The pictue above shows the location of homes with solar systems sold by SolarCity in Mountain View and adjacent areas. What a great picture!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Mountain View is #3 Solar City in the Bay Area
Back on April 3 I reported on a survey about residential solar adoption around the state. Yesterday, the NorCal Solar Energy Association released a new study that ranked Bay Area cities in various aspects of solar adoption. Unlike the previous study, this one combined large scale commercial solar (like Google and Microsoft) with residential.
Of cities with more than 50,000 population, Mountain View ranked third in watts per capita. The top 5 large cities were:
1. Napa 43 watts/capita
2. Pleasanton 36
3. Mountain View 34
4. San Rafael 33
5. Santa Rosa 28
We came in #8 in terms of total installed watts for cities of any size. The figures for this category:
1. Oakland 6.0 megawatts
2. San Francisco 4.5
3. Santa Rosa 4.3
4. San Jose 3.7
5. Napa 3.2
6. Hayward 3.1
7. Pleasanton 2.4
8. Mountain View 2.4
9. Vacaville 2.3
10. San Rafael 1.8
About 80-85% of the installed capacity comes from Google and Microsoft, but those of us who participated in the Solar Buyers Group should feel proud of our contribution too.
Of cities with more than 50,000 population, Mountain View ranked third in watts per capita. The top 5 large cities were:
1. Napa 43 watts/capita
2. Pleasanton 36
3. Mountain View 34
4. San Rafael 33
5. Santa Rosa 28
We came in #8 in terms of total installed watts for cities of any size. The figures for this category:
1. Oakland 6.0 megawatts
2. San Francisco 4.5
3. Santa Rosa 4.3
4. San Jose 3.7
5. Napa 3.2
6. Hayward 3.1
7. Pleasanton 2.4
8. Mountain View 2.4
9. Vacaville 2.3
10. San Rafael 1.8
About 80-85% of the installed capacity comes from Google and Microsoft, but those of us who participated in the Solar Buyers Group should feel proud of our contribution too.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Installations are accelerating
The pace of installations is accelerating. The status of the 130 SolarCity customers in Mountain View is as follows:
Installation complete: 54
Installation in progress: 35
Permitting: 41
Installation complete: 54
Installation in progress: 35
Permitting: 41
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Summer Solstice Potluck
The article in today's Mountain View Voice about the Summer Solstice Potluck reminded me that I haven't posted anything here in almost a month. That's because my new job as Community Programs Marketing Manager at SolarCity has been keeping me really busy. This is my first job with a start-up, and the pace is as hectic as I've heard it would be.
Community programs like Mountain View's have become incredibly popular, and we now have them running in Berkeley/Rockridge, Castro Valley, Rocklin, San Carlos, Menlo Park/Atherton, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and the Willow Glen/Cambrian Park/Rose Garden neighborhoods of San Jose. Oh, and there's also the Stanford program, which covers not only houses on Stanford land but also the homes of all Stanford faculty and staff within a 15 mile drive of Hoover Tower. And more to come soon! You'll find the complete list at http://www.solarcity.com/Default.aspx?tabid=137
Getting back to the subject of the potluck picnic -- it was really a wonderful evening and a great way for new solar system owners to share shop talk and ask questions of each other as well as the SolarCity employees who were there. About half a dozen installers were there along with an equal number from the marketing and management team.
Our own experience as solar owners has been going very well. We've had outstanding sunny mild weather for the last two months which is ideal for solar power production. Our 2.1 kW AC system is generating about 14.5 kWh per day, and we're only using about 10.2 kWh. The rest is being "banked" for our wintertime use, and my guess is that we will truly find a year from now that we have lowered our electricity bill to zero (except, of course, for the $5 or 6/month that PG&E charges for reading our meter and providing us with a connection to the grid).
It's a great feeling to know that our home's power is provided by free range organic photons streaming in from the sun. Instead of just heating up our shingles, they're powering our home! ;)
Community programs like Mountain View's have become incredibly popular, and we now have them running in Berkeley/Rockridge, Castro Valley, Rocklin, San Carlos, Menlo Park/Atherton, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and the Willow Glen/Cambrian Park/Rose Garden neighborhoods of San Jose. Oh, and there's also the Stanford program, which covers not only houses on Stanford land but also the homes of all Stanford faculty and staff within a 15 mile drive of Hoover Tower. And more to come soon! You'll find the complete list at http://www.solarcity.com/Default.aspx?tabid=137
Getting back to the subject of the potluck picnic -- it was really a wonderful evening and a great way for new solar system owners to share shop talk and ask questions of each other as well as the SolarCity employees who were there. About half a dozen installers were there along with an equal number from the marketing and management team.
