Solar@Work: Groupon-Like Solar Purchasing Program
Solar@Work, an innovative group purchasing program for solar power, just launched in San Francisco this week.
The program is coordinated by the San Francisco Department of the Environment, targets local businesses interested in going solar, and uses solar panels from San Mateo-based SolarCity. It gives companies a number of options for going solar: 1) purchasing solar like normal — paying for everything at once; 2) solar leasing; or 3) getting loans for the installation. Of course, the program also helps you get federal, state, and local grants.
Th big benefit of the program is that building owners can get a discount by buying solar in a group. (I have to say, while SFGate calls this a “first-in-the-nation program,” the core value of the program — this group discount — is what our former owner, 1BOG, has been doing for over a year now…. Nonetheless, there is great potential in this model and I’d love to see more and more options like this sprout up across the country,… & the world.)
Currently, the goal of the program is to get at least 20 property owners to sign up in San Francisco and neighboring cities. SFGate reports that “the approach can yield 10 to 15 percent lower costs and save 75 percent of administrative time and fees” but the discounts will vary depending on the size of the system.
The program offers small- and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to pay less for electricity than they otherwise would while helping the planet, people’s health, and, thus, their reputation in the meantime. Businesses currently lag behind residences and government in installed solar capacity, so hopefully this program will help to light a fire under their _____.
Companies interested in the program can contact the San Francisco Department of the Environment at: renewables@sfgov.org.
Related Stories on CleanTechnica:
- Google Invests $280 Million More in Solar Energy, in California’s SolarCity
- One Block Off the Grid Expands with Solar Leasing
- Go Solar in San Francisco!… How Much Does it Cost?
Photo via Jill Clardy
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