Vermonters seeking to generate their own solar electricity often cite upfront costs as a major hurdle.
A Vermont solar installer and financier says rooftop and backyard solar projects can save homeowners money and reduce their carbon footprint, and the company, SunCommon, is offering a package to help them do it.
SunCommon, which expanded its services Tuesday to residents in Orange and Windsor counties, aims to install and finance solar installations for about the same monthly cost as an electricity bill.
After utilities credit customers for their renewable power generation, the company works out financial packages with credit unions and national energy lenders to offer solar installations with no upfront capital costs and low monthly payments, according to Duane Peterson, president of the company.
“We thought about tearing down the barriers that had made going solar so difficult for Vermonters,” Peterson said.
SunCommon began offering solar systems in the Upper Valley because about 360 homeowners have requested solar installations, Peterson said. The company launched in 2012 as a pilot program and has been operating largely in the northwestern area of the state.
Allen Wilder of Brookfield is SunCommon’s first customer in Orange County. He installed 22 solar panels on his roof and said his installment payments are almost equal to his previous electricity bill, which has been negated through net metering.
He now says he wants to take the excess solar power the panels generate to supply electricity for a heat pump and solar hot water heater.
This is part of SunCommon’s broader goal, Peterson said. He said solar energy can power and heat homes and fuel automobiles.
The Shumlin administration supports electrifying the state’s transportation and thermal sectors, which account for the majority of Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the state’s net-metering program, homeowners can install solar panels and utilities will credit the renewable power. Peterson said the price residents and businesses pay to finance the installations depends on the location of the home and the amount of electricity they consume.
The state’s net-metering program was expanded this year after several utilities reached a previous limit set on the amount of power they could generate from net-metered projects. All of the state’s electric utilities offer net-metering programs.
Washington Electric Co-op’s program was recently changed to include an additional fee for infrastructure.
Peterson said SunCommon plans to offer a similar program for community installations so renters in urban areas will be able to draw power from a community solar array.
Peterson said the company gives renewable energy certificates back to their customers rather than selling them as part of the financial package.
