There are some fascinating schemes out there to use solar power for your electrical needs with very little upfront investment - some appear more ready to go than others.   I was looking at CitizenRe’s approach over the weekend.    This is where they have set up an army of “ecopreneurs” to sign up home owners to have solar panels installed on their homes for a security deposit of $500 and then they have them pay a rental fee for their solar panels that is the same rate as what they are currently paying for electricity.   They get to lock in their electrical rates for the duration of their contract which can go up to 25 years.  Damn this looks like a very attractive offer.

HOWEVER, I didn’t see in their marketing material where  they have installed one solar system yet.   Now if you’re just getting into this concept,  you might think this is a new idea - but they have been around a LONG TIME - especially in terms of today’s technology time frames.

I was researching what others were saying about Citizenre and found this blog post written two years ago about Citizenre.    They were supposed to have their manufacturing facility up by September 2007.   Two years later, they are now claiming their manufacturing facility will be online by Jan. 2009.  I did not see any mention of it on their website and all their marketing material is still talking about not making any promises to people who you get signed up about an installation date.   So it appears they have missed this deadline as well.

One of the things they do emphasize in their marketing materials is that if people have the ability to put solar panels on their homes and pay the upfront costs, they should by all means do this.   They suggest people visit www.findsolar.com to find a solar installer in their area.

If you really want to do solar but you can’t afford the upfront costs, there are other ways to get into this for low cost - finance it with a home equity loan, or go with a long term lease that some of the larger solar installers offer.  They have it set up where you end up paying the same amount as you are for your electricity as well.   And at the end of the leasing period, you own the panels.  We are summarizing these plans in our March Newsletter.

If you want to go solar, I’d recommend you go with a company that can deliver on that arrangement today rather than waiting for a promise to deliver sometime in the future.  If Citizenre can deliver on what it promises, it will truly be a remarkable company.   I am hoping they succeed.   In the interim, I’m going to continue with the approach on designing and installing my own systems on my properties and figuring out my own creative ways to finance the installations.