_asm_comm.html

"Off-site renewables arrangements allowing ratepayers to purchase shares in renewable facilities and receive generation credits on their utility bills can enable low-income Californians and those who don't own their roofs or who aren't oriented toward the sun to participate in the market for renewable energy."

Promising news!

- Joy

First community solar garden open in Boulder County

The 500-kilowatt Boulder Cowdery Meadows Solar Array officially opened Friday, becoming the first community solar garden to launch in Xcel Energy's Colorado service area since the passage of a law in 2010 permitting them.

Power from the array is now available to participating commercial and residential county ratepayers. 

Read more:  http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_23118776/first-community-solar-garden-open-boulder-county

Colorado Senate Votes To Strengthen State’s Successful Clean Energy Standard - Climate Progress

Colorado residents will now be able to enjoy even more clean energy coming out of their outlets, along with cleaner air and less carbon pollution.

After nearly two days of strenuous debate, Colorado’s House of Representatives voted shortly before midnight Friday night to strengthen the state’s successful renewable energy standard (RES). The bill, which has alreadypassed the Senate and is supported by Governor Hickenlooper, will increase the clean energy standard to 25 percent for rural electric cooperatives by 2020 — a 15 percentage point jump from the current 10 percent. This would mean in seven years, rural areas of Colorado will benefit from one-quarter of their energy portfolio being derived from renewable sources.

Read more:  http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/04/27/1929201/colorado-senate-votes-to-strengthen-states-successful-clean-energy-standard/

Colorado Springs prospects dim for solar garden - The Denver Post

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Just weeks after the former Colorado Springs City Council voted to expand the Colorado Springs Community Solar Garden, the new council is set to reverse course.

New council president Keith King said the backtracking will not scrap renewable energy programs. The council needs more information about other cost-efficient ways to structure the program, he said.

Read more:

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23086716/colorado-springs-prospects-dim-solar-garden


Joy Hughes
in community service
Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org
(719)207-3097 direct

100% Renewables: 100% Possible

 
The future is here -- it’s just unevenly distributed. This old quote found a new application at the Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy conference in San Francisco last week. An international crowd of energy experts, financiers, clean energy advocates, elected officials, government employees, academics, and more gathered there to discuss how to bring the renewable energy future to all.

Even those in favor of renewable energy have been known to debate how much of our power it can provide. But at the conference, the question was not whether we can get to 100%. Instead, speakers asked, How do we get there? And how soon?

Answers vary, and multiple approaches are needed -- many of which were shared at this event. Out of all the details and perspectives, a few themes came to the fore.

Read more: http://pvsolarreport.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=category&id=1&Itemid=2

URGENT: Support Colorado Springs Community Solar

I just got this letter from the team at SunShare in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  They need support, especially from those with successful solar gardens projects in their areas.  Please read and take a moment to contact them.

Dear friends,

Community solar in Colorado Springs, CO needs YOUR HELP.  After a successful 2-year pilot program, the new City Council has issued a resolution to kill community solar as their first agenda item, which they will vote on TOMORROW.

This is extremely unfortunate, given that many of the 14 states with Solar Garden legislation have followed Colorado Springs’ lead with its first-in-the-nation 2011 2-MW Pilot Program. The new program would bring an additional 10 MW of clean energy to Colorado Springs by 2016--but if it is cut, it will reverse the positive momentum and leadership that Colorado Springs has built. 

Please take 3 minutes to write an email to allcouncil@springsgov.com to show them that investing in renewable energy is important for Colorado Springs, as well as the entire country. Also, if you are able please attend the City Council meeting at:

City Hall

107 N Nevada Ave  Colorado Springs, CO 80903

1pm Tomorrow, 4/23

If you are able to speak, please RSVP to Karen Gados at karen@mysunshare.com.  

Colorado Springs has already been a leader in community solar--it is not time to go backwards.

