by Chance Currington
Sunlight Solar, with offices in Portland and Bend, OR, is now proud to offer solar services through SunRun, Inc. Customers will find that using SunRun to finance their solar investment by added system monitoring, guaranteed production, and an industry leading material and labor warranty.
SunRun is a national solar power company that specializes in making solar affordable for everyone by vastly lowering the out of pocket cost for a residential solar power system while also providing a long-term operations & maintenance agreement that includes a 20-year 100% performance, equipment, and labor warranty. They are able to do this in Oregon by accepting the Energy Trust of Oregon incentive as well as the 30% federal tax credit.
Since SunRun is a corporation, they can depreciate the equipment and pass the discount on to you. For the 20-year agreement, SunRun will maintain ownership of the solar equipment on your roof and you will reap all of the benefits of having solar power without the cost or hassle of ownership. This is also referred to as a residential PPA (power purchase agreement) or a solar power finance program. Essentially – you are pre-paying for 20 years of electricity and hedging against future rate increases from PGE or Pacific Power (PPL). Below here is a 10-year history of electricity rates from PGE.
SunRun accepts the ETO incentive and federal tax credit, but you are still able to monetize the $6,000 state tax credit over 4 years at $1500/year. The total out of pocket cost for a 3.29KW solar electric system is $6,000 in the PGE service area and $7,500 in the Pacific Power service area.
SunRun is a Delaware Corporation that operates in 8 states, has 100 employees, and is backed by blue-chip investors including: U.S. Bancorp, PG&E Corporation, Accel Partners, Foundation Capital, and Sequoia Capital. This program is nationally established and SunRun owned 30% market share of all PV systems installed in California in 2010.
FAQ
There are some questions you will naturally have out the SunRun program for Oregon. Here is an FAQ.
Can I buy the equipment?
Of course, however, with SunRun, you can buy electricity from a clean renewable source, and at a lower cost than you would pay for the same power from your utility. You will never have to worry about the equipment as it is under a 20-year full 100% warranty.
What are my options at the end of the 20-year agreement?
At the end of 20 years you will have three options:
- Renew with SunRun at a guaranteed 10% less than the utility’s baseline at that time
- Buy the equipment at Fair Market Value (determined by 3rd party)
- Remove the equipment at no cost to you
What if I move before the 20-year agreement is complete?
You can transfer the agreement to the new homeowner. They will pay no additional costs and your home will have an increased value and potentially higher selling price
What if SunRun goes out of business?
If SunRun were to go out of business you are completely protected. An escrow account is created to completely protect your system today and for the entirety of the agreement.
What if my roof needs re-roofing?
The Energy Trust of Oregon requires 10-years of remaining roof life to approve the installation of a PV system. If your roof has less than 10-years of remaining roof life we recommend at least re-roofing the portion of your roof where the solar will go.
I wanted to send a special thank you to Kristen Stringer from SunRun who took some time out to support me at the event.
Additional
This program is available for any Oregon resident whose electricity is provided by PGE or Pacific Power. Sunlight Solar will provide the SunRun solar program service statewide including Portland, Gresham, Tigard, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Oregon City, Estacada, Clackamas, Happy Valley, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Newberg, North Plains, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Milwaukie, Hood River, Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Eugene, Corvallis, Albany, Salem, Klamath Falls, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Pendleton, and Medford. If your city is not listed and you are a PGE or PPL customer you are eligible.
In addition, Sunlight Solar will offer the SunRun total solar program to all Oregon Solarize projects including; Growing Solar Clackamas County, Solarize NE, Solarize SE, Solarize NW, Solarize SW, Solarize Corbett, Solarize Pendleton, Solarize Eugene, Solarize West Linn-Lake Oswego, Solar Beaverton, Solar Gresham and the Sierra Club program “Go Solar with Sierra Club”.
Chance
818 SW 3rd Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
503.724.0767