Here’s one example. Via the Alameda Times-Star (emphasis added):
[Bruce] Cherry joined a small group of East Bay businesses that have taken advantage of the California Solar Initiative program, which provides rebates for installing photovoltaic systems.
“It is good for the environment,” said Cherry, who has one of the four businesses in town harnessing solar power. “It just made sense (to install) in the long run.”
Since the program began in 2007, 155 businesses in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have applied for state funds to help offset the cost of solar-panel systems.
The 542 solar panels on the top of Cherry’s two Dublin Boulevard buildings generate 50 kilowatts of power. He anticipates that year round it will produce enough to supply the tire store with 85 percent of its energy needs.
The system’s peak performing months are March through November because of the abundance of sunshine.
Since March, Cherry’s utility bill dropped from an average $1,500 a month to just $29 — the monthly connection fee he pays to PG&E to be connected to its power grid.
And Cherry, a San Ramon resident, could end up receiving a check from the utility company at the end of his first year in the program. The energy that Cherry doesn’t use goes to the grid, helping to power surrounding businesses. At the end of each year, the utility tallies up how much energy each solar customer produced and used — and pays them for the excess.
