New solar technology company plans to rent panels to homeowners to make solar more affordable

Wednesday, March 07, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: solar technology, solar power, renewable energy

(NewsTarget) A start-up named Citizenre has announced a plan to rent out solar panels rather than selling entire systems, in an attempt to make solar energy more affordable to the average consumer. This would enable consumers to avoid the large up-front costs associated with solar installation, while encouraging a shift to solar power.

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What you need to know - Conventional View

• Currently, those wishing to generate electricity from the sun must pay tens of thousands of dollars to install a solar electric system. It takes years to recoup this investment.

• Part of the reason for this cost is that the manufacturing, distribution and installation of the system's components all are handled by different companies. Citizenre hopes to "vertically integrate" the solar market by handling its own production and distribution, in addition to partnering with installers to keep costs low.

• The most radical part of Citizenre's plan is the idea that property owners would lease the solar panels from Citizenre, rather than buying them. The owner would sign a contract agreeing to buy the electricity generated by the panels at a fixed rate for a period of five to 25 years, plus a one-time fee of $500.

• In March, Citizenre plans to announce a team of investors who will front the $650 million required to launch the business.

• The absence of concrete business details has made many in the solar industry skeptical about whether Citizenre can pull it off, but most admit that the basic idea is a good one.

• Quote: "The gamble you make is that your utility power prices [would otherwise] be continuing to go up. Also, you're contributing to a change in the power system, because you're generating power that does not have any [greenhouse gas] emissions." - Erika Morgan, senior vice president of communications at Citizenre

Resources you need to know

• See the REnU program at the Citizenre website: http://renu.citizenre.com/

Bottom line

• Citizenre hopes to make solar power affordable by leasing solar panels to property owners and selling the electricity they generate at fixed rates.