Two Jersey Companies Bring Solar Leasing to the East Coast
New Jersey-based Mercury Solar Systems, one of the region’s largest residential solar installers, and solar financing company, SunRun, have signed a deal that will bring solar leasing to the East Coast. The partnership will allow homeowners to enjoy little to no upfront costs for their home solar power system. They need only pay a fixed monthly rate for their electricity over a set period of time. Mercury Solar and SunRun, on the other hand, get to enjoy ownership of the systems, including state and federal incentives.
A press release from Mercury Solar Systems does not, for obvious reasons, compare their new program to the “SolarLease” venture made famous by SolarCity on the West Coast. But the similarities seem obvious, as well as the reason Mercury and SunRun would want to initiate such a deal in New Jersey, the Eastern Seaboard’s “California” of solar power. In just a few years, SolarCity has grown exponentially in California, and has already spread to Oregon, Arizona and Colorado, with more states to come.
Monthly electricity costs for the average three- or four-bedroom home in New Jersey under SunRun’s version of the solar financing program will start at only $50 per month, and homeowners can get solar panels installed for as little as $500 upfront. That’s a stark difference from the $25,000 to $40,000 (before rebates) that it costs to install and own a home solar power system. Furthermore, all customers receive an annual money-back performance guarantee, system monitoring, maintenance, repairs and insurance as part of the deal.
Just last week, the New Jersey legislature passed the Solar Energy Advancement Act that sets a goal of producing 2,194 gigawatt-hours of solar electricity by 2020. That’s roughly 3 percent of New Jersey’s total energy consumption and a big incentive for utilities and solar companies to move even faster toward solar proliferation. If SunRun and Mercury Solar Systems have their way, the Garden State will reach its goal one solar lease at a time.
Photo Credit: East Coast Solar & Wind
Posted on January 28th in Solar Funding by Dan.