Solar purchasing program comes to Hornell

Solar power is now an option for all Hornell community members.

Arista Power Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of renewable power solutions, announced on Wednesday that it will be the lead contractor for Solarize Hornell, a solar purchasing program.

Michael Hedges, project director for the program, said Solarize Hornell’s main goal is to bring as much solar power as possible to the community at the most cost-effective rate.

“That goes for all residents, business owners, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations,” he said.

According to a press release, Solarize Hornell is a solar purchasing program that offers competitive pricing, a streamlined process from site assessment to installation and assistance with tax incentive forms, educational workshops and workforce training. The program is available to area home and business owners, farmers, institutions and municipalities on a first-come, first-serve basis until April 30.

Arista Power introduced a similar program in Madison County in June 2012. Mayor Shawn Hogan said Hornell is proud to offer the innovative program to the community.

“Arista Power is offering competitive pricing and an experienced and NYSERDA-certified installation team that will work with local contractors, a strong network of suppliers, a familiarity of our community and the NYSERDA tax incentive application process,” he said. “And (it brings) a strong collaborative company presence that has already successfully solarized a New York state county.”

John Benetti, project director at Arista Power, said the company will install solar equipment — such as panels and an inverter — on customers’ roofs or do ground or pole mounts similar to those at the Hornell Water Treatment Plant.

“If you’ve got enough property that you can do that, that’s another solution," he said. "In most cases, we’re going to put it on someone’s roof if we’re able to.”

Hedges said Arista Power buys the equipment in bulk from VP Supply Corp., a provider of renewable energy products, then passes the savings to customers.

“We do multiple installations in close proximity, so we can save on equipment rental logistics and bulk costs that we can also pass on to our customers,” he said.

Benetti said what the company is doing is offering one bulk price to the entire community.

“When you pair that with the incentives that are out there through NYSERDA and federal and state tax credits, an individual ends up paying about a third of the system cost out-of-pocket in the end,” he said.

Customers would pay the up-front system cost and recoup federal and state tax credits when they get their taxes back, according to Benetti. He said multiple financing tools will help bridge the gap between when customers begin using the system and when they receive their tax credits.

“We’re looking to partner with a local bank, be it a Community Bank or a credit union,” he said. “But people can take advantage of home equity loans and then use the system to pay that off in the next six or seven years. We also have a leasing option that reduces the amount of up-front payment.”

According to Benetti, the more people who participate in the program, the lower the cost is for everybody.

“As more people participate, the price per watt drops,” he said. “Everybody within the program — whether you’re the first person or the last person to sign up — will get that same per-watt charge.”

Community members can sign up for the program now by visiting aristapower.com. As an incentive, the first 10 community members who do so will receive $1,000 off the system cost.

“At the end of April, we’re looking to have anybody who is interested sign a contract with Arista Power, so that we can start to lock in that final pricing for the solarize program,” Benetti said.

The company will hold educational workshops in February, though it has not finalized dates and locations yet.

“The intent of those is to get everybody together and explain what solar is, how it works and kind of demystify the technology for everybody,” Benetti said. “We’ll explain what the solarize program is and then from there, we’ll start doing free site assessments for people.”

In addition to providing clean energy, Arista Power is also allowing customers to lock in their electrical costs for the next 20 or 30 years, Benetti said.

“Another market that we’re seeing is people who are close to retirement. What they’re doing is they’re using a solar energy system to fix their electrical costs during the next 20 years so that when they go to a fixed income, that portion of their budget is already set,” he said.

Benetti said the company is looking forward to proceeding with the program in Hornell.

"We think it's a great place to be," he said.