Last
month, Paso Robles resident Dan Robinson applied for a solar energy
permit. Little did he know that his application would be the 1,000th
alternative energy permit filed in the city of Paso Robles.
Atascadero,
CA, USA -- Last month, Paso Robles resident Dan Robinson decided
he wanted to save money and do the right thing when he called
Solarponics and applied for a solar energy permit to install solar on
his home. Little did he know that his application would be the
1,000th alternative energy permit filed in the city of Paso Robles.
With Mr. Robinson's solar install, Paso became the first city to
reach 1,000 installs in San Luis Obispo county.
"These
seven panels on my roof can do the same for me as a multi-billion
dollar power plant... with no pollution," says Mr. Robinson.
"Solar makes so much sense on so many levels. It's the right way
to go."
Solar
energy first became popular in the late 1970's when President Carter
installed solar water heating panels on the White House. At the time,
electric rates hovered around a low of 5¢/kWh. Solar electric and
solar water heating systems were still quite a bit more expensive
than ulitily-purchased energy.
Since
the mid, California has seen a nearly 300% increase in the price of
energy, currently averaging 19¢/kWh, while solar energy prices have
dropped significantly, making solar electric far more affordable than
grid-tied energy today.
Nationally,
solar installs in the U.S. have grown from 1.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2008
to an estimated 34GW today. Paso Robles has gone from under 20kW of
solar installs in 2008 to over 6 megawatts (MW) of residential solar
today. This equates to more than $50 million in collective energy
savings for Paso Robles homeowners over the next 20 years.
"Even
with the recently imposed solar panel tariffs, solar energy continues
to be a significant money-saver. The more energy rates increase, the
more solar makes sense. And rates are always increasing." says
Kristian Emrich, Solarponics vice-president.
To
celebrate the 1,000th residential solar energy install in Paso
Robles, Solarponics is donating solar powered systems for electric
golf carts to north county schools, and converting those electric
golf carts to solar-power.
"Five
years ago, we could not have imagined reaching this milestone...1,000
solar roofs in Paso... 10,000 county-wide. And now, here we are. Our
vision is to see renewable energy systems on every single structure
in the county. So, there's a lot of work to do still," says Mr.
Emrich.
About
Solarponics
Solarponics
is the Central Coast's go-to renewable energy installer, helping
businesses and homeowners save money and achieve energy independence.
Solarponics has installed over 5,000 energy systems throughout the
county since 1975. The longest continuously owned and operated solar
company in California, Solarponics is still privately owned and
locally operated. For more information, visit Solarponics.com,
or like them on Facebook.
Media
Contact:
Frank
Scotti
Solarponics, Inc.
805-466-5595
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