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Buy a Honda, get solar

By | February 20, 2013, 8:26 AM PST

Honda and Acura customers in the U.S. will be offered a different kind of add-on when they buy a car: a home solar power system.

Honda has partnered with SolarCity to establish a $65 million investment fund to help customers cover the initial cost of solar. The deal will be offered to customers within SolarCity’s 14-state service area, which includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

Dealers in SolarCity’s service area may be eligible to access the fund to lease or buy systems. Honda and SolarCity said they also plan to investigate ways to integrate solar power and electric vehicle recharging.

Under the program, customers will be given a choice to pre-pay for their solar electricity or make a monthly payment that will be lower than the cost of their current utility bill, with insurance, repairs and monitoring services included, the companies said.

Fine Print

Under the deal, customers don’t have to put any money down or make a security deposit, according to details provided by the companies. A 3 kilowatt systems starts at $25 to $100 per month with an annual increase of 0 to 2.9 percent each year for 20 years, the companies said.

Solar leasing has spurred quite a debate in SmartPlanet’s comments section in the past. Many consumers still take a wary view of leasing.

Typically, a solar company provides the system for free (or little money) in exchange for a long-term contract, or power purchase agreement, in which the customer pays a fixed fee for the electricity generated. The customer benefits by paying less for solar than electricity from the power grid. The solar company, or in this case Honda, earns a small return on each lease.

Photo: SolarCity

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Kirsten Korosec

About Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec

Contributing Editor

Kirsten Korosec has written for Technology Review, Marketing News, The Hill, BNET and Bloomberg News. She holds a degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She is based in Tucson, Arizona.

Follow her on Twitter.

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten Korosec

Kirsten does not have financial holdings that would influence how or what she covers.

She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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+3 Votes
+ -
Buy Honda and get Solar
Finally, I see that people are making sense. Ever since we started making electric cars, I figured that my electric bill would go up just like gasoline prices, due to greed.
Now I see that Honda and Solar City are appearing to be looking out for the average Joe by working with each other in order to save us from exorbitant electric bills. I thought of getting some kind of solar panel set up dedicated to charging my future electric car. Keep up the good greenery.
Posted by dianetcb
21st Feb
-1 Votes
+ -
SOLAR SOON TO POWER ALL THE EARTH AND MORE
The Solar Industry to Skyrocket with the help of Solar Shingles.

SOLAR ENERGY SOON WILL POWER ALL OF THE EARTH

ELECTRIC HYBRID VEHICLES & ELECTRIC VEHICLES SOON TO OUT SELL ALL OTHERS



Energy has driven the world for over a thousand years Wind, Hydro and Solar are the oldest forms of energy giving power to all smart enough to use it.

In the last 200 years Coal, Oil and Nuclear has given energy to many worldwide and great power and wealth to only a few. At the cost of many lives in coal Mines, Oil Spills, Radiation, Cancer and Polluting the Air and Water on all of the Earth.

Unfortunately for the wicked there is not an unlimited amount of oil on earth. Just the same as the Forest Trees that clean the air and make Oxygen we breath and all living on earth need to Live. As some in denial are not able to recognize or ever see or live with blinders on.

Doctors and Drug ceo's have been making millions prescribing drugs to many that live near or by High polluted areas. From dirty energy that hurt breathing our lungs, water we drink and harm our children and all. That we all pay for. When all on earth need is Clean Air and Water, and Clean Cities.

Now common sense would be for all to look for a Clean Fuel Source like Wind, Hydro, Geothermal and Solar. Renewable Energy is eliminating the need for Dirty Energy Worldwide at a record pace. With SOLAR ENERGY Clearly the front runner.

To the fear of some of the richest people on Earth. They to surprisingly are doing
something extraordinary investing in Solar Energy. After years of many of them trying to under mine it.

Fuel that makes energy to ship goods, or make electric for homes and manufacturing. Can transform whole nations into prosperity and wealth or poverty and economic hardships for most all. Just as taxes on taxpayers has done. For over two thousand years. Making slaves of many to the wicked and unjust few. History Lesson Roman Empire, Persian Empire now OIL Empire oh sorry OPEC.

The Freedom to get your own Power from the Wind and Sun, Solar Energy has been there for years. Are Libraries and Schools should have been the first to have gone Solar and Renewable Energy. And why are they not? Churches are all over the Planet. They are going to Solar Energy.

Thank GOD for the Pioneers like John Schaeffer that Started Real Goods The first and Best catalog for Renewable Energy and Dr. Addison Bain one of NASA top Scientist and Scientist Bill Young at the FSEC Florida Solar Energy Center and Monica D. Key Lindbergh for many years wrote to legislators promoting Solar and Renewable Energy and many others.

These Pioneers helped put Wind, Solar And Renewable Energy in the Spotlight for all the World to see. One of The Greatest Scientists ever Albert Einstein Stared it with a Dream that the day would come that all the World would use Solar Energy. His many years of work with the law of the "Photoelectric Effect", and showing this to the World won him the Nobel Prize in Physics. For the "Photoelectric Effect"
Free Energy From the SUN in the heavens above.
We still do not teach this to our young.

