UTILITY BACKS SUN

A Utility Will Help Homeowners Go Solar
Todd Woody, February 25, 2010 (NY Times)

"TXU Energy, a Texas utility with two million customers, is making it possible for homeowners in the Dallas area to lease or buy rooftop solar-power systems in one of the first programs of its kind.

"The energy provider… signed a deal with SolarCity, a Silicon Valley start-up that finances and installs residential rooftop arrays, to manage the initiative."

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"Homeowners will sign up for the TXU Energy Solar Program through the utility and SolarCity will design and install the solar-panel systems. Under the lease program, the owner of a three-to-four-bedroom house would typically pay about $35 a month after tax incentives…

"SolarCity retains ownership of the photovoltaic arrays and responsibility for their maintenance. The solar-power system could be bought outright for about $26,000…SolarCity will pay a referral fee to TXU Energy for each system leased or sold…"

click thru to learn more about SolarCity

"The program will initially be limited because of a small solar rebate program offered by Oncor, a company that operates utility infrastructure in Texas. (The state has a deregulated utility system with separate electric infrastructure companies like Oncor and electricity retailers like TXU Energy)…Oncor offers a rebate of $2.46 a watt up to $24,600 for a residential solar installation. Funds are currently available to include about 400 homes in the program…

"Mr. Rive said Texas’s abundant sunshine, high air-conditioning costs and huge subdivisions make the state a natural solar market…"