Flickr, Creative Commons
DCL
Installing a solar system on the roof of your house could cost you between $20,000 and $50,000, depending on on various technical details and incentives available where you live. Prices are coming down, but that's still a lot of money, more than what many people can afford.
But what if you could simply lease solar panels? That's the kind of deal that companies like SolarCity are offering (check out the details of their "Solarlease"). Basically, the company pays to install the solar system in your house (solar panels, inverter, grid-tie, etc) and you repay them over a long-term lease that is designed so that you save over what your regular electric bill would otherwise have been like. It's one of those rare win-win-win situations: Solarcity wins because they make a profit, you win because you pay less for electricity, and the environment win because most of your electricity comes from a clean source (you'd still buy some electricity from the power grid at night or when batteries are empty).
Photo: Flickr, Creative Commons.
The Wall Street Journal has a piece about a couple from Arizona (sunny!) who did exactly that:
"The system, installed in May, has helped the retired physical-education teacher and his wife cut their monthly electricity cost by nearly 35%. Instead of paying the local utility an average of $130 a month, he says, they write a monthly check to SolarCity for $68 and pay $15 to $20 to the utility for the extra juice they need, such as at night when the panels aren't producing electricity. [...] In a typical lease arrangement, the leasing company and its investors cover the cost of installing rooftop solar panels, and pocket the lucrative tax credits and public subsidies available for new alternative-energy installations. The homeowner agrees to pay the leasing company a predetermined price for the electricity the system produces; the rate is pegged to be at least 10% lower than prevailing electricity prices in that area. Customers buy any additional power needed from the local utility at the going rate."
I think it's a great way to make solar accessible to more people.
