If you’ve ever considered getting solar panels on your home,
NOW is the time to do it.

Solarize Greater Media is a limited-time group buy program that makes getting your own solar system cheaper and easier than ever before. All homes in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District are eligible to participate.

The Solarize program is a U.S. Department of Energy program designed to encourage local adoption of solar energy. Solarize Greater Media, which targets properties in a five-mile radius of the Delaware County Courthouse, is sponsored by Transition Town Media (TTM) and its partners the Delaware Valley Region Planning Commission (DVRPC) and Delaware County Planning Department (DCPD).

As part of the program, TTM vetted solar installers and selected one – Solar States – to ensure a cost-effective and high-quality program.  The installer provides interested home owners with a free no-obligation solar assessment specifically for their property and energy needs. If you sign up to have solar system through Solarize, the installer manages the permitting and inspection processes and all aspects of the installation.

In addition to being easy and very green,
Solarize is very cost effective. Participants get:

• Variable Solarize bulk purchase discount depending on the number of Solarize participants. On a 7.5kW installation, this could reduce costs by $1875 if we get 15 Solarize participants and $4125 if we get 30 Solarize participants. (At the time of writing on March 29, we are on the cusp of reaching 15 participants)
• A 30% tax credit on solar and solar infrastructure. That’s money taken directly off your IRS tax bill!*
• Solar Renewable Energy credits (SRECs) paid to you by Pennsylvania.*
• Net-metering from PECO which allows you to rollover energy you produce in high-sun periods to be used in later months.*
• Limited buy-back of energy you produce, but don’t use.*
• Increase in your home’s resale value. Recent research suggests that host-owned solar (not leased solar) increases a home’s resale value by approximately $15,000 or about $4 per W – higher than what you will pay to buy it through Solarize!

 
Don’t have the cash to start the process? Solarize Greater Media has partnered with Franklin Mint Credit Union for great solar financing. Many of our Solarize participants are finding that the program will allow them to achieve net zero or even net positive on their expenses in this way, meaning they will spend nothing or even get a return from energy savings even while they are paying the system off.
 
How can you participate?
You can attend an info session to learn more or check out the Solarize website. After that, sign up for a free no-obligation solar assessment. The Solarize program has two key deadlines for participation: You must sign up for an assessment by May 14, 2016 and sign a contract by June 11, 2016 in order to get all the Solarize benefits.
 
(*Note: these savings are not unique to Solarize. However, Solarize makes it easy to understand and gather information for participation in these benefits.)