The Solar Event, sponsored by the City of San Ramon and Sustainable San Ramon had a very good turnout at the San Ramon Community Center on June 5, 2012. The presentation of the event, targeted for the homeowner audience, focused on current information about costs of solar electric (also called solar photovoltaic or solar PV for short) system installations and financing options. It was intended to help homeowners decide if this is the time to get onto the freight.
The speaker, Yuet Lee, is an independent clean tech consultant, and co-founder of the Green Remodel Forum with no affiliation with any solar company.
We also invited representatives from local solar companies and sustainable non-profit organizations to come to display their products and services. Homeowners had the chance to visit their tables and inquire about the options and services before and after the presentation.
The key points of the presentation were:
- The cost of solar panels has dropped significantly over the last year. Now, for many applications, it costs less to make a watt than to buy it from the California utilities.
- Systems installed under leasing and power purchase agreements options have at least equaled ownership option.
- While solar PV systems generate clean energy, manufacturing process and disposal of these systems have environmental impacts.
- Homeowners need to plan before acquiring a solar PV system, notably reducing their energy requirements, determining the proper system size and picking the optimal location for installation.
You can view the presentation here.
