I'm going to give away a business idea. If you - or someone you know - can implement this, I want to hear about it and become your customer.
We've looked into putting photovoltaic (solar) panels onto our home, but there are a number of problems. We have an old - and beautiful - oak tree to the south that we'd have to cut down, and the roof slopes face east and west, not south, so the orientation isn't ideal.
In thinking that over, I came up with a solution, but I don't have the time, inclination, or startup money to make it happen. What if someone were to setup a solar farm elsewhere that I could buy into?
Instead of installing PV panels on my roof, they might be installed in the desert, somewhere that gets more sunlight than my home does. The people running the installation could buy panels in bulk and pass the savings on to me. They could even gang many more panels together, buying fewer inverters and other related equipment, reducing costs even more.
I'd be willing to sign over any credit money to such a facility to help defay the cost of installation, and I'd pay for the rest of it myself, so long as I get the credit on my PG&E bill as if I'd installed the panels on my rooftop.
That last point is key. If I can be treated exactly like I installed the panels on my roof - even though they are installed somewhere else - I'll be happy.
Do you know someone with an interest in this business that might consider such a scheme? I want no royalties or kickbacks. I just want to be able to do it.
If someone bought 100 acres of land in the desert somewhere with good access to the power grid and let people like me pay to put solar panels on it - reducing our electricity bills in the process - I'd be a happy camper. Please contact me if you know of someone doing something like this, or if you're interested in the idea.
