Solar power for residential homes is still too expensive for most Americans. The problem isn't the cost of the power, but rather the hardware. Technological advances are only bringing costs down so much.
Mass market appeal for owning a home-based solar power system is still quite a ways away. California based SunRun has a business plan that answers this conundrum. The company secures funding, usually totaling in the hundreds of millions, from banks and venture capitalists. SunRun uses the money to purchase residential solar systems en masse, taking full advantage of economies of scale.
SunRun's customers, in turn, are not buying a product, but rather a service. SunRun charges for the electricity the panels generate, not the installation or the panels themselves. It's essentially a leasing scheme for solar hardware. While some might be averse to the sound of this plan, preferring ownership, that path would be a detour from how power has been traditionally distributed and sold to homes and businesses. Interested? SunRun operates in 10 states: AZ, CA, CO, HI, MD, MA, NJ, NY, OR, and PA.
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