Texas Utility Leasing Rooftop Solar Systems

rooftop-solar
TXU Energy, a large Texas utility company, will lease rooftop solar power systems to their customers in the Dallas area.

Homeowners can sign up for the program with TXU and their partner in the project, SolarCity, will design and install the systems. After tax incentives, an owner of a three-to-four bedroom house would owe about $35 a month for a lease, though for $26,000 they could buy the array outright. When leased, SolarCity continues to own the array and performs any maintenance.

Currently, the state utility infrastructure company Oncor has funds to offer rebates on about 400 home installations, but SolarCity expects the program to grow quickly over the next five years.

This is not the first program like this in the country making residential solar affordable for homeowners, though it is the first one run by a utility. The state of Connecticut and the cities of Berkeley, San Diego and Palm Desert have all started solar financing programs for their residents and a California non-profit organization started a statewide financing program.

via Green Inc.

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The good and the bad
written by VeruTEK Green Technologies, February 25, 2010

This seems like a great idea and it certainly would benefit in saving energy. However personally it seems almost like a trade of the electric company.

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written by Craig, February 26, 2010

I guess I'm missing the incentive to the home owner. I understand if you buy it out right you are trying to offset the cost of electricty brought from the grid so if you lease something from the electric company aren't they still getting the money? I realize there is also the incentive to have clean power as well and I'm not missing that important fact but after reading the article I don't find myself getting excited about the facts and figures I'm reading unless I'm missing something.

-1

$35 a month
written by Matt Peffly, February 26, 2010

Don't know how much power you get for a $35 month lease. But if it covers your daylight hours I sure it saaves a bunch more than $35 dollars.

Plus for the power company if they put in enough they don't have a build a new coal or gas power plant.

Whats the down side? A win-win that is the way green will spread.

But if it covers your daylight hours I sure it saaves a bunch more than $35 dollars
written by Craig, February 26, 2010

After reading the above statement I did look at my electric bill and my bill is less per month the the cost of the lease so it doesn't even come close to being an economic incentive. I'm willing to pay some more for green because there is an environmental upside to doing so but I would have to have this for apx. 87 years and have the sun shining 24/7/365 to cover the 26,000 to buy this, and that's assuming no repair or upkeep costs for the unit. They will have to do better then that before I start seriously thinking about something like this.

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$35 a month
written by changsheng, February 28, 2010

I think $35 does not just cover the daylight hours it should be able to save the power it converts during the day which exceed you need for the night

Finances
written by Darrin, March 03, 2010

The tax incentives must be fairly hefty in order to be able to put a $26,000 system on your roof for only $35 a month. If you were to compare the cost of a loan to purchase vs the $35 monthly lease, the lease cannot be beat.
If you could find a 1% interest loan, it would take 96 years to pay off. I'll go out on a limb and state that the solar panels probably won't last that long.
As a matter of fact, you have to get a loan of 1.6% or less or else the interest on the loan is more than the $35 lease would be.

No free ride
written by Tommie, March 03, 2010

My guess is that the utility still charges their going rate. The homeowner gets to pay for the solar that will save the utility from having to build new generation facilities. There is no free ride.

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written by stew monkman, March 03, 2010

This is great idea. the more people who generate power the less it costs when you need to buy it from the utility, or the more they have to sell at higher rates to other areas that are to stupid to get involved in the green movement. And if you lease it then they repair or replace broken or burnt out panels.

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