Thank you,

the SunShare team

www.mysunshare.com

--------------------------------------------------

Here is the letter I wrote - please use it as a guide:

-->

Dear Council Members,

      My name is Joy Hughes – I am the founder of the Solar Gardens Institute, a Colorado nonprofit that supports community based energy development everywhere.  Our mission is as follows:

• To educate and learn from the public about community solar energy.
• To promote good community energy policy at the federal, state, and local levels
• To assist local organizations in organizing, developing, and managing community-owned solar energy projects everywhere.
• To provide a way for everyone to own solar panels, making clean energy affordable and available for all humanity.

      I was pleased to attend the Colorado Springs City Council meeting on September 27, 2011 when the Community Solar Garden program was unanimously approved http://blog.solargardens.org/2011/09/colorado-springs-city-council-votes-9-0.html.  The City became an early adopter of community solar, setting an example for municipalities around the country.  The Solar Gardens Institute has held out the Colorado Springs program as particularly well implemented, and encouraged other jurisdictions to adopt the CSU model.

      It has come to my attention that the Council might delay implementation of the program.  The Solar Gardens Institute endorses SunShare’s position, and urges the Council to continue with the expansion of Colorado Spring’s community solar gardens program. 

Many Thanks,

Joy Hughes

Founder, Solar Gardens Institute

ACTION: Support Clean Energy for Colorado's Rural Co-ops

Late Monday evening, the Colorado Senate narrowly passed a bill (SB 13-252) that would more than double the amount of clean energy that Colorado’s rural cooperative electric associations provide to customers by 2020.

This is a crucial opportunity to give Colorado’s economy a boost and reduce the state’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels, but conservative groups like the Craig Chamber of Commerce are ramping up a misinformation campaign to confuse Colorado residents and defeat the bill.

The Colorado House will be voting soon, and the vote is expected to be very close, so we need to make sure lawmakers know Coloradans support clean energy.

Tell the Colorado House: Vote YES for more clean energy in Colorado. Click the link below to learn more and join me in signing this petition.

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/colorado_clean_energy/?referring_akid=.6749161.6_t_IX&source=paste1

Rocky Mountain Power, Utah - Blue Sky Customers Help Make New Community Renewable Projects Possible

When you enroll in the Blue Sky Block program, you are not only signing up to support renewable energy generation in the Western region, you are helping make new, community-based renewable energy projects possible in your state through Blue Sky community project funds. Blue Sky community project awards are supported entirely by Blue Sky Block program customers and help bring local economic and educational opportunities to communities throughout Rocky Mountain Power’s service area.  

In 2012, community project funds were awarded to 22 new solar and low impact hydro (LIH) projects in communities throughout Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.   

http://www.rockymountainpower.net/env/bsre/ifp1/forecast/bschm.html

The Land: New South Wales, Australia - Here Comes The Sun!

Eight to 10 sites in the Northern Rivers, along with sites around Armidale, Tamworth and Inverell are now being investigated, with farms ranging upwards in size from 80 kilowatts.

All up, the project aims to install one megawatt of solar farms across North Eastern NSW.
Farming the Sun’s Adam Blakester said the concept allowed individuals and organisations to pool micro-investments to build their own solar farm, with a “better than bank” investment return.

Read more:

 http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/general/news/here-comes-the-sun/2654546.aspx

Report: U.S. Electrical Grid Could be Reliable with Much Higher Level of Renewables

From the Civil Society Institute: http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/synapsereport/

REPORT: U.S. ELECTRICAL GRID COULD BE RELIABLE WITH MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF RENEWABLES

Scenario for 2050 With Total End of Coal, Reduced Nuclear and Natural Gas Seen as Realistic; Lights Would Stay On Even "When the Wind Doesn't Blow ... And the Sun Doesn't Shine".

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 17, 2013 – If the U.S. ceases to burn coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors, and trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the resulting increased reliance on wind, solar and other renewables will not result in a less reliable electricity grid, according to a major new report prepared by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc., for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI). The new study finds that, in the envisioned 2050 with a heavy reliance on renewables, regional electricity generation supply could meet or exceed demand in 99.4 percent of hours, with load being met without imports from other regions and without turning to reserve storage. In addition, surplus power would be available to export in 8.6 percent of all hours, providing an ample safety net where needed from one region of the U.S. to the next ... (see more below) ...

