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• about sunrun

Bob & Debbie's Story

With Sunrun, Bob and Debbie were able to go solar without a high upfront cost and finally take control of their electricity.

For most of his life, Bob had always been on the