Solar@Work: San Francisco Unveils Groupon-Style Solar Purchasing

Forget pedicures and yoga classes. San Francisco is getting serious about group buying with Solar@Work, an aggregated purchasing program for solar panel installation, launching today.

The innovative program pairs the San Francisco Department of the Environment with local businesses and San Mateo's SolarCity, and aims to get at least 20 companies in on the buy to help ease the seemingly exorbitant pricing of solar panel installation. According to SFGate:

"(The program) will give companies the option of purchasing the panels outright, leasing them for lower upfront costs or taking out a loan," said Melanie Nutter, head of the Department of the Environment. "Businesses can also take advantage of a federal grant that covers 30 percent of solar installation costs through the end of the year," Nutter said.

Discounts range depending on the project, but average estimates are in the hundreds of thousands, meaning buyers can save more than just power. According to environmental blog Keen For Green, money is a huge deterrent from going solar:

SF Environment found that San Francisco commercial property owners cite high upfront costs and insufficient financing as the biggest roadblocks which stop them from installing solar.

Hopefully, with the Solar@Work program, the road will be clear for San Francisco businesses and solar power.

Comments

[aligatorhardt]

03:55 AM on 07/15/2011

You either pay up front, or you pay for fuels for the entire lifetime of the system. Coal is going up in price, as well as having high costs in health care and pollution. Those who are paying off their solar systems in coming years will be at an advantage as fossil fuel prices continue to rise for those invested in fuel dependent systems.

[AleksFrenet]

06:10 PM on 07/14/2011

Solar energy... The next money-sucking political scam. Anybody see the recent Popular Science article praising a town in Spain for setting up 460+ solar panels?? Yeah, as you read down, you see that would only help about .45% of the entire town. Oh yeah, and they had to be built on a cemetery.

[ANCook]

08:13 PM on 07/14/2011

OMG!!!1

[exile]

03:49 AM on 07/14/2011

house republicans vote to make sunlight illegal.

[WonderingNThinking]

10:39 PM on 07/13/2011

I like what the picture depicts. A good use of land, making covered parking with solar panels.

[cagog]

09:28 PM on 07/13/2011

COOL

[Karma2U]

09:01 PM on 07/13/2011

Let the sunshine.

[EW34]

10:11 PM on 07/13/2011

Shine Baby SHINE...

Even JR says Shine Baby SHINE...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-XNNPTqNMQ

[French Toast]

04:08 PM on 07/13/2011

Please stop updating us on the every move of Groupon. They're irrelevant.

[KrautMan]

06:03 PM on 07/13/2011

The article is not about Groupon, so chill.

[JohnFromCensornati]

06:44 PM on 07/13/2011

*

[Genders]

06:09 PM on 07/13/2011

Why? I say, please keep updating us, and thanks for the link.

[willvn]

06:15 PM on 07/13/2011

yes! love, tolerance and enlightenment