SunRun and PV Solar Report today announced that families in median income zip codes make up the majority of California's home solar market. Two thirds of California home solar installations in 2009, 2010, and 2011 year-to-date have been in zip codes with median annual household incomes of less than $85,000 and not in the wealthiest areas of the state. In addition, the number of residential projects in lower income zip codes continues to increase as solar prices decrease.
The findings are consistent with PV Solar Report's list of Top Ten Solar Cities that published in October. The top cities on the list are not California's wealthiest and are home to more mainstream families. For example, Bakersfield and Fresno are among the state's top five solar cities with annual household incomes averaging between $40,000 and $50,000. By comparison, Malibu, which was not even in the top 25, has a median annual household income of $160,000. The percent of total installations in California's highest income zip codes is only two to three percent.
"In 2007, we invented a way for homeowners to go solar without the high upfront costs so income would not prevent a switch to cleaner and less expensive energy," said SunRun President and Co-founder Lynn Jurich. "The data from PV solar report shows this model is working, and that it's not just the wealthy driving and benefitting from solar adoption. We are working to educate consumers that solar is finally affordable."
"This is exactly the market transformation that the California Solar Initiative (CSI) was designed to achieve when it started in 2007," adds SunRun Director of Government Affairs Ethan Sprague.
SunRun owns, insures and maintains solar panels and installs them on a homeowner's roof. Families pay a low monthly rate for clean energy, fixing their energy costs for 20 years. This solar power service, also called third-party-owned solar, was the preferred choice among consumers in Q3 and represented 59 percent of the California residential solar market. The service makes solar accessible to more Californians because families who could not afford cash purchase can now go solar. One of every four SunRun customers reporting income makes less $50,000 per year.
"It's exciting to analyze how the industry is growing right now, especially when trends indicate that solar is becoming more mainstream and not just reserved for the wealthiest individuals," said Stephen Torres, founder and managing director of PV Solar Report. "Solar prices are coming down, it's great for job growth from installing, financing, and servicing solar in local communities, and models like SunRun are helping drive growth because they eliminate large upfront investments."
PV Solar Report's findings also show that growth in zip codes with median annual household incomes below $40,000 is higher than average growth across all zip codes. An executive brief on these findings is available here on the PV Solar Report Web site.
