Solar Group Makes TV News

Twana and I were interviewed this afternoon by Tony Russomanno of KPIX (Channel 5) about the Solar Buyers Group. The segment aired on the 6 PM news.

This was exciting for us. We've both appeared on shows on the local Mtn. View cable access TV station in the past, but this is the first time either of us have appeared on a major station.

I've transcribed the segment, which lasted about two minutes. I don't know how long the link to the online video will be available -- maybe a week or two.

Transcribed from http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_072220911.html

Ken Bastida: Well, from toilet paper to mayonnaise, everyone knows you can save money when you buy in bulk, but Tony Russomanno tells us a buying co-op is letting homeowners extend those discounts to solar power.

Tony Russomanno: The cost of going solar in several peninsula cities has suddenly dropped more than 25%. Bruce Karney realized he could get a big discount if he signed up enough neighbors to buy in volume.

Bruce Karney: I’d like to leave the planet in as good a shape as I found it, and I realized that over my lifetime I’ve put a lot of greenhouse gasses into the air. I can’t directly undo the past, but I can change my behavior going forward.

Tony Russomanno: Karney’s doing things like charting his carbon footprint on the internet, and carefully tracking his electricity use.

Bruce Karney: So, this is a device called a Kill-a-Watt and it allows you to measure the number of watts that an appliance is using.

Tony Russomanno: It took some getting used to for his wife.

Twana Karney: He had strung up a clothesline in the back yard, and so instead of using the dryer he was hanging the clothes outside.

Tony Russomanno: He was drying the clothes -- he didn’t expect you to hang the clothes, did he?

Twana Karney: No, no, this is an equal opportunity household.

Tony Russomanno: But his biggest move was getting a solar power installer to agree to volume discounts. The solar discount program began in Portola Valley and spread here to Mountain View. It’s now moving on to Woodside and Menlo Park, and a public hearing is going to be held in Menlo Park on Saturday to discuss the details. An average installation will cost about $17,000 with the discount, at least $6,000 less than systems purchased individually. A salesman for a competing installer says the savings are real.

Kurt Newick (Horizon Energy Systems): I have to go out as a salesman, I have to work on each home one at a time. If you can do it in bulk you can get the neighbors together it just reduces the amount of time and overhead and expense.

Tony Russomanno: Twenty five Mountain View households have already signed up. They need 60 to get the full discount, and Karney is sure they’ll make it. He says he gets nothing out of the deal for himself.

Bruce Karney: I’m doing this for the public good.

Tony Russomanno: Oh, so he does get something. The knowledge he’s helping to save the planet. In Mountain View, Tony Russomanno, CBS-5.