Thanks to legislation first introduced by senator kevin de león the oakland based non profit grid alternatives plans to give 1 600 free solar panels to california s poorest residents by 2016.
California giving free solar panels.
O n 14 days during march arizona utilities got a gift from california.
Well actually better than free.
The nonprofit now plans on installing solar panels on 1 600 homes by the end of next year for free.
In fact on average a purchased home solar system generates.
It s not charity but public policy known as cap and trade a real world solution to dealing with big polluters who can t cut their emissions to acceptable limits.
If a homeowner decides to buy a system they not only save on energy costs as soon as the system is operational but they also begin to generate profits from the excess energy their system produces and can take advantage of tax credits and grants.
A company such as sunrun or.
Due to the steep upfront costs of around 32 000 in cash only those upper income families can afford to install solar arrays.
Grid alternatives which has been around for over a decade has long sought to change that balance and the cap and trade is providing the funds to give it some extra muscle.
California got 34 of its electricity from renewable sources in 2018 the state s energy commission estimates not counting production from rooftop solar panels which would add several more.
Plus they can sell their srecs solar renewable energy credits to earn even more income.
California is giving free solar panels to the poor in order to offset carbon emissions in excess of state quotas big polluters are paying to install rooftop solar panels on the houses of the poor.
I first mentioned this proposition known formally as a power purchase agreement two years ago.
But wait that s not all home solar has been shown to add as much as 25 000 to the value of your home that s like money in the bank.
California launches no upfront cost solar program for middle class homeowners california is one of the best states in the country if you want to go solar but only if you re rich enough.
Pace financing allows homeowners to finance their pv installation and pay it back through their property taxes.
California produced so much solar power on those days that it paid arizona.
But wait that s not all the free solar panels installed on your home are warrantied monitored and maintained by your solar service provider again at no charge to you for as long as 25 years.