Unlike much of the rest of the economy, the solar industry is growing rapidly. New solar installations in California jumped by 21 percent last year. An increasing amount of that growth is from “solar leasing.”
What’s commonly called “solar leasing” is now the most popular way for homeowners to install solar electricity.
A solar company installs the panels for the customer for free or for a minimal cost. Then it sells the consumer the electricity for about 10 percent less than local utility rates.
SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive, “before solar was more designed to those who could afford a large upfront cost of $20,000 to $25,000. Now the average person can go solar and just start saving money, there’s no investment.”
Rive says the option is so popular that in some markets his company has a waiting list of 4 to 6 months.
// Photo – Heritage Solar