Solar Leasing Comes to the Rescue for Many in Colorado
Tuesday, January 24th 2012 1:52 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
Many Americans have looked at the possibility of solar and the possibility of saving money on utility bills. Many have been turned off, however, by the up-front costs solar installers often must ask for from homeowners. Regardless of the savings, the substantial investment just for the solar installation itself can prove too much.
This was the story for Glenn Ware of Highlands, Colorado. Glenn always had an interest in the potential of residential solar installations, and he thought he might finally have his chance when his utility company, Xcel Energy, began offering some substantial solar incentives. Xcel's rebate program had been running for some time before Glenn heard about the program, but he quickly went to speak with a Colorado solar installer he had learned about when President Barack Obama visited them on a trip to the state.
Before Glenn could even get a quote on a solar installation, however, Xcel had decided to reduce its rebate program, immediately increasing his up-front costs by $3,000 and well out of his price range for the project. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency notes that Xcel's Solar*Rewards Program actually included a rebate for larger-scale solar systems of more than 10 kilowatts that was suspended entirely because it met its target solar capacity so quickly.
Soon afterward, Xcel decided to reduce its incentives even further, down to $1 per watt of capacity, pushing up costs for Glenn to buy his system outright another $2,000. At the same time, however, he learned about SunRun, a company that had just come into Colorado offering a new type of solar financing known as solar leasing. Essentially a specialized loan, this system allows homeowners to pay a fixed rate for their solar system in exchange for paying little or none of the up-front costs of the solar system.
For Glenn, who was looking at another hike in electricity rates from Xcel and already expected to pay even more under the utility's "high usage" policy that charges more beyond 500 kilowatt-hours, a system that essentially locked in a portion of his electricity bills made perfect sense.
"We didn’t have to take money out of our savings and started saving from day one," he explained. "Plus, SunRun maintains the system for us so there are no worries about additional costs down the road."
Other Colorado homeowners have seen the sense in this approach as well. Only a few miles away in Westminster, Colorado, Eors and Auricia had already been well familiar with solar leasing, actually waiting for SunRun to move into their state. When it finally did, they found themselves in exactly the kind of position every homeowner wants.
SunRun offered to pay the entire up-front costs of a 4.2 kilowatt rooftop solar installation. And of course SunRun and their installer would take care of most of the paperwork for the various rebates and other solar incentives the couple was eligible to receive.
In the end, the couple managed to reduce its electricity bills to $50 per month, from as high as $85 per month, a reduction of more than 40 percent.
Of course, Eors and Auricia get their electricity from Xcel, just like Glenn. And, just like Glenn, they have had to deal with rising electricity rates for years that are only like to continue going up. Just between 2009 and 2011 through October, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that residential rates rose 13.3 percent, after going up more than 35 percent in the decade before. Offering the chance to secure those prices now, solar leasing could provide some needed stability for many families.
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Many Americans have looked at the possibility of solar and the possibility of saving money on utility bills. Many have been turned off, however, by the up-front costs solar installers often must ask for from homeowners. Regardless of the savings, the substantial investment just for the solar installation itself can prove too much.
