Solar guide to help country Solarize

September 5, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

A new guide for community group solar purchasing has been released by the New England Solar Cost-Reduction Partnership -- a coalition of five New England States managed by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA). "Planning and Implementing a Solarize Initiative: A Guide for State Program Managers" features detailed cases studies of two particularly well-developed programs from New England -- Solarize Connecticut and Solarize Mass -- and is expected to serve as a tool for those across the country seeking to develop their own programs.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Kulshrax

Solarize is a group purchasing program for solar PV systems that lowers acquisition costs for rooftop solar installations. As more homeowners join the group purchasing program, the cost goes down, because of a tiered-pricing plan with reduced prices for more participation. Solarize programs in both Connecticut and Massachusetts have been successful in increasing the rate of residential solar adoption in three ways – by expanding the potential customer base, speeding solar deployment, and driving down installation prices for customers.

In Connecticut, 20 percent of households who signed a contract for a new solar PV system through the Solarize CT program had never previously considered installing solar. Further, during Phase I of their Solarize program, selected Solarize municipalities achieved 24 to 65 times the rate of new solar installation contracts as compared to the rate during the prior seven years. In Massachusetts, the number of small-scale solar projects more than doubled in the vast majority of participating Solarize communities.

As far as price savings, in Connecticut, Solarize has resulted in cost reductions of between 20 and 30 percent while Solarize Mass has achieved an average price reduction of 18 to 20 percent for installed projects.

For more:
- see the guide

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/solar-guide-help-country-solarize/2014-09-05