Our own experience as solar owners has been going very well. We've had outstanding sunny mild weather for the last two months which is ideal for solar power production. Our 2.1 kW AC system is generating about 14.5 kWh per day, and we're only using about 10.2 kWh. The rest is being "banked" for our wintertime use, and my guess is that we will truly find a year from now that we have lowered our electricity bill to zero (except, of course, for the $5 or 6/month that PG&E charges for reading our meter and providing us with a connection to the grid).
It's a great feeling to know that our home's power is provided by free range organic photons streaming in from the sun. Instead of just heating up our shingles, they're powering our home! ;)
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
My New Job at SolarCity
The post below is something I have sent to everyone on the MVSolar Yahoo!Group:
Organizing the MV Solar Buyers Group was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. Once the sign-up period ended on April 30, I just didn't want to stop.
So, in mid-May I approached SolarCity about joining them as a Marketing Manager for their community programs. My goal is to take what I had learned in Mountain View and share it with Solar Champions in other cities and neighborhoods. It seemed to me that this would combine my passion for community work and the environment with my professional background in marketing and knowledge management.
I'm pleased to let you all know that SolarCity liked the idea and I have joined them as an employee. Today was my first day.
I want to continue to channel your feedback to SolarCity as I have been doing for the past four months. As an employee, I hope I will be even more effective in that role.
Sometime soon I will also be asking for your help in spreading the word about Community Purchase Programs to your friends in other communities where we have or soon will start programs. These include: Berkeley, Rockridge, Castro Valley, Stanford, Menlo Park, Atherton, San Carlos, Santa Monica and the Rose Garden, Cambrian Park and Willow Glen neighborhoods of San Jose.
Organizing the MV Solar Buyers Group was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. Once the sign-up period ended on April 30, I just didn't want to stop.
So, in mid-May I approached SolarCity about joining them as a Marketing Manager for their community programs. My goal is to take what I had learned in Mountain View and share it with Solar Champions in other cities and neighborhoods. It seemed to me that this would combine my passion for community work and the environment with my professional background in marketing and knowledge management.
I'm pleased to let you all know that SolarCity liked the idea and I have joined them as an employee. Today was my first day.
I want to continue to channel your feedback to SolarCity as I have been doing for the past four months. As an employee, I hope I will be even more effective in that role.
Sometime soon I will also be asking for your help in spreading the word about Community Purchase Programs to your friends in other communities where we have or soon will start programs. These include: Berkeley, Rockridge, Castro Valley, Stanford, Menlo Park, Atherton, San Carlos, Santa Monica and the Rose Garden, Cambrian Park and Willow Glen neighborhoods of San Jose.
Friday, May 25, 2007
MV Voice Article Summarizes Success to Date
In today's issue of the Mountain View Voice, an article by Daniel DeBolt summarizes the success the Buyers Group has had to date and suggests that businesses may jump on board in the last week of the program just as homeowners did at the end of April. The link to the article is at this URL and the full article follows:
Bulk-rate solar offered to local firms
Larry's Autoworks and others expected to join by month's end
by Daniel DeBolt
While the strong support from homeowners to purchase solar energy systems has made the headlines recently, there is also a program for businesses that will end May 31.
"Federal tax credits are even juicier for commercial users," said Bruce Karney, the local resident who recently organized the 117-home group buy with Solar City.
After all federal rebates and grants are factored in, Solar City says, a system worth $574,000 would cost just $133,000. Larry Moore of Larry's Autoworks said his system would cost about $300,000 before rebates, but added that it would quickly pay for itself because the shop's electrical bill is $1,800 a month.
"We're an environmental shop," Moore said. "We are the ones who started the whole environmental shop movement several years ago. Secondly it looks like in a few years we would actually lower our electric bill — we would actually be selling power to PG&E."
Karney said that unfortunately many businesses lease or rent their property, which means the long-term investment makes little sense for them.
According to Solar City, several businesses have expressed interest in purchasing up to 72 kilowatts of solar panels. If the homebuyers program is any indication, the company might see a surge of businesses sign up before the May 31 deadline.
Solar buyers group reaches 118 homes
Recent developments have caused the electrical meters at several Mountain View homes to run backwards.
Bruce Karney is one resident happily afflicted with the problem. When his solar panels were switched on two weeks ago it was a cause for celebration. Last month he managed to convince 118 home owners (double his goal) in Mountain View to muster about $15,000 each for a bulk rate on home solar panels. All 118 systems will be up and running soon, producing 345 kilowatts of energy from the sun and preventing tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly — 5,300 tons over the panels' 30-year lifespan to be exact. It's the equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road for a year, Karney said.
