Google just Invested $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Accessable & Affordable for U.S. Homeowners | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

GOOGLE Invests $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Affordable for American Homeowners! 

Resource... Inhabitat.com 

Google has just announced its biggest renewable energy purchase to date (and that’s saying something: the company has already invested $5 million in a German solar power plant and bought enough wind energy in Texas to power 170,000 US homes.) Just after Earth Day, Google announced a partnership with solar cell manufacturer SunPower Corporation that will establish a $250 million dollar fund to buy–and then lease–thousands of solar panels to American homeowners.

Google and SunPower claim the initiative will allow Americans to access solar energy at “a cost that’s typically lower than their normal electricity bill.”

FULLY SUSTAINABLE LIVING IS THE FUTURE!

To kick off this ambitious solar leasing initiative, Google has contributed $100 million in cash, while SunPower delivered the remaining $150 million. Google says it chose to partner with SunPower because “[t]hey’re known for having high-quality, high reliability panels which can generate up to 50 percent more power per unit area, with guaranteed performance and lower degradation over time.”

Solar leasing has become an increasingly popular option for those who want to take advantage of rooftop solar power but can’t (or don’t want to) make the necessary upfront investment. Leasing solar panels often means that all maintenance and repairs are left up to the company that owns the equipment. However, it’s important for customers to realize that they will most likely forfeit the  federal tax credit and any cash rebate to the leasing company.

Unlike other solar leasing programs, which lock homeowners into 10 or 15 year agreements, the SunPower/Google initiative will give customers the option to buy their system after six years or at the end of the lease term. Both companies hope thousands of homeowners will be able to finance solar power systems through SunPower as a result of this program, joining the approximately 20,000 Americans already leasing from SunPower.

Read more: Google Invests $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Affordable for American Homeowners | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building