Read the 04.17.13 news release here.
Read the new Synapse report for CSI here.
Read the Dr. Thomas Vitolo presentation here.
Read the Grant Smith presentation here.
Watch the Webcast news event here. (will be posted by 9 a.m. EDT on April 18, 2013)
Listen to the streaming audio of the news event here. (will be posted by 9 a.m. EDT on April 18, 2013)

---

CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTE STUDY: U.S. COULD ACHIEVE OVER $80 BILLION IN LOWER ENERGY COSTS BY FOCUSING ON SAFER, RENEWABLE ENERGY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 16, 2011 – It is a myth that switching to safe, renewable energy would mean an unreliable U.S. power supply that also is too expensive to afford. That is the major conclusion of a new Synapse Energy Economics report prepared for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI) that details a future with more energy efficiency and renewable energy and less reliance on coal and nuclear power. Titled "Toward a Sustainable Future for the U.S. Power Sector: Beyond Business as Usual 2011," new Synapse/CSI report outlines a realistic transition to a cleaner energy future that would result in a net savings of $83 billion over the next 40 years. The Synapse report also details other major benefits, including: the avoidance of tens of thousands of premature deaths due to pollution; the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs; sharp cuts in carbon pollution; and significant cuts in water consumption for power production.

Read the 11.16.11 Civil Society Institute news release here.
Read the 11.16.11 Synapse Energy Economics report here.
After 5 p.m. EST on 11.16.11, listen to the streaming audio of the CSI news event.
Read about the related 11.3.11 CSI national opinion survey here.

Community solar projects coming to Minnesota

At a time when the Minnesota Legislature is considering a proposal that would create a solar electricity standard, community solar projects are gaining popularity.  Six weeks from now, Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association will begin construction on Minnesota’s first community solar program, with the goal of having the project completed by Memorial Day.

A community solar program gives utility customers and other members of the designated community the option to buy solar panels that will be included in an array built in a communal location, rather than on the purchaser’s roof or in their backyard.  Participants receive the benefit of a monthly credit on their electric bill while avoiding the cost of maintaining the panels.  To enroll in Wright-Hennepin’s program, located in Rockford, Minnesota, participants purchased panels priced at $869 each.  The 171 panels in the array sold out in four months.

Read more:

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=548bbab7-22af-45a1-95e0-36c58ae42292

Community solar: can it replace the California Solar Initiative? - PV-Tech

A new report released by the Vote Solar initiative last week claimed that the advantage of California's "shared renewables" bills, SB43 and AB1014 would create demand for a further 1,500MW, add 12,700 jobs (to the already existing 43,000 jobs), raise $130 million in tax revenue and generate $4.3 billion in economic activity.

Susannah Churchill, California policy advocate for Vote Solar, said: "By connecting more Californians with the clean energy they want, shared renewable energy programmes can unleash significant new private investment in the state's growing solar economy. Add the proven environmental, public health, and energy bill saving benefits of more local clean energy, and it's clear that this is an idea whose time has come."

Assembly member Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) said: "Solar energy is no longer the wave of the future – it is the reality now. We have an opportunity with these bills to dramatically expand our use of renewable energies, create thousands of new jobs and generate tax revenues, all in the greenest way possible."

Read more:

http://www.pv-tech.org/editors_blog/community_solar_can_it_replace_the_california_solar_initiative

Joy Hughes
in community service
Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org
(719)207-3097 direct

Shareable: Open Source (Almost) Everything

In keeping with the Solar Gardens Institute practice of openness,

Imagine what can happen when community solar legal structures, software, training, and financial models are available to everyone, free to share.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Shareable:

Open education - from OpenSource.com: "Nearly every week, if not every day, there are more and more open source and open educational resources available and accessible to us. It's impossible to ignore. It also seems impossible to keep pace with the sheer volume. Despite this, I will attempt here to give a comprehensive listing of many helpful, accessible, amazing open education resources. (There will inevitably be some left out, but here goes!)"