"I couldn't be happier with the way the program has happened in Mountain View," Karney said. "By the end of the year over 2 percent of single-family homes in Mountain View will be solar. I think that's great — to go from a really unusual thing to [a situation] where almost every home owner will know someone with a solar system."
Significant federal and state tax breaks for solar panels are expected to slowly decrease over the next few years, which is what may have motivated many of the homeowners to participate in the Solar City group buy. Karney said that in total participants saved $690,000 when figured against standard prices for solar panels. Karney expects that his system will pay for itself in 15 years.
#end#
Bulk-rate solar offered to local firms
Larry's Autoworks and others expected to join by month's end
by Daniel DeBolt
While the strong support from homeowners to purchase solar energy systems has made the headlines recently, there is also a program for businesses that will end May 31.
"Federal tax credits are even juicier for commercial users," said Bruce Karney, the local resident who recently organized the 117-home group buy with Solar City.
After all federal rebates and grants are factored in, Solar City says, a system worth $574,000 would cost just $133,000. Larry Moore of Larry's Autoworks said his system would cost about $300,000 before rebates, but added that it would quickly pay for itself because the shop's electrical bill is $1,800 a month.
"We're an environmental shop," Moore said. "We are the ones who started the whole environmental shop movement several years ago. Secondly it looks like in a few years we would actually lower our electric bill — we would actually be selling power to PG&E."
Karney said that unfortunately many businesses lease or rent their property, which means the long-term investment makes little sense for them.
According to Solar City, several businesses have expressed interest in purchasing up to 72 kilowatts of solar panels. If the homebuyers program is any indication, the company might see a surge of businesses sign up before the May 31 deadline.
Solar buyers group reaches 118 homes
Recent developments have caused the electrical meters at several Mountain View homes to run backwards.
Bruce Karney is one resident happily afflicted with the problem. When his solar panels were switched on two weeks ago it was a cause for celebration. Last month he managed to convince 118 home owners (double his goal) in Mountain View to muster about $15,000 each for a bulk rate on home solar panels. All 118 systems will be up and running soon, producing 345 kilowatts of energy from the sun and preventing tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly — 5,300 tons over the panels' 30-year lifespan to be exact. It's the equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road for a year, Karney said.
"I couldn't be happier with the way the program has happened in Mountain View," Karney said. "By the end of the year over 2 percent of single-family homes in Mountain View will be solar. I think that's great — to go from a really unusual thing to [a situation] where almost every home owner will know someone with a solar system."
Significant federal and state tax breaks for solar panels are expected to slowly decrease over the next few years, which is what may have motivated many of the homeowners to participate in the Solar City group buy. Karney said that in total participants saved $690,000 when figured against standard prices for solar panels. Karney expects that his system will pay for itself in 15 years.
#end#
Sunday, May 20, 2007
My Trip to Santa Monica
I was invited to participate on a panel at the AltBuild Expo in Santa Monica this weekend. SolarCity is offering a new community program in Santa Monica, and offered to pay my expenses if I would fly down and talk about what's been done in Mtn. View.
The exhibits were held in a converted airplane hanger next to the Santa Monica airport, and the panelists spoke in a tent. I would guess that there were at least 500 people in attendance at the expo, and about 80 at the panel I was on. I showed an abbreviated version of the slides from my EPC presentation, and people seemed to enjoy the talk.
The most innovative company I saw at the expo was one that offers to rent reusable packing boxes made of recycled plastic. Their pricing scheme is "a buck a box a week" and they deliver the boxes to your old apartment or house and pick them up a few days later from your new one. The company is called EarthFriendlyMoving and I hope they are successful in what they are trying to do. So far they just operate in Southern California, but I think they would do very well in our part of the state.
The exhibits were held in a converted airplane hanger next to the Santa Monica airport, and the panelists spoke in a tent. I would guess that there were at least 500 people in attendance at the expo, and about 80 at the panel I was on. I showed an abbreviated version of the slides from my EPC presentation, and people seemed to enjoy the talk.
The most innovative company I saw at the expo was one that offers to rent reusable packing boxes made of recycled plastic. Their pricing scheme is "a buck a box a week" and they deliver the boxes to your old apartment or house and pick them up a few days later from your new one. The company is called EarthFriendlyMoving and I hope they are successful in what they are trying to do. So far they just operate in Southern California, but I think they would do very well in our part of the state.
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