Very soon Hybrid Vehicles and (EV's) Electric Vehicles will out number the ones that need oil and gas to go. With the ability to recharge them at home and work from the sun.

Tesla Motors with its new Model S electric sedan, will be one of many the World will see soon. Honda, Nissan, Audi,VW, BMW and Volvo are just some of the Car Companies putting into production Electric Vehicles a EV, and many more are and many are building Electric / Hybrid Vehicles. The DeLorean Motor Company will be putting into production by 2013 a DMC-EV Electric DeLorean, that will have a body and power plant that will last you a life time. Just think you can recharge them at home and work free from the sun Solar Energy.

The Lord's Little Helper
Paul Felix Schott

Now to own a car that will never rust way and runs on the power from the sun that's the one for me. Very soon most all on earth will be able to get energy by recharging from the sun and wind.

Cities that want to be Clean clean-cities.org many of them are putting in recharging stations in their heart of their downtown of their city all over the Planet Earth. Many Thanks mostly to Scientist Bill Young and his team at FSEC for their many years of work at this..

GOD Bless You Professor Takashi Ohira and your team for the good work they are doing. To promote Clean Cities with Clean Transportation that will let some drive all day without having to stop to recharge. As Neil Armstrong would say one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Just one step closer to the World being powered be the Sun Solar Energy.



Going Solar

Germany, Denmark, Australia, Sweden, Norway, India, Nepal, Ttbet and Israeli clearly a leader in Solar companies and Renewable Energy is helping many World Wide and a long list of Nations Going Solar even Iran with its Archimedes Tower. At its Shiraz Solar Power Plant Iran and all the Oil Nations on Earth know the World is going to SOLAR Energy.


Going Geothermal


Iceland, Philippines, Kenya.....and more then 50 other Countries.


Wind Energy in use


More then 75 Countries


Albert Einstein's Dream coming true

The Earth Powered By SOLAR ENERGY.


GOD Bless

all that Spot Light and use Solar Energy
Posted by Paul Felix Schott
21st Feb
0 Votes
+ -
Solar power
Solar power makes a lot of sense in view of the big push worldwide to persuade us all to buy EV's. In the UK the government will now make a substantial contribution towards home charging units and in China incentives are given in the way of discounts off the purchase price. Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here, but why can't EV's have their own solar panels charging the battery bearing in mind it's not necessary to have direct sunlight to charge. Ok - maybe there would'nt be enough power to generate 100%,of the vehicle's needs, but if it was imputting some charge as it went along or even when it was parked up, then surely this would help to increase the range. Forget sun roofs - what about sun panels !!!
Posted by jensenp13
22nd Feb
0 Votes
+ -
FANTASTIC IDEA
We do not live in any of the above mentioned cities. But this idea will soon catch on by the other car companies and hopefully will start a new trend. This will also help to clean up the air in major cities and help to sell electric cars. Kudos to forward thinking car companies like HONDA. (Ford, Toyota and GM-- are you listening?)
Posted by usdoc1
22nd Feb
+1 Vote
+ -
Solar leasing or solar fleecing
Solar leasing or solar fleecing ? You decide. The solar leasing companies want your roof so that they can take your 30% federal tax credit worth thousands of dollars. They will also take any and all other financial incentives such as cash rebates and REC credits. In exchange you'll only get a 10 to 15% reduction in your electric bill after you factor in the lease payments and you'll be stuck with 20 years worth of lease payments on forever ageing solar equipment that you can't sell because it won't belong to you. In fact after making 20 years worth of lease payments, if you want to keep the system, you'll have to buy it from the leasing company at fair market value. And good luck ever selling your home with a lease attached to it. What home buyer will want to assume your lease payment on used equipment when they can buy a brand new, state of the art system for as little as 1/3 the cost of your lease payments. Today you can buy a complete, name brand, grid tie solar system for only $1.66 a watt. And that's before any incentives. Instead of a solar lease why not get an FHA $0 down solar loan so you can keep the 30% federal tax credit and all the other financial incentives for a much better return on your investment. Oh, and that discount that the leasing company is offering you, who do you think is paying for that in the end? Right, how generous of you.
Posted by solareye
22nd Feb
0 Votes
+ -
small solar panel system
Hi,
I think you have had a careful mathmatics logic. Anyway, an independent household small solar panel system can reduce your electricity bills. Do you believe?
Posted by sophie as a mum
3rd Mar
-1 Votes
+ -
One observation.
This offer is pointless in certain parts of the country where PV is not viable because of seasonal weather conditions.

Most people immediately think of the US Northwest like Seattle, but there are some surprising parts of the nation that do not see enough reliable sun to make PV a viable investment.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/cloudiest-cities.php
Posted by Hates Idiots
25th Feb
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