Open source software - from OSalt.com: "Our mission is to provide easy access to high quality open source alternatives to well-known commercial products. And remember that open source software is also a freeware alternative."

There is much more!  Read it here:

http://www.shareable.net/blog/this-week-in-sharing-guides-to-open-source-almost-everything

Support Letter for California's Shared Renewables Legislation

Dear Senator Wolk / Assemblymember Williams,

     The Solar Gardens Institute (SGI), a national community solar advocacy organization, strongly supports SB43 and AB1014 as part of an effort to make solar energy more equable and available to all.  If passed, the legislation would allow financial participation in solar projects to those who have shaded or poorly oriented roofs, renters, and those who would otherwise not be able to afford solar energy. SGI supports good community solar policy everywhere.

     Our position on the bill is driven by our Mission Statement, Founding Principles, and Principles of Responsible Solar Development which can be viewed online at http://www.solargardens.org/about/.

     We would note the following changes to the bill since its introduction in 2012 that are in keeping with our mission and principles:

- Exempting bill credits from securities regulation

- Establishing a 20% carve-out for residential customers

- Establishing a 20% carve-out for projects smaller than 1 Megawatt located in impacted and disadvantaged communities

- Including many different forms of renewable energy

     One important amendment included in the 2012 bill seems not to have made it into the 2013 version.  This is a provision that would require 40% of participants' capacity to be within the same county as the community renewable facility.  SGI's principles would encourage local participation - after all, these are called "community" projects.  We therefore ask this provision be restored.

     

Sincerely,

Joy Hughes

Founder and Facilitator

Solar Gardens Institute

(719)207-3097

joy@solargardens.org

Endorsements:

California-

Ray Bryars                                                                                        Nevada City, CA

Dale Scott Hickman                        Clean Power Co-op of Nevada     Nevada City, CA

County

Youness Scally             Everybody Solar                    San Francisco,                                                                                      CA

Rob Thomasian            PermaCity Solar                    Los Angeles, CA

Xandra-Marie Gabucan                                                                  Los Angeles, CA

Mike Balma                                                                                       Mountain View, CA

David Revelt                                     Antelope Valley Solar                      Santa Monica, CA

David McCoard                                                                                El Cerrito, CA

Christopher D'Avignon       Terra Steward, Inc                           La Mesa, CA

Jean Neblett                         Solar Gardens                                 San Francisco, CA

Other States-

Thomas Guy Atkins             Right Seat Software, Inc                 Golden, CO

Jan Peterson                                    Peterson Design                             Ft. Collins, CO

Marta Tomic                          Urban Grid                                        Stevensville, MD

Helene Orr                                                                                        Denver, CO

Stephen Ruby                      Aqua Care Solar                              Boulder, CO

Michael Thomason                                                                         Boulder, CO

Anna Elizabeth Phillips      Phillips Farms Field of Dreams   Keller, VA

Becky English                      Rebecca English and Associates, Denver CO

LLC

Robert Ogden                                                                                  Hohenwald, TN

Haskell Werlin                     Solar Design Associates               Harvard, MA

Linda Joseph                                   Saguache County                            Saguache, CO

Roger Wilkens                                                                                 Glouster, OH

John P. DeVillars                 BlueWave Capital                            LLC Boston, MA

Robert Ogden                                                                                  Hohenwald, TN

Cindy Grainger

Charlene Potter Climate    Reality Leadership Corps

Dianne Burnham                 Sierra Club                                       Pittsburgh, PA

Anthony Cotton                     Energy Conscious LLC                  Philadelphia, PA

Rhianna Bain                       Abengoa Solar                                 Arvada, CO

Jim Malone                                                                                       Evergreen, CO

Robert Wasserman                                                                                    East Lansing MI

Why Local Renewables?

SGI strongly encourages supporters of California's shared renewables bills SB43 and AB1014 to visit http://californiasharedrenewables.org/ for the latest information.

