Solar Co-ops

[svetz]

Not everyone can DIY for various reasons.

Imagine walking into a solar company’s office with 50 or 100 of your neighbors and saying, “We all want to get solar. What kind of deal can you give us?”
That’s a solar co-op!

These guys (https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/co-ops/) have a website to organize, there may be others.

Has anyone used a Co-Op? If so, what were your experiences?

Some links to peruse on the various Pros & Cons:

• http://mainstsolar.com/pros-and-cons-of-solar-cooperative-purchasing-programs/
• https://www.hahasmart.com/blog/2676/solar-co-ops-explained
• https://www.brilliantharvest.com/2017/03/solar-cooperatives-need-know/

 

[45North]

I've also seen some places where they go one step further and pool the solar power produced in the community.
Not a bulk purchase of equipment like you're talking about.

 

[Vigi]

There are a lot of good things about private residential rooftop solar, but from an objective standpoint it isn't a very efficient way to do things. It is >way< more cost efficient (KW/$$) to put panels up by the hundreds on top of warehouses, over parking lots, or in other spots than to put them up willy-nilly on residential rooftops (where they are at sub-optimal angles, get shaded, moved when the underlying shingles fail, etc). That >doesn't< mean rooftop solar on single family homes is a bad idea, but since capital is limited, I'd rather be able to invest into a power-producing solar installation and get an offset on my own home electric KWH consumption (or. just get money) and also get the same tax breaks/incentives as if I'd paid someone to put panels on my own roof. And, when I change residences, my solar investment would keep paying off, uninterrupted.