Significant group incentives to go solar

Several dozen homeowners in the PebbleCreek Community in Goodyear, Arizona are making the move to solar power and saving money in the process. By consolidating their buying power under American Solar Electric’s “Sunny Community” discount program, the homeowners have saved a combined $17,120 on the installs.

In all, 180 kilowatts of solar electric power will be installed. American Solar Electric, ArizonaÂ’s leading solar electric system design-build firm, has been contracted to perform the work. Each homeowner, depending on the system size, will save between $600 to $1,700 (an offset of 30% to 70%) on their electric bill in the first year the system is in operation.

Homeowner Dru Bacon initiated the group purchase program with American Solar Electric. “I founded an Environmental Club in PebbleCreek to raise community awareness of actions that individuals can take to aid the environment and save money for homeowners. Photovoltaic (PV) roof panels fit that vision perfectly. I expect electric power rates to rise dramatically in the next few years and homeowners will be scrambling to install PV panels. Homeowners that install PV panels now are ahead of the curve,” said Bacon.

These combined systems are estimated to produce 306,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Over the life of the systems this equates to offsetting 13,112,100 pounds of CO2.

“We are excited to kick off the Sunny Community group purchase program in PebbleCreek. It is with this bulk purchase that we can offer group discounts due to increased operating efficiencies and we look forward to working with other Valley communities in an effort to expand the utilization of our most abundant, clean, and reliable energy resource — the sun,” said Sean Seitz, President of American Solar Electric.

Prior to opening the Sunny Community group purchase program, American Solar Electric had installed a handful of solar electric systems in PebbleCreek. One of the systems was installed on the roof of Mike and Janet KnudsonÂ’s home. Commissioned last November, the system has exceeded the KnudsonsÂ’ expectations.

“We have seen an 80% savings over last year and are very pleased. Most of the time when we buy something it is oversold and under delivered, but this is not the case with this system,” noted Mike Knudson.

To create your own “Sunny Community,” visit http://www.sunnygeneration.com.