Reducing The Cost Of Solar In Georgia With Crowdsourcing
Originally published on Cost of Solar.
By bringing together three solar programs in one online platform, Solar CrowdSource is looking to reduce the cost of solar in Georgia, while also making this renewable and sustainable energy source more accessible to residents in every community in the state.
The newly launched Solar CrowdSource platform aims to take some of the complexity out of obtaining or investing in solar energy for those who aren’t in a position to install a solar panel array on their home or business. This may be due to a number of reasons, including the property being suboptimal for solar generation, or because the cost of installation is out of reach, or because the organization can’t take advantage of solar tax incentives that would make a solar array more affordable.
The online platform offers three basic solar options for Georgians to participate in, whether they be an individual, an organization, or a solar developer, including Solarize Georgia, Community Solar, and the Solar Marketplace.
With the Solarize Georgia program, essentially a community-based bulk solar purchasing program, users of Solar CrowdSource can set up a free community campaign page and use the site’s tools to rally the community behind it to sign up as many participants as possible (to lower the cost for each participant).
The Solar CrowdSource utility-based Community Solar program allows participants to join together to purchase solar panels at a central solar facility, and in return receive a solar energy credit on their utility bill equivalent to the energy those panels generate.
The third option is the Solar Marketplace, which is designed to be useful in three different ways, depending on whether the participant is a local government entity or community or nonprofit, a developer, or “the crowd.”
“The whole point to SolarCrowdsource is to make solar more affordable and accessible than ever. Georgia Solarize will allow more communities to run solarize programs, making solar more affordable. Community Solar will allow more communities and utilities to run community solar programs, making solar more accessible. And Solar Marketplace will make solar more accessible for communities and non-profits with a source of badly needed low-cost debt financing for distributed generation projects. There’s something for everyone and we just make it as easy to participate as possible in this new wave of alternative energy campaigns.” – Don Moreland, Solar CrowdSource’s founder and president
At the heart of the Solar CrowdSource platform is the ability for users to create their own campaigns for communities, municipalities, schools, and organizations, and to then use the campaign page and online tools to effectively “leverage the power of the crowd” to attract the attention and investment necessary to successfully go solar with little to no upfront costs.
“Our value proposition is to reduce customer acquisition costs and other soft costs through successful and proven programs designed to leverage the power of the crowd. This saves solar installation companies money and the savings are passed on to the community.”
Find out more about this Georgia solar platform at Solar CrowdSource.
Reprinted with permission.
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