Thoughts on Solar by Run on Sun's Founder & CEO, Jim Jenal

Two of Pasadena’s most beloved institutions - NPR affiliate KPCC and Run on Sun - have joined forces to offer KPCC Members exclusive benefits on solar power systems.  As the only solar power company offering Member Benefits, Run on Sun is demonstrating its commitment to the outstanding programming on KPCC and to enriching the lives of its Members.

Here is the deal as shown on KPCC’s Member Benefits page:

Members receive:

• $500 off a residential solar power system, 5kW or larger;
• $2500 off a commercial solar power system, 30kW or larger.

To qualify for this special offer, just show us your Benefits Card when we come out to do your free solar site evaluation.

Wait, what, you aren’t a Member yet?  No worries - just click over to the KPCC website and make a one-time contribution of $60!  (Wow, how is that for an immediate return on your investment?)  Or better yet, become a sustaining member.  It is the ultimate win-win!

UPDATE AS OF 3:20 p.m.: We Made IT!!! Thanks to your overwhelming support, we garnered 250 votes in just 7 days!  Thanks to everyone who voted and especially those who urged others to vote - you folks really rocked the house for us and we really appreciate it!

UPDATE: Here we are one week later and we have made great progress!  As of 6:30 a.m. on June 14, we are up to 235 votes!  So who will put us over the top?  Maybe YOU!!!  Please follow the directions below and Vote!  Thanks so much!

As a general rule, we try to avoid blatant self-promotion in this blog - preferring instead to help educate folks about the solar industry.  But this post is different - this post is a naked appeal to you, our dear reader, to help us grow our business in a most dramatic way!

Run on Sun is participating in a competition sponsored by Chase Bank and LivingSocial and your vote is key!  Here’s the deal - the sponsors are kicking in up to $3 million to award grants of $250,000 each to as many as twelve small businesses.  Each competing small business submits an application that explains who they are, why they are awesome, and how they will make use of the grant should they be lucky enough to be chosen.  But to even be considered, each small business must demonstrate their community support by getting 250 people to vote for them.

And that’s where YOU come in!

If you click on the enormous blue button above, you will be taken to the program website.  Once there, please click on the “Log in & Support” link on the bottom right.  That will log you in via your Facebook account and take you to the search page.

In the search box you can either enter “Run on Sun” or select Pasadena, California to see all of the companies from Pasadena that are competing (there’s a lot!).  Either way, when you get to the Run on Sun entry, please vote for us.  That’s all there is to it!

To even be considered for the grant, we need to garner at least 250 votes and we need to do this before July 1.  So please, click right NOW!
And as always, thanks so much for your support!

We were informed today by a representative of Pasadena Water & Power that they are planning on increasing their rates as of July 1.   Presumably this will have to go before the Pasadena City Council before it becomes effective, and we do not yet have any information on the magnitude of the proposed rate increase.  When we learn more, we will be sure to post it here.

However, when combined with the drop in solar rebates also tied to July 1, this date is becoming ever more significant as to the economics of electrical power for PWP customers.  This proposed rate increase will only increase the deluge of rebate applications descending on PWP in advance of the July 1 deadline.  Don’t delay, act NOW to be sure that you lock-in your rebate before the rebates go down - and your bills go up!

Yesterday I spent 90 minutes talking solar with the folks at Pasadena Water & Power.  It was a great conversation and it really re-confirmed my belief that these folks are true solar proponents who - while understaffed, overworked and underpaid - are working hard every day to make solar in Pasadena a reality.

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• Regarding the July 1 decline in solar rebates – the decline is in response to not just built systems, but committed rebate allocations.  A big chunk of that is destined for Cal Tech which will be installing more than 1 MW of solar in 2010.  (In many respects it is only right that Cal Tech should get the biggest share of the rebate funds since they are the biggest electric customer in PWP’s service territory.)  All the more reason for the rest of you folks to get on board now before the rebates go down!
• AB 920 – the folks at PWP emphasized their desire to have solar customers participate in the AB 920 rate-setting hearing process.  They anticipate contacting solar customers before the hearings occur so that customers can have their voices heard.  Of course, we will be blogging more on the AB 920 process as the hearing(s) approach.
• Support for the LA Grand Solar Tour – although the details are yet to be worked out, PWP expressed interest in assisting with, and perhaps even co-sponsoring the LA Grand Solar Tour - the signature event for LARES (the Los Angeles Renewable Energy Society) the now-forming Los Angeles chapter of ASES.

Pasadena Water & Power announced today, February 16, that it will be dramatically reducing its rebate payments for solar installations as of July 1, 2010.  Here’s a summary of the rebate rate changes compared to the existing structure:

These substantial rebate reductions - announced without any prior public comment or discussion - are all the more curious given that PWP also reported today that it is less than 7% of the way to its stated goal of installing 14,000 kW by 2017.  Two years into a 10 year program, by which time PWP should have reached the 20% mark to be on track but instead has seen less than half of that get installed, PWP drops its rebates dramatically. Hard to see how these reductions will help PWP meet its goal.

One thing is very clear - if you are a PWP customer considering adding solar, the time to act is NOW.  Give us a call, we can help!