Great San Jose Business Journal Article

Hi All,

Below is the text from a very favorable San Jose Business Journal article that speaks to what makes this such a unique opportunity for the community.

Friday, February 22, 2008
Emma Ritch
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal
www.sanjose.bizjournals.com

Neighbors don't wait for solar companies to come knockingSilicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Emma Ritch A group of downtown neighbors recently flipped the tables on solar installers with an offer to let the companies compete for homes in downtown San Jose.Usually it's the solar installers trying to get groups of neighbors to sign on at once and so reduce the cost of solar systems.Solar companies don't expect this to be a new trend, with neighbors bringing their business to companies, but Marni Kamzan and the other members of the Downtown San Jose Solar Project say they've saved thousands of dollars after letting four companies submit bids on three houses as a way to win the business of the larger group.The winner was San Francisco-based Sun Run Generation LLC and installer REC Solar Inc., which have signed up 24 households for solar panel systems as of Feb. 20.Sun Run founder and COO Nat Kreamer says it was the first time the company participated in a consumer-driven competitive process to obtain the residential business. Kreamer says it's usually homeowners associations who approach solar companies, not a group of individuals."People said they wanted to do solar, but it wasn't economical before," he says. "There's some cost associated with selling. When people band together and say we're going to make this easier from the sales standpoint, you're able to pass on some of those savings."Kreamer says he doesn't expect this ad hoc group concept to become a dominant trend in residential solar because to date the market has shown that buying solar products is a personal decision.Other businesses, such as Sun Run's competitor Foster City-based SolarCity Inc., have been able to take advantage of group buying. The company has developed a reputation in the Bay Area for going into communities such as San Jose and Sunnyvale and offering discounts when people band together and sign up.Joe Pambianco, who served on the committee to choose the vendor for the downtown project, says the solar companies were all interested in competing for their business."SolarCity pioneered the community-program approach. We got a feeling from the vendors that they really wanted to play in that space too, and they were competing to do so, which put us in a much stronger position," he says. The downtown San Jose program has been expanded to include all District 3 residents, who have until March 23 to get systems with the negotiated discount of $420 per kilowatt.Kamzan, who signed on for a 5.32 kilowatt system that's due to be installed in the next few weeks, says the Downtown Solar project chose Sun Run because it works differently from other solar sellers. It offers power-purchase agreements, in which Sun Run owns and maintains the panels and sells energy back to the homeowner at rates lower than Pacific Gas & Electric Co. That allows for a lower up-front cost and the homeowner doesn't have to do maintenance or repairs.That was a big selling point for Lisa Jensen, whose 1.5-kilowatt system is scheduled to be installed in March on her 1,300-square-foot home."I wanted to do solar for a very long time but I'm a single woman so it's been too expensive to think about doing it," she says. "And the logistics of going through all the research, looking at all the companies, deciding who's going to install it, finding someone to do all the maintenance -- it's kind of overwhelming."Jensen will spend $11,000 for the system and to prepay for the electricity that the system generates over next 20 years. Installing the system will increase the value of her home, and Jensen will save money on her electrical bill if energy prices continue to increase.Pambianco and his wife opted to pay about $16,000 for their 5.07-kilowatt system and pay Sun Run $84 per month for electricity. It will cover 55 percent of their energy needs. They will still have a monthly PG&E bill but the couple will pay a lower electricity rate because they will use less energy. Pambianco expects to recoup his investment in less than 10 years.

-Emma Ritch