Hi everyone, Dave Llorens here.

This afternoon I was talking to a reporter about the same thing I talk about every time: There are places in the country where the economics for home solar are so strong that it works for anyone—at least those  who don’t have a shaded or wonky roof and those who own a home. Some of these places have such great payback on solar that if you could get the proposition in front of everyone, you’d see a few homes with solar on every block.

But we’re not there yet, and we’re not even close.

We’ve always thought of that as 1BOG’s mission: to accelerate the adoption of solar and get it to where at least one in ten homes have it. We think that’s possible in huge areas of the Country, like New Jersey, California, Louisiana, Texas, and other cities.

We still have a ways to go, but that doesn’t keep me from being optimistic. Just look at the places solar is popping up these days:

1. Facebook Social Games: Social City

Read the rest of this entry »

The city known for jazz, Voodoo, and Mardi Gras, can add affordable solar electricity to its list of attractions.

One Block of the Grid is revving up its group discount program for home solar panel installations in New Orleans. In partnership with South Coast Solar, 1BOG has obtained a substantial mark-down to $6.65 per watt, around 15% below standard rates.  Combined with massive Louisiana solar tax credits (50%) and the government’s 30% Federal tax credit, an average house can get practically all of its power from the sun for a one-time installation price of $6,000— a cost that will be covered by energy savings within three to four years.  (These figures will vary depending on orientation towards the sun, shade, local energy prices. Check out our solar estimate tool for a quick calculation.) Read the rest of this entry »

PRESS RELEASE

Partnering with South Coast Solar, 1BOG Offers Solar Group Discounts for Homeowners

San Francisco, Calif. – April 20, 2010 – One Block Off The Grid (1BOG), the nation’s largest solar panel group discount company, today announced the launch of a New Orleans solar group purchase campaign designed to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners in New Orleans to go solar. Homeowners interested in solar power will be eligible for a discounted rate of $6.65 per watt through local installer South Coast Solar, as well as free education, support and online tools.

After a month-long vetting process, 1BOG selected South Coast Solar for their excellent group pricing, products, warranties and history of successful installations. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out awesome 1BOG customers Glenn Trewitt and Wil Renczes sharing their experiences going solar with 1BOG on CBS local news station KPIX with Len Ramirez this evening!

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=62401@kpix.dayport.com

The gang checking out our new bank account balance.

We are thrilled to announce today that VC firm NEA has invested $5 million in 1BOG! The money will support our continued growth and expansion across the US, bringing solar onto the roofs of as many Americans as possible!

NEA has also invested in household names such as Groupon, Salesforce and Tivo, as well as Bloom Energy, oPower and Suniva on the cleantech side.

Here’s the press release. Also, lots of great publications have covered the news including San Jose Mercury News, Techcrunch and CNET. Thanks to all who helped make this possible!

Great news, 1BOGers! Today we announced the first ever group purchase of solar on the east coast. We chose New Jersey for its great state and utility rebates. The incentives are so good that our CEO Dave Llorens commented, “I want to move to Jersey and buy homes, just to put solar on them.”

For this campaign, we wrangled the stellar rate of $5.45 per watt. That’s 16% cheaper than 2009 rates in the area! Our installer partner is The Solar Center, a local company based in Rockaway, and we’re glad to work together to help spread solar to many more homes in the garden state.

Tell your friends in northern New Jersey they can sign up until April 25th, 2010. As usual, sign up is free, and gives you the group rate and lots of useful solar info. The campaign includes Sussex, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Morris, Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset, Union and Middlesex counties.

Take a look at our press release announcing the news, this article: Company to help Bergen County residents with solar installations that appeared New Year’s Day in The Bergen Record, or this story: Rockaway company partners up to help Morris residents explore solar power in The Daily Record that came out today. To find out more, visit our Solar New Jersey homepage, or attend our free webinar with more details on Thursday, February 18 at 7pm: http://solarnorthjersey.1bog.org/webinar.