The San Jose Credit Union - which serves current and former city employees - and San Jose's Solar America City Program partnered to negotiate for lower prices on solar photovoltaic and solar-thermal equipment. And the credit union makes low-interest loans available to members who want to go solar, making the plunge into solar power even easier.
While the group solar program is only available to San Jose Credit Union members at the moment, its model is replicable almost anywhere. The initiative, credit union president Andrea Brewer said, "will help our members save money, and also contribute to the city's environmental goals."
In total, 300 kilowatts of renewable power will be installed thanks to the group buying program. It will also help support the local economy: SunPower, one of the solar equipment providers working with the credit union and the Solar America City Program, is based in San Jose.
SunPower technology, company CEO Jim Pape said, "will help [residents] to lower their electricity bills over the long term and provide a significant return on their investment."
