The Phoenix Sun

SolarCity installation

Breaking solar news this morning from my blog at Forbes:

The largest solar power installer on the west coast, SolarCity, announced this morning that it is acquiring the residential installation division of groSolar, the largest solar installer in the east (groSolar will continue as a distributor and commercial developer). A company spokesperson says the acquisition is part of SolarCity’s “retail version” of the Obama Administration’s recent “SunShot” initiative to achieve grid parity with fossil fuels in the next five years. The San Mateo-based company has already installed roughly 10 percent of the nation’s rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels.

SolarCity has been on quite a tear — even before today’s news.

• Earlier this month, the San Mateo, California-based full-service solar provider hired Apple’s senior director of world services, Mark Roe, as vice-president of operations.
• Only days before that, SolarCity signed a $40 million deal with Citi to finance expansion.
• In late January, SolarCity announced its first major move into the east-coast market, acquiring Clean Currents‘ solar division.
• In 2010, the company shot passed SunPower and Chevron to take the number one marketshare position in California
• Also last year, the Department of Energy named SolarCity “Green Power Supplier of the Year.”

The full article is available at Edison 2.0 (Forbes).

American Solar Electric (ASE) has joined SolarCity in offering a leasing program for residential customers. The upfront cost of going solar has been a major roadblock (sunblock?) for households wanting to install rooftop PV systems. The price of a typical residential array starts at around $20,000 and ranges up to $50,000 depending on the amount of electricity produced.

Phoenix-based ASE works with SunRun, a solar leasing company in California started in 2007. In November 2008, SunRun announced that US Bancorp had committed $105 million to the company’s growth.

Fireitup will report on the details of the lease when we receive a copy, but according to ASE and SunRun, the 18-year leases include design, installation, monitoring, insurance and maintenance and repair.

Of course, since you don’t own the system, all tax-credits and incentives (federal, state and utility) go to ASE/SunRun, not to you. On the other hand, companies couldn’t offer a leasing programs like this without some way of recouping the initial, and expensive, start-up costs..

Reaping the benefits of a rooftop solar power system for just $1,000 down sounds like a great deal. And it may be — depending on the circumstances of the individual homeowner.

But, as always, it’s important — make that imperative — to look at the fine print of this and any other agreement before signing.

In an upcoming installment, Fireitup will be taking a look at the details contained in different leasing and purchasing agreements.

For now: We’re just glad there’s another option for expanding renewable energy in the Valley.