PS is full of ugly people whom old solar panels don't want to look at. They will get over it, cuz the ugly people will die soon.
These panels don't seem to mind. They must be libs.
From Owning a System to Owning Part of the Solution: SunRun Customer Guest Post by Revone Bauwens on November 10, 2010
November 10, 2010
Welcome Revone Bauwens, our sixth customer guest post! Revone had always been interested in sustainability and solar power, but believed her contributions to the green movement were small and limited. Learn how she became a part of the larger green movement and helped empower a company to do good. If you want to share your solar story with a guest post on our blog, please send an email to nami@sunrunhome.com. We welcome all solar enthusiasts and look forward to hearing your story!
 I was very excited to move to Palm Springs from the Midwest in 2009. It had proven costly and quite difficult to build an energy efficient home in an area that didn’t necessarily “get” sustainability, and I looked forward to finding a green home in sunny California.
What I wanted most of all was to have a solar powered home – a home with panels that converted all of our California sunshine into pollution-free electricity. Alas, I quickly discovered that there were no homes with photovoltaic (PV) panels in my price range. Luckily, I found a well-insulated desert home, complete with a solar-heated pool and plenty of south-facing roof, just begging for PV panels.
I wanted to purchase a home solar system, but I dreaded the thought of saving up or financing another $20,000 or $30,000.
I also wondered if I was getting too old to scale a roof and juggle wires again. I had exhausted myself and my wallet the first (and last) time I installed solar panels myself. Unable to find a reliable installer in the Midwest, I signed up for and completed a Real Goods solar installer class, ordered all the materials, and guided my electrician and a high school assistant through a first-timers 3 kWh PV installation.
I attended a couple of solar information meetings put on by solar installers local to my neighborhood. I was amazed to learn that in California, you could actually lease solar power. However, I was disappointed that many of these local installers refused to offer such a lease.
I contacted Real Goods again and found out that they had just teamed up with SunRun, a home solar power service company. I was excited! Not only would Real Goods take care of the whole installation, but SunRun offered great service plans, which included leasing, for homeowners.
Outright ownership was one option, but I remembered all the extra paperwork and maintenance commitment from my Midwest home. I also considered the voice I would have as a single solar homeowner. When I previously tried to spread the word about solar PV, I had found that a lone PV system owner didn’t have much clout, or receive much welcome, at coal burning electric monopoly meetings. (I must admit, though, that getting kicked out of coal-based utility meetings was subversive fun).
SunRun was where my solar dreams came true. I could pay no money down and lease a 5.5 kWh solar PV system for a low monthly electric bill that came to about 19 cents/kWh with SunRun Power Plan. Or I could pay for 18 years of electricity upfront with SunRun Total Solar, for 10 cents/kWh. How could I go wrong?
Electricity rates in Palm Springs are on a tiered-rate that starts at 13 cents/kWh, which only covers about my first 5 days of electricity. Then, the rate skyrockets up to 32 cents/kWh for any usage over about 700 kWh. Here in the desert, air conditioning and pool pumps can drive electricity bills upwards of $300 to $800! With SunRun, I could ensure that my family’s electricity was green, cheap, guaranteed, and most importantly, brought choice and control away from the utilities and into our hands.
I look forward to the day when SunRun owns enough megawatts of small, rooftop, solar electric arrays to have the political influence it takes to make this state, our country, and our world a sustainable place to live. As a long time “greenie,” I realize that being green by yourself is good, but being green as an economic force is great. I’ve empowered a green company like SunRun by allowing them to own my solar panels, and my small contribution will combine with other PV users, and soon, sustainable energy providers will be the dominant force in energy politics.
Join the thousands of sustainable rooftop owners like me who are holding themselves accountable for their families’ electricity usage and enabling companies like SunRun to compete with the big and dirty electric utilities.
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