Glick Report
  • June 24, 2008 01:05 PM EDT by Alexis Glick

    Making Solar Affordable

    You know all this talk about going solar? How solar power could be one of the resolutions to our dependence on foreign oil? Well this morning on The Opening Bell I talked to the CEO of Solarcity. They provide solar power, one of the "hottest" alternatives forms of energy right now.

    For years they have been selling solar panels but now they've figure out any even smarter way to sell power, they're leasing the panels. It's a brilliant idea and is gaining steam. Today they announced their expansion into Arizona. Now you can lease a solar panel, just as you would lease a car. Solar panels cost up to $20,000. Here's what you have to pay if you're in any area where you can lease solar:

    For $70 a month you'll get a 2.4 kilowatt system (for a smaller home). The upfront costs right now depending on where you live is free until July 31. After that, upfront costs should be between $1,000 to $3,000. As Rive, the CEO of Solarcity says, " We can essentially make it so everybody can now afford clean power."

    Take a look at my interview with Lyndon Rive.

Michael Waggoner

An interesting article. More accessible financing would be a big help to broader adoption of solar-electric. I would like to have heard a few more details: Take one size solar panel, show how much of an appropriately-sezed home's electricity it could provide summer and winter, and the finances of purchasing versus leasing. What is the term of the leases and what are the termination terms? What happens at the end of the lease; one doubts that they would go to the trouble of disassembling an old solar panel. This would go beyond the story, but info on the efficiency of this firm's collectors compared to other models would also have been helpful.

June 24, 2008 at 5:59 pm

Justin

Stop using my tax dollars to subsidize inefficient/uneconomical energy sources. Let the free market work. PLEASE bureaucrats, stop raping the American tax payer.

June 24, 2008 at 7:04 pm

Rob

I currently pay around $40/month on my electric bill. Why would I pay an upfront fee to have that bill increase?

June 25, 2008 at 9:57 am

about this blog

  • Alexis Glick is an anchor for FOX Business Network. Prior to joining FOX, Glick served as a correspondent for the Today Show and co-anchored the third hour of that program. Before her stint at NBC News, she was the senior trading correspondent for CNBC and reported from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

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