News

Sandia Labs News Releases

Sandia webinar to discuss real estate appraisals for photovoltaic installations

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Finding a way to appraise residential and commercial properties with photovoltaic installations is a growing challenge facing the nation’s real estate industry. As more homes and businesses turn to solar PV power, the need grows for ways to fairly assess the value of the installations and the power they generate before a real estate transaction occurs.

Sandia National Laboratories, in partnership with Jamie Johnson of Solar Power Electric, will host a webinar Dec. 7 to address some of those challenges and discuss a new tool they’ve developed to help the industry.

“This event will showcase some of the work that’s been done through the Department of Energy’s Solar America Communities program to help reduce market barriers and overall costs associated with installed photovoltaic systems by helping to give some certainty to the value of a photovoltaic system,” said Geoff Klise, a Sandia researcher. “One of the reasons that this is important is that during an appraisal, a photovoltaic system is often not given a value. This essentially ignores the value of the electricity being produced over its lifetime and the potential savings that could be realized by the next home or business owner.”

Real estate appraisers, mortgage underwriters, credit analysts, real estate property assessors, insurance claims adjusters, photovoltaic industry sales staff and any other interested parties are encouraged to participate in this 1-hour webinar.

“A Tool for Valuing the Energy Produced by a Photovoltaic System” webinar will be Wednesday, Dec. 7, from 10-11 a.m. To register for the webinar, visit https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/955721422. Space is limited, so early registration is advised.


Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Sandia news media contact: Stephanie Hobby, shobby@sandia.gov, (505) 844-0948