Berkeley Mayor PlansTo Make Solar Energy Financing Easier

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates today announced a plan for his city to be the first in the nation to allow property owners to pay for energy efficiency improvements and solar system installations as a long-term assessment on their individual property tax bills.

Bates said installations of solar electric and solar thermal systems are cost effective for many residential and commercial property owners with existing state and federal subsidies.

He said the advantage of his plan is that it eliminates two major financial hurdles to solar electric and solar water systems: the high upfront cost and the possibility that those costs will not be recovered when the property is sold.

Cisco DeVries, Bates' chief of staff, said the average cost of a solar energy system for a residential property in Berkeley is around $20,000, which is a high up-front cost that scares off many potential users.

He said that under Bates' plan, people who buy a solar energy system would have only minimal up-front costs and would instead pay off the system, as well as below-market-rate interest rates, as part of their property tax bill over 20 years...read more about Berkely's plan to ease Solar Power financing