Free Solar Panels Are About to Change the Energy Landscape of California
California still leads the country in solar power adoption and solar installations. But, up to this point, converting to solar power has been primarily available to the state’s wealthier homeowners and business owners. The upfront costs of purchasing and installing a solar energy system, despite leasing options, has generally meant that the people who stand to gain the most from the savings associated with converting to solar haven’t had the funds to convert.
All of that may change in the coming months, thanks to a new initiative from the GRID Alternatives Project called The Solar Affordable Housing Program. The program is specifically designed to provide low-cost or fee solar electric systems to homeowners that qualify as low-income families.
Using volunteer labor and job trainees who receive solar installation education to defray the costs of installation, the program will use money raised through cap-and-trade programs to cover the equipment costs for those that qualify.
A Triple Benefit
The first aim of the Solar Affordable Housing Program is to benefit struggling families make ends meet by lowering their power bills, but it also has other benefits. Aspiring solar technicians and installers benefit from the opportunity to learn the trade, and this in turn benefits the industry by providing skilled entry-level candidates to address the ongoing boom in solar installation in California.
The third, and in some ways most obvious benefit, is the replacement of conventional energy with clean, sustainable solar power generation. This benefits not only the homeowners and installers, but also the entire globe.
Somebody Has to Pay for It
If you believed your Grandfather when he told that there was no such thing as free lunch, then you might be wondering who is going to pay for all these classrooms and solar installations, if not the homeowners. As mentioned above, the initiative will be utilizing funds raised by the state government of California through cap-and-trade programs.
These programs target the state’s industries and collect funds per ton of carbon dioxide emitted through their operations. The cap-in-trade program is intended to incentivize the reduction of carbon emissions, but also serves to raise money for projects such as this. The net cost to the families that will benefit from the program will be nothing.
A Win-Win-Win-Win Situation
With projected savings of up to $1000 per year per household enrolled in the program, the reduction of carbon on both the industrial and individual scale, and an expected increase in qualified solar installation technicians, The Solar Affordable Housing Program stands to benefit the State of California in four ways.
With so many households throughout the country that could qualify for the program, it’s hopefully only a matter of time before other states adopt similar measures.
[Photo via: Flickr]
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