Philadelphia has started to gain momentum with its “Going Green” initiative, and Urban Eco Electric (UEE) is taking action by bringing solar energy to the residents of the city of brotherly love.

UEE, founded in January of 2009, targets customers who are unable to afford the upfront investment for residential solar, an investment which often has a pre-solar incentive price tag of anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000.  When a resident qualifies, UEE will install a rooftop solar electric system for free.  The company enters a twenty-year solar leasing contract with the client in which the following is detailed:

-    The monthly fee for leasing the solar equipment is calculated by taking the average of the customer’s electricity bill for the twelve months prior to installation.  This fee is fixed for the entirety of the lease.
-    For the first two years of the contract, UEE reduces the leasing fee by 50%.

Such fixed electricity prices can be very enticing for residents of Philadelphia, who are poised to see rate increases in 2011 when the Electric Rate Caps expire.  The upper limits were initially set in 1996 when Pennsylvania deregulated the electricity market.  Although some hypothesize that the lift of caps will add more players into the generation mix and therefore drive prices down from increased competition, other states that have already gone through the process did not experience such rosy results.  Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey all experienced dramatic increases in electric rates when caps were lifted.

Facing a similar situation, residents of Philadelphia may find comfort in what UEE has to offer.  By generating solar power on site, clients of UEE are positioned to decrease reliance on utility electricity and therefore minimize exposure to higher rates.  In fact, those who generate electricity from solar energy may even benefit from higher rates through various net metering laws.

For more information on UEE and what they have to offer Philadelphia residents, click here.  At GetSolar, we’ll be sure to follow the emerging concept of solar leasing to see if such a business model is indeed, as we hope, viable. Read up on solar leasing and other solar financing options in our free whitepaper, Financing Options For Solar (PDF).