Jan 6 2009
One Block off the Grid (1BOG), a consumer advocacy group for residential renewable energy, and SolarCity®, a national leader in solar power system design, financing, installation, monitoring and related services, today announced the solar industry’s broadest community purchase program to date, extending special pricing and affordable financing options on residential solar systems to residents of the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
"We selected SolarCity due to the large discount, array of products, and their installation practices, but what really sealed it for us was their offer of free demand-side energy monitoring and a free home-energy audit to 1BOG participants,” said Dave Llorens, general manager of 1BOG. The audit shows people where to find the best bang-for-the-buck on green home improvements, while the new monitoring technology empowers people to make continued and measurable improvements to their energy efficiency. With these, we can cause a greater amount of positive change."
SolarCity/1BOG program participants are eligible to receive 25 percent off the retail cash price of a home solar system and a comprehensive design and installation package that includes monitoring and energy audit services. Participants who choose to finance the installation through SolarCity’s unique SolarLease™ option — which can allow customers to pay less for solar power each month than they previously paid for electricity from their power company — are eligible to receive their first three months free by signing up through 1BOG.1 As part of the 1BOG program, SolarCity is offering participants free SolarGuard™ Energy Monitoring and a free Home Energy Audit (a combined value of $4,300). SolarGuard tracks a household’s solar energy production against actual electricity consumption to show homeowners how to increase savings by optimizing energy use. The purchase program begins today. To be eligible for the program, homeowners need to register with 1BOG at www.1BOG.com before January 31, 2009.
“Thanks to new financing options, rebates and tax credits, an investment in solar power delivers a better, more predictable return than most other investments available today - one of the industry’s greatest challenges is making more people aware of these benefits,” said Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s CEO. “1BOG’s grassroots marketing efforts help spread the word about solar affordability, and we’re excited to team up with them on this unprecedented regional program.”
1BOG and SolarCity will host two Web-based seminars or “webinars” to provide program details and answer questions from potential participants. Interested participants should visit www.1bog.org/webinars to register to attend one of the following webinars:
Wednesday, Jan. 14; 12:00 p.m. Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 17; 10:00 a.m. Pacific