Foundation News

It’s been a record-breaking summer for solar in California. Last month solar energy supply peaked with 978 megawatts (MW) of cost-effective solar power online at once. This is great news for the solar industry, which is adding jobs and customers rapidly. For example, Sunrun installs over $1.5 million in solar every day with a business model that removes high upfront costs. Sunrun owns, insures and maintain solar panels on a homeowners’ roof. Families pay a low rate for clean power that’s less than their utility rates.

More than 120,000 Californians have home solar, with options like Sunrun’s solar service driving growth.  About 75% of people switching to solar in California today choose solar service over purchasing panels.  What’s more, median income zip codes are driving solar adoption. A recent report from California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) found that projects in middle-income markets (median incomes between $50,000 and $100,000) comprised the majority of all installations in 2011. This number has increased by 445 percent since 2007. Bottom line: solar is not just for the wealthy and it’s scaling rapidly. To continue this expansion, Sunrun and the Sierra Club are working to reduce solar costs by putting reasonable permitting standards in place. Soft costs like permitting account for about 50% of the total cost of rooftop solar.  With such high potential for cost reduction and so many Californians still without solar, we’re only at the tip of the iceberg.  Together we will scale affordable solar to millions of American families.

Lynn Jurich, TSCF Board of Directors; Co-founder and President, Sunrun