New installation facility opens in Orange County; SolarLease™ also extended to Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Ventura and Riverside Counties, including Inland Empire and Coachella Valley
CULVER CITY and SANTA ANA, Calif., Oct. 7, 2008—SolarCity®, already California’s top residential solar power provider accordingtorecords kept by the California Public Utilities Commission, today announced a major Southern California expansion. The company is expanding its Southern California sales force to extend its first-of-its-kind solar lease offering to an area encompassing more than 8 million additional residents in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The company also opened a new installation center in Santa Ana, Calif., last week to augment existing facilities in Los Angeles and San Diego
“SolarLease is the most affordable solar power option available today—everywhere we offer it, we see unprecedented customer adoption,” said Jim Cahill, SolarCity’s regional operating director in Southern California. “Our expanded sales force and new installation center in Santa Ana will provide green collar jobs that boost the local economy, and help accelerate the widespread use of clean, renewable energy.”
SolarCity’s SolarLease financing option has allowed California residents to achieve “grid parity” with solar power by putting no money down and paying less each month for solar energy than they previously paid for electricity from their utility company. With electricity rates expected to increase* as much as 18 – 20 percent in some parts of Southern California in 2009, a growing number of residents are turning to residential solar as a way to hedge against rising electricity costs and to lock in lower rates for renewable power for many years into the future. SolarCity customers accounted for more than a quarter of the state’s August reservations for residential solar installations—more than the next seven residential solar providers combined—according to the California Solar Initiative’s program data, available at https://csi.powerclerk.com/Default.aspx.
“I had been looking at the possibility of installing solar panels for some time but thought I couldn’t afford it. When I saw the SolarCity lease program I couldn’t believe it. With no money down and no installation cost, I couldn’t find any reason not to do it,” said Jim Goalen, a SolarCity customer in Santa Monica, Calif. “Some solar options take years to generate a positive return. With the SolarLease option I started saving money the day my solar system was connected, and I’m using renewable energy.”
Interested Southern California homeowners can estimate their monthly payment and potential savings from SolarLease by entering their zip code and current utility bill in SolarCity’s solar calculator, available online at http://solarlease.solarcity.com.
About SolarCity
SolarCity—a national leader in solar power system design, financing, installation, monitoring and related services—was founded with the mission to help millions of homeowners and businesses adopt solar power, protect themselves from rising electricity costs and protect their environment from polluting power sources. The company’s SolarLease™, PurePower™ and Commercial Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) options can make it possible for homeowners and businesses to switch to clean, solar power for less money than they currently pay for electricity. SolarCity currently serves more than 1,000 communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Texas. Additional information about the company is available on the Web at www.solarcity.com.