From March 16 to April 10, residents of the nine Bay Area counties can participate in the Bay Area SunShares Spring Mini-Campaign, which aims not only to increase the number of residential solar units within the area but also to give many households the opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable and affordable future.
“Our main goal is to provide education to residents through our website and public webinars,” said Caitlin Benedict, the program coordinator for Bay Area SunShares. “While residential property owners are eligible for the discount, we also provide clean energy options to renters. We provide information on the benefits of solar and storage, additional incentives that can stack with our discount, and additional electrification options.”
The discounts provided by SunShares range from house-to-house, as no two projects are the same; however, with the average solar panel unit costing around $20,000 pre-financial aid, not going solar can cost even more and provide individuals with less flexibility, according to Kyle Severns, the residential vice president of Solar Technologies, a Bay Area solar energy and battery storage provider and a pre-vetted installer for SunShares.
“Prior to going solar, homeowners have a single choice for their electricity with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). In that model, ratepayers are subjected to an endless energy contract with no control over rate increases over time. After going solar, you are able to offset most of your previous energy bill, with the power you generate on your roof and store in your batteries,” Severns said.
This offset to the energy bill is not temporary, as solar panels typically have a 25-year warranty and an even longer lifetime, according to Severns. Switching to solar energy and battery storage can save homeowners thousands of dollars in energy bills. In addition to this cost reduction, solar energy also provides homes with an additional level of energy security due to its proximity.
“Batteries allow you to store the excess generation from daylight hours, and still power your home with that energy at night. They also provide resiliency during grid outages,” Severns said.
With California ranking fifth in the United States for power outages, according to PowerOutage.com, this additional level of security provides comfort for some, like Sophia Lee, a junior at Carlmont High School and solar power owner, in knowing that no matter what happens, they will continue to have power.
“I feel pretty good that we’re using solar panels because during power outages, it’s a lot better. Since we just get our energy from the sun, we aren’t as affected by power outages as opposed to people who just use the natural gas and electricity from PG&E,” Lee said.
Our main goal is to provide education to residents through our website and public webinars. While residential property owners are eligible for the discount, we also provide clean energy options to renters.
— Caitlin Benedict
In addition to customer benefits, solar panels also offer numerous environmental benefits, especially by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Columbia Climate School, one acre of solar panels reduces more carbon dioxide emissions — a greenhouse gas — than an acre of trees, demonstrating the benefit of solar power.
“Solar is awesome because it’s significantly more efficient than any fossil fuel source. It doesn’t release any greenhouse gases, require nuclear power, or have any detrimental direct impacts. It’s also super localized, which is also great,” said Debolina Dutta, an Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher at Carlmont High School.
Ultimately, due to their effectiveness in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, solar panels will be a crucial part of the future, according to Dutta, as they will not only help the climate — like California’s — thrive but also aid the survival of future generations, no matter the species.
“As a society, we need to just cut greenhouse gas emissions if we’re going to want our species, let alone all the other species, to survive. I do think we’re at a critical point in our survival. Earth will be okay, but what about living things? We’re such fragile little creatures that we can’t survive a lot of change,” Dutta said.
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