{"id":12609,"date":"2011-06-07T11:36:40","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T17:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=12609"},"modified":"2011-06-07T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2011-06-07T17:36:40","slug":"free-solar-power-system-richmond-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/free-solar-power-system-richmond-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Richmond Mom Gets a Free Solar Power System"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n For Tiffany Woodwards and her two little girls (above), a solar system means more than eco-friendly power from the sun. It\u2019s an incredible help paying for utility bills.<\/p>\n The Richmond, California family\u2019s energy costs ranged from $150 to $180 per month, but thanks to the new 18-panel home solar<\/a> array installed last month on the rooftop, a whopping 75% of that will be saved for the next 25-30 years.<\/p>\n The system came about unexpectedly. Woodwards received a letter in the mail announcing the Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes<\/a> (SASH) program, one of California Solar Initiative\u2019s solar financing<\/a> programs for low-income households.<\/p>\n Under the program, which is managed by Oakland nonprofit GRID Alternatives, households that earn 50-80% of the median area income are eligible for a highly subsidized or completely free solar system. Recipients must be customers of PG&E, SCE or SDG&E.<\/p>\n Interested in the program, Woodwards attended one of the informational sessions for SASH and decided to apply. A few months later, she was in.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother always told me to save the energy,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I keep screaming to my kids, \u2018Turn off the lights! Use the sun!\u2019 Now we can also use the sun in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n Woodwards remarked that though she had seen solar panels on building rooftops before, she never really understood what they were, let alone imagined that she would own a set herself.<\/p>\n