The Citizenre solar rental program improved again!
October 18, 2007 By Reggie “Rasmataz” Rasmussen
Citizenre’s rental program has been modified again and now customers may save even more money while using clean renewable electricity. Citizenre is a company that has plans to manufacture, distribute and install complete solar systems on residential homes with no upfront charges. Customers will rent these systems from Citizenre instead of purchasing the systems. Once product is available, the customer would meet with a solar technician who would design a system to best fit the needs of the home. If the customer approves the design of the system, a small deposit of $500 to $1000 is collected which would be fully refundable at the end of the service contract. Service contracts are currently offered for 1,5 or 25 years and the rental fee is locked in to insure no rate increases throughout the service agreement. The customer becomes his or her own producer of electricity from the equipment that is rented from Citizenre.
The original business model of Citizenre was to charge the customer for all of the electricity that was produced. Systems were under designed based on past usage for each home to insure that customers were never charged for electricity that was never used. If the customer still used less electricity, adjustments would be made to the system at no charge to assure customers that they did not generate and pay for electricity that was not used. Since the rental rates were nearly the same as the savings from the utility company, system rentals, in most cases, pay for themselves. To assure no service interruptions, the customer is still connected to his or her current utility provider and any electricity used but not generated by the system would still come from the current utility provider.
However, the rental plan was not fully embraced by all utility companies. Having the rental fee tied to the actual production of the systems, too closely resembled a utility company. So Citizenre management went to work and came up with a solution. The rental fees will be tied to the nameplate capacity of the system. In easy terms, the nameplate capacity is the amount of electricity that the system is designed to produce. So if the system is designed to produce 500 KW of electricity, customers will be charged a rental fee based on 500 KW of electricity. If the system produces less electricity than intended, the customers will get a refund. Here is why the program becomes so much better for the customer. If the system produces more than intended, the customer gets to keep the excess electricity that was produced with no extra charges.
Since the rent of the system is paid from the utility savings in most cases and each system has no upfront cost, the customers is now in an even better position to save money and the environment.
Over 23,500 are on the waiting list for the Citizenre Renu solar program. The company is expected to roll product off the assembly line and begin installations in the middle of 2008. If you would like to inquire about the Renu program from Citizenre simply click here: Solar Panel Rental Program: Sign Up Now!
Filed under: Articles on Citizenre • FAQ & Definitions
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News story on the Citizenre rental model for distribution of solar. The reporter did a very good job; however, the issue regarding deposit was left unclear. Citizenre will collect a deposit of $500 TO $1000 but not until after the customer has met with the solar engineer and approved the design of the system. Since it will be over 1 year until product is available and the engineer will not go to the clients home until the middle of 2008 or later, it will be over 1 year before the client provides the deposit to Citizenre. Until the deposit has been issued, customers have no financial loss or obligation should they cancel prior to issuing the deposit to Citizenre. This reporter makes it sound like a deposit is at risk anytime after entering into the agreement and this is not the case. Here is the story.
A different slant on solar
East Coast company offers rental option for those who don’t want to leap into buying right away because of cost.
By Drina Turner
for the Mail Tribune
October 26, 2007
Solar energy is a proven, safe and effective method of providing power and conserving energy resources, but the cost — in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $40,000 for a full-house system — has prohibited most potential buyers from taking advantage of it.
An East Coast company is trying to lower the upfront cost of going solar by offering to rent solar systems.
Citizenre, headquartered in Wilmington, Del., has been peddling its concept in Oregon and other states, most recently with a booth at last month’s Jackson County Home Show.
The company wants to rent solar panels to home-owners for one, five or 25-year periods. After an initial deposit, the company would secure any necessary permits, then install, monitor and repair the panels.
The homeowner would pay a monthly fee, which is estimated to be close to what they currently pay for electricity. The company says there is no minimum fee and the rate would be guaranteed for the length of the contract, a nice incentive in this time of rapidly rising energy bills. The agreement could be canceled any time, but the deposit is non-refundable.
“We differ from the competition because we make the rental contract easy to get in and out of and the volume of consumers will keep the prices low,” says Erika Morgan, a company spokesperson. “We are removing the barriers to make solar energy available to more people. It’s a fee for service with none of the risk or obligation of ownership.”
The Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit organization that offers incentives to homeowners who use solar energy, says the rental idea is worth considering, though the group stops short of endorsing the concept until more is known.
“It certainly gives potential customers a different option,” says Kacia Brockman, solar program manager for Energy Trust. “Do I prefer to own my system or do I want to rent? The question is, ‘When can someone see an installation in their home?’”
The answer to that question is a bit fuzzy. Morgan says the company is planning to build a solar production facility next year, and begin providing solar-electric service to Oregon homeowners before the end of 2008. To date, 783 people in Oregon have asked for information about the rental program, she says.
“Our challenge is going to be keeping up with the demand so people don’t have to wait so long for the panels,” Morgan says optimistically. “We’re committed to minimizing the wait.”