Anyone who has shopped at Costco's or Sam's Club knows the power of
buying goods in bulk. It can be considerably less expensive to buy tons of
rolls of paper towels, than just one at a time. So why not apply these economies of scale
to the solar world? Well one major obstacle is that the average residential
consumer doesn't really need a large system or many small systems. Nor are they interested in a
substantial financial investment. No, the average residential consumer wants a system to
power their house. But Solarize Portland, brought together a number of
potential buyers and found a way to access a bulk purchase price for each
member. Homeowners could install systems on their homes, while accessing cost reduction of bulk purchases. After Solarize implemented their bulk purchase program the price for their members systems decreased by 30-35 percent. Quite a discount!
In May,
Solarize Portland, released a Guidebook, outlining the tenets of such a purpose
so that other communities could follow suit. The Solarize Guidebook: A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems outlines the
major market barriers communities face,
including high upfront costs, complex solar purchasing options, and
customer inertia. And it provides best practices for a successful purchase,
such as competitive contractor selection led by the community; community-led
outreach and education; and making the purchase option a limited time
offer. The Guidebook is available here on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Website.
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