SolarCity, California’s leading provider of solar power systems, has completed the largest commercial solar power installation in San Jose on eBay’s North campus. The 650 kilowatt (kW) installation — including 3,248 individual solar panels — spans 60,000 square feet on multiple buildings. The system will be unveiled later today in a ceremony to recognize eBay’s first building built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED gold standard. SolarCity estimates that solar-generated power will save eBay approximately $100,000 in electricity costs within its first year of operation.
SolarCity allows customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs. Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home could pay as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system, Rive, Chief Executive of SolarCity told Reuters. Customers who sign up before July 31st put no money down on their system. After that, upfront costs should be between about $1,000 and $3,000, Rive told Reuters said.
“We can essentially make it so that everybody can now afford clean power,” Rive said.
The leased projects will be financed through Morgan Stanley, and SolarCity said it will serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing. SolarCity is expanding to Oregon, Arizona and has plans to go to the East Coast.