Rationale for a Local Participation Requirement in Shared Renewables Projects

The vision we are working towards at the Solar Gardens Institute in many ways is similar to that of Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute:  distributed renewables and storage, owned locally by those who use the power. http://www.rmi.org/keysolutionselectricity2 In the long run, each feeder line can become a microgrid, with the ability to island and be self-reliant during a failure of the larger grid or extreme weather http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2013_01_10_microgrids_providing_safe_harbor_in_a_storm .  Each microgrid can have up to double the solar capacity it needs in order to export to areas experiencing cloudiness, while requiring little additional long distance transmission (thus a local ownership requirement of about 50%, rather than 100%).

I can give you the small-town dweller's perspective on this.  I live on a small island (Orcas, pop. 4000) off the coast of Washington State.  Before that I lived in the San Luis Valley, with even smaller communities.  I have also done presentations and worked projects in many other rural areas.  There is a lot for a city person to learn when they move to these places, it takes at least a few years to “get it”.

Of course in small towns it's hard to get agreement on anything.  But what they do agree about is self-reliance. Everyone everywhere wants to produce and use power locally, from transition town advocates to the most rock-ribbed county commissioner.  There is also a controversy around the scale of power export - projects where the power is going somewhere else are often opposed for environmental or aesthetic reasons.

Every small town I've ever been involved with has had issues with money supply. Money tends to leave the area and not come back - especially for large recurring expenses like food and electrical power.  "Buy local" and local currency campaigns are everywhere, seeking to leverage the multiplier effect when a dollar changes hands several times.

In the economic analyses we have seen and performed, we have found solar installation produces few and short-term jobs in comparison to fossil fuel extraction and generation.  Land lease and property tax revenues are of necessity small compared to electricity and renewable incentive income - otherwise the projects would never be built in the first place.  Local ownership of renewables brings triple the community benefit of absentee-owned systems - http://www.ilsr.org/ownership-and-money-cure-nimby/

While it does cost more per watt to build local power, rural areas have greater access to grants that can help level the playing field. Solar economies of scale are fairly small for systems larger than 10 kilowatts http://www.ilsr.org/distributed-small-scale-solar-competes-large-scale-pv/ and http://www.ilsr.org/solar-economies-scale-update/ ... Mass-produced, plug and play small systems have their own economy of scale which may eventually overcome that of large custom systems as fixed interconnection, financing, and permitting costs come down.  Very large systems have certain diseconomies of scale http://www.ilsr.org/solar-diseconomies-scale/ - most particularly the cost of transmission to bring the power to market, which is externalized by solar developers to utilities and ultimately all power customers.

The best information on this comes from Ceal Smith of the Renewable Communities Alliance ( http://www.renewablecommunities.org/) and John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance ( http://www.ilsr.org )

Thanks again! Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have,

Joy Hughes

joy@solargardens.org

719-207-3097

The Path to 100% renewables

Negative media coverage has a lot of people thinking solar and other renewable energy sources are not yet ready for prime time. But nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, we have the technology to get 100% of our energy from renewable sources.

So what’s stopping us, and how do we get to 100% renewables?

That question is being answered everywhere I look these days. A recent study claims that by 2030, we could power a large electrical grid with renewable energy 99% of the time -- without spending more than we do on electricity today. The key, given the intermittency of wind and solar, is to generate power in a distributed manner. But why stop at 99%? We have many tools at our disposal, including demand response programs, to get to 100%.

On April 16 in San Francisco, we’ll have an exciting opportunity to learn more at the Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy Conference, organized by Renewables 100 Policy Institute and its Partners. This will be the first time that international experts meet in the US to discuss a complete switch to renewables. People from finance, academia, government, policy, labor, and technology will join in an intensive discussion about what’s working and the best ways to overcome the challenges to achieving 100% renewable energy targets in all sectors and regions.

Read more: http://pvsolarreport.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=664:path-to-100-renewables&Itemid=2

Solar Gardens Facebook Humor

URGENT: Please Endorse SGI's Letter of Support for California's "Solar Gardens" Bills

     Last year, California's community shared solar bill SB843 came very close to passing.  The Solar Gardens Institute supported the bill with some reservations.  This year, the bill has been reintroduced as SB43 in the Senate and AB1014 in the Assembly with changes that merit enthusiastic support from anyone who supports equable offsite solar.  It is probably the most thoroughly thought through legislative treatment of the subject to date.

    SB43 would create a 500 Megawatt pilot program, while AB1014 would authorize 1000 Megawatts.  Projects can be up to 20 Megawatts in size.  20% of the capacity is reserved for residential participants, and 20% for projects less than 1 Megawatt in areas affected by pollution or with socioeconomic vulnerability.  It also prevents solar gardens from displacing prime farmland, and allows for many other types of renewable energy besides solar.

    (The bill isn't perfect - as I read it, one 2012 provision that required 40% of subscribers to be in the same county as the solar garden was not included this year.  But it is good enough to be deserving of support.)

     

    The bill also addresses securities regulation, a factor that has been a significant barrier to implementation of community solar programs.  Renewable energy subscriptions are exempted from the definition of a security.  To my knowledge, if this language becomes law it will be the first time this essential step has been taken in the United States.  (See below).

      The full text of SB43 is available at the Solar Gardens Institute website.

      SGI is sending a letter of support to the bill's sponsors.  You may sign on to the letter by emailing sb43@solargardens.org with your name, city+state, and organizational affiliation.  If you live in California, let us know the name of your state senator and assemblymember.

     Now, more than ever, we need your support for our legislative campaigns for community solar.  Please donate $25, $50, $100 or more by clicking the button below.  Note that since we are advocating for a particular legislative outcome, the donation is NOT tax-deductible.

      

Dear Senator Wolk / Assemblymember Williams,

     The Solar Gardens Institute (SGI), a national community solar advocacy organization, strongly supports SB43 and AB1014 as part of an effort to make solar energy more equable and available to all.  If passed, the legislation would allow financial participation in solar projects to those who have shaded or poorly oriented roofs, renters, and those who would otherwise not be able to afford solar energy. SGI supports good community solar policy everywhere.

     Our position on the bill is driven by our Mission Statement, Founding Principles, and Principles of Responsible Solar Development which can be viewed online at http://www.solargardens.org/about/.

     We would note the following changes to the bill since its introduction in 2012 that are in keeping with our mission and principles:

- Exempting bill credits from securities regulation

- Establishing a 20% carve-out for residential customers

- Establishing a 20% carve-out for projects smaller than 1 Megawatt located in impacted and disadvantaged communities

- Including many different forms of renewable energy

     One important amendment included in the 2012 bill seems not to have made it into the 2013 version.  This is a provision that would require 40% of participants' capacity to be within the same county as the community renewable facility.  SGI's principles would encourage local participation - after all, these are called "community" projects.  We therefore ask this provision be restored.

     

Sincerely,

Joy Hughes, Founder, Solar Gardens Institute -  Eastsound, Washington

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (3) Of the initial pilot program capacity:

   (A) Twenty percent shall be reserved for projects of a size no
greater than one megawatt of alternating current, constructed in
areas previously identified by the California Environmental
Protection Agency as the most impacted and disadvantaged communities
for opportunities related to this chapter. These communities shall be
identified as census tracts that are identified within the top 20
percent of results from the best available cumulative impact
screening methodology by considering the following categories:
   (i) Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution
and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects,
exposure, or environmental degradation.
   (ii) Areas with socioeconomic vulnerability.

   (B) Twenty percent shall be reserved for initial subscription by
residential customers.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   (b) "Security" does not include: (1) any beneficial interest in
any voluntary inter vivos trust which is not created for the purpose
of carrying on any business or solely for the purpose of voting, (2)
any beneficial interest in any testamentary trust, (3) any insurance
or endowment policy or annuity contract under which an insurance
company admitted in this state promises to pay a sum of money
(whether or not based upon the investment performance of a segregated
fund) either in a lump sum or periodically for life or some other
specified period, (4) any franchise subject to registration under the
Franchise Investment Law (Division 5 (commencing with Section
31000)), or exempted from registration by Section 31100 or 31101, or
(5) any right to a bill credit or interest of a participant in a
community renewable energy facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 2830) of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code.