Free Solar Power – Why It Doesn’t Exist
Recently, there has been a flurry of ads on Facebook and other social media sites touting offers for “free electricity.” Usually, these ads claim that PG&E, the local county, California, or the federal government will cover the cost of installing a solar power system. In other instances, a clickbait-style ad teases the potential for getting […]
Selling Price of Sacramento Homes with Solar Panels Increases by 3 to 7%
In April 2019, online real estate website Zillow released a summary of an analysis of the selling prices of homes with solar power systems versus those with without. They found that homes in the United States with solar power systems sold for an average of 4.1% more than comparable solar-less homes. This translated to a […]
SMUD Proposing ‘Grid Access Charge’ Costing Solar Customers $1000s
Update: On April 22, 2019, SMUD withdrew the Grid Access Charge proposal, which was the focus of this article. SMUD also withdrew their proposed Net Energy Metering (NEM) 2.0 rate schedule. SMUD has stated that they are committing to establishing a process where they can work with public stakeholders to find service solutions that best […]
Your Next Car May Be Electric – Why Not Fuel It With Solar Power?
Whenever news stations and magazine articles cover the topic of electric vehicles (EVs), the conversation is typically centered around Tesla. The automaker seems to be perceived as the only major electric car manufacturer of note. But the truth of the matter is that most mainstream automakers are currently adding electric vehicles to their lineups, even […]
How Much Does Electricity Cost from Solar Panels vs. Your Local Utility?
Our customers are often concerned about the upfront cost of buying a solar power system. This hesitation is completely understandable. After all, solar is a significant long-term investment. But that’s just it—it’s an investment. There’s an analogy we’ve used with customers on occasion: Imagine that back in 1994, when gas was about $1.15 a gallon […]