BEAVERTON, Ore, May 19, 2010—Mayor Denny Doyle today announced the launch of a new solar pilot program that is expected to provide 50 Beaverton homeowners an easy way to go green, at a discount. The program, a partnership between the City of Beaverton and SolarCity®, offers residents a more than 80 percent discount on the cost of a solar system purchase after factoring in federal and state tax credits and incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon. Based on the success of the pilot program, the City of Beaverton anticipates rolling out a broader citywide solar program in 2011.

“This solar pilot program is an exciting step forward toward greater sustainability in Beaverton,” said Mayor Doyle. “We’re pleased to partner with SolarCity on this pilot program to offer residents the opportunity to reduce their energy costs while helping to improve the health of our environment.”

Participants must be homeowners that reside in the city of Beaverton and sign up by Tuesday, August 31 to be eligible for the program. The goal of the project is to install solar panels on the roofs of 50 Beaverton homes.
SolarCity will conduct a solar evaluation of each participant’s home, provide a custom design, install the system, handle permits and inspections with the city and utility, and provide SolarGuard®, an Internet-based solar monitoring system.

“Oregon homeowners want to adopt solar power, they just want it to be affordable,” said Rob Lavigne, SolarCity’s regional operating director in Oregon. “The Solar Beaverton program will allow Beaverton residents to go solar without emptying their pockets as part of a community effort to go green.”

Through the Energy Trust Incentive and federal and state tax credits, the Solar Beaverton program will offer reduced cost solar systems to 50 Beaverton residents. The program is part of Mayor Doyle’s 10 Point Plan that lists sustainability, including solar, as a priority initiative for the city in 2010.

SolarCity has conducted community purchase programs for more than 30 communities, helping more than 1,000 homeowners go solar as part of a group purchasing program. The company recently installed 50 kilowatts of solar capacity for the Tualatin Valley Water District in Beaverton that is expected to offset more than 2,875,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in its lifetime, the equivalent of planting more than 1,500 trees.

The first Solar Beaverton workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 25th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the Nancy Ryles Elementary School. Residents can sign up online at www.solarbeaverton.org, by calling (503) 345-4850, applying at one of the four workshops or at the Beaverton City Hall’s Neighborhood Program (4755 SW Griffith Dr.). For more information about sustainability in Beaverton, please visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/green/

About Beaverton
Beaverton has been recognized as the safest city in the Pacific Northwest for three consecutive years, as one of the best places to raise kids by BusinessWeek magazine (2009), a Top 100 Best Places to Live in America by Money Magazine (2006), an All-America City finalist (2005), one of the 100 Best Walking Cities in America by Prevention Magazine (2008), retains a Bronze Award Bicycle Friendly community designation by the League of American Bicyclists and is one of the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Communities. Beaverton also enjoys the most diverse population (by percentage of population) among Oregon cities. For more information, please visit www.beavertonoregon.gov or call (503) 526-2222.

About SolarCity
SolarCity a national leader in solar power system design, financing, installation, monitoring and related services with local offices in Portland—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. Additional information about the company is available on the Web at www.solarcity.com.

Media Contacts
Nina Oestlien
SolarCity
503-345-4856
noestlien@solarcity.com

Amy Miner
City of Beaverton
503-526-3737
aminer@ci.beaverton.or.us