SOLAR-SHARING STARTUP SHINES
‘Sun hosts’ get roof panels, portion of energy generated
A new Boston company that’s being touted as the Airbnb of solar energy is providing the first solar-sharing network in the United States.
Yeloha allows anyone to go solar — even people who rent apartments, or own condos or homes with shady roofs. And unlike community-shared solar projects that use large, ground-mounted solar farms, Yeloha uses existing roofs, instead of taking over large, open spaces.
“We recognized there were two problems: Some people don’t have a roof facing the sun, and some people don’t have the money to go solar, so we decided to connect the two,” said Amit Rosner, Yeloha’s CEO.
Similar to the way Airbnb hosts put their extra room to work, Yeloha’s “sun hosts” do the same with their sun-facing roofs. They receive solar panels and a portion of the energy generated, both free of charge, Rosner said.
“Sun partners” — people who don’t have a sun-facing roof — purchase energy generated on a host’s by deciding how much solar they want to buy and for what length of time.
The clean energy is cheaper than the electricity purchased from the local utility, Rosner said, and the savings appear on both the host’s and the partner’s monthly electricity bills.
Jason Slater, 35, of Dedham had 28 solar panels installed on his roof at the end of July after Yeloha found his house — which sits on top of a hill, unobstructed by shade trees — on Google Earth.
“If I were receiving all of the generation, the 28 panels would likely cover all of my electricity costs, but under my agreement with Yeloha, I’m only entitled to 25 percent,” Slater said. “In comparison to the two other solar companies I’ve talked to, that’s still a better deal.”
Yeloha monitors how much energy is produced and how much sun partners paid for, and then tells the utility company how many credits Yeloha’s clients are entitled to, Rosner said.
“The beautiful thing,” he said, “is people are helping each other do what they could not have done alone.”
Before the end of the year, Angel Simpson, a middle school teacher who owns a home in Roxbury, will be supplying energy to Whitney Tibolt, an elementary school teacher who owns a condominium on the basement and first floor of a sixstory building in the North End.
“It’s like my roof is giving back to the community,” said Simpson, 57. “Many of the children in both my school and the community have asthma. So I wanted to reduce carbon emissions so that people can breathe clean, fresh air. That’s my dream: to have people support each other.”
Tibolt, 46, has paid $650 for one year — or $65 per solar panel to be installed on Simpson’s roof — and expects to save about 10 percent on her electric bill. “But even if it’s an even exchange, I’m much happier knowing I’m preventing that much carbon from going into the atmosphere,” she said. “If I can reduce my carbon footprint, that feels good.”