Spring 2012

Pleasanton Incentivizes Solar

The City of Pleasanton developed an incentive program to promote residential and commercial solar installations and other energy efficiency measures. Late last year, the City Council approved $250,000 to be used as incentives to help businesses and residents make the jump to solar. City staff organized and promoted a solar expo, working closely with subject matter experts and local solar contractors, to showcase the various products and financing options available.

The solar expo featured about 20 solar vendors, keynote speakers from PG&E’s Energy Center, who covered “Solar Basics—What You Need to Know,” as well as a non-profit organization that provided free, non-biased home solar evaluations. City staff also emphasized the importance of “reduce, then produce,” so solar systems would be appropriately sized and truly effective. City staff announced that the City would offer $1,000 solar rebates while funds were available. The rebate is available for leased or purchased systems.

The City partnered with SunPower Corporation—in a non-exclusive agreement—to provide additional incentives of up to $0.45/watt. Many of the solar vendors at the expo offered to match the City’s incentive of $1,000 until Earth Day 2012. The combined incentives and rebates effectively reduced the overall cost of the solar systems by 40-50%.

City staff provides a substantial amount of public outreach regarding energy efficiency and conservation (and has for years), and that has clearly resonated with residents. From 2007-2010, Pleasanton businesses and residents installed 4.2 MW of solar. In the first 12 weeks of this new solar program, 60 residents installed a total of nearly 300 kW of solar on their homes, and the rebate applications are still coming in. 

The success of this program has proven very sustainable, and has gone a long way toward helping the community reduce its carbon footprint. Many residents have taken advantage of web-based systems that allow them to see real-time data on their energy production, savings, and usage patterns. Additionally, the residents are thrilled with their energy cost savings (some are even making money), their energy self-reliance, and benefit to the environment.

For more information: http://www.pleasantongreenscene.blogspot.com/p/solar.html.