[ausev] citizenre and PV

[Carey King]

Essentially the deal with CitizenRe is you pay them for the energy 
generated from the installed PV system plus a $500 deposit. Contracts 
can be 1, 5, or 20 years. They own the system, so they pay for it, 
install it, and maintain it. You just pay for the energy and still pay 
Austin Energy (for example) to stay hooked up to the grid and use energy 
when the sun is not out. They try to size the system such that you have 
0 net energy from the grid over a year. Insurance costs on the PV 
panels, right now, rest upon the homeowner, and may or may not be 
covered by your existing policy.

The reason they can do this is that they own their own PV manufacturing 
plant and they control the entire supply chain to minimize costs from 
middle-men. Installations are scheduled to start in the Fall 2007, as 
now you are essentially signing a contract and getting "in line" to get 
the first systems, which might get limited if demand gets beyond the 
manufacturing capability.

They sell the contracts by network marketing. I was interested in what 
the company was doing, so I signed up to learn more, but don't actively 
pursue sales. If you want more information, you can call me or look at 
the webpage:
www.jointhesolution.com/solar-king

For some, I think this is likely a good deal. For others (esp in 
Austin), the federal and Austin Energy rebates/subsidies make it a 
pretty good deal to won your own. In the case of Austin installations, 
Citizenre would get the benefits of any rebates or incentives.

carey

jefoy at mindspring.com wrote:

>Brian,
>
>That's great! It does answer the argument rather well. :)
>
>On a related note, has anyone had any experiance with this company: http://www.citizenre.com/solar_renu_energy
>
>It sounds like a good deal, solar power without the maintenance worries. After I get my roof reshingled I would like to check into this.
>
>Jack
>
>-----Original Message-----
>  
>
>>From: Brian Lasseter <blasseter.cmpe01 at gtalumni.org>
>>Sent: Feb 21, 2007 11:43 AM
>>To: AustinEV News Announcements and General Discussion <ausev at austinev.org>
>>Subject: Re: [ausev] hi im a newbie here with a question(s) for mark	farver....
>>
>>On 2/20/07, Charlesvsi at aol.com <Charlesvsi at aol.com> wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>Brian, if you are really looking for a reliable kid carrying vehicle, best
>>>to look at a new or even '04 Honda Civic Hybrid 4 door.. They are amazing
>>>vehicles, just quiet, and go where you want, These have side air bags, are
>>>most safe in tests, and have AC and heat and everything else. After 54000
>>>miles ours gets: Mileage runs 34 to 44 depending on speed hills etc.
>>>We have an '04 and a friend has a Toyota Prius, but they don't seem to be as
>>>simple to operate etc.
>>>      
>>>
>>And if I can not get an EV made for $15k (plus cost of donor car),
>>then I will likely get a Honda Civic hybrid, or a Prius, or a
>>Volkswagen Golf TDI.  I hope that I will be able to get something made
>>by the end of the year though.
>>
>>As for the power plant arguments... There are certainly many issues
>>there (my wife works for TCEQ), but I know where I'm getting my power
>>from.  I have a 3.3kw solar array on my house, and will likely have
>>another 3.3kw array on the house by this time next year.  That should
>>cover our house, and our car.  (At least, that's the plan.)
>>
>>
>>-- 
>>TTFN,
>>Brian "Lasso" Lasseter
>>
>> ·  (512)736-1677  ·  AIM:digininja  ·  ICQ:2238123  ·  MSN:azoreg  ·
>>"No Sane man will dance."   -Cicero (106-43 B.C.)
>>
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>>    
>>
>
>
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