SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Credit Union and the city of San Jose have entered into a partnership that allows SJCU members to buy solar electric and solar thermal systems at a reduced cost.
The $125-million credit union is participating in San Jose’s Solar America City Program, which was negotiated by a group of 130 city employees and retirees. According to the city and the credit union, the partnership, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., will “provide technical and strategic expertise to help group members, no matter where they live, reap the benefits of volume purchasing and low interest loans. The group buy model lowers solar system cost for a large group of homeowners and encourages community participation in achieving San Jose’s Green Vision goals, as well as neighboring cities' environmental goals.”
The city of San Jose is recognized for generating more power from the sun than any other city in California. The San Jose Employee Solar Group Buy program builds upon the success of similar community group solar purchases in Portland, Ore., and other cities across the country, and takes the model from the neighborhood and city-specific level to the organizational level.
SunPower Corp. and SunWater Solar, the solar providers chosen for the project, were selected through a competitive bid process. An independent, seven-member volunteer evaluation committee selected the vendors. The goal is to install solar electric and solar thermal systems on more than 130 homes, adding more than 300 kilowatts of new solar electric capacity throughout the Bay Area.
