& on the leasing, too. not a fan of systems like that where people basically make money on other people not having money,.. or buying beyond their present capabilities, but so many people in the U.S. live like this and in this case leasing would actually help the world and would actually hurt oneself (compared to getting electricity the traditional way).

but more exciting to see group buying programs popping up

If a homeowner buys a system they’re almost certainly going to be much further ahead, especially after the system is paid off. Decades of no cost electricity.

If the homeowner leases they are essentially renting out their rooftop so that someone else can make money. Not as good for the homeowner, but if they will settle for less then that’s their decision. And, as I said, more panels come on line.

What I’d like to see is more of these ‘buyers clubs’ which bring large scale purchasing prices, installation contracts, and financing ease to an area.

There’s no reason each homeowner should have to go it alone. There are too many shady characters hovering around home repairs/improvements and solar installations will be no different. There’s a lot of protection created when a group of buyers come together and share information and effort.

some are turned off by this idea of leasing solar,.. but i think this is an option that needs to be in the mix. some people just won’t go solar without it

This looks to me as a way to get solar at a good rate. Material (panel, racking, inverter) prices fall significantly when one can purchase in volume. And by contracting with a single company to do the installations you’re hiring labor and not paying a lot of sales costs and inflated profits.

(Even at $4.22/watt we’ve got a way to go. Rooftop solar costs about $3.50 in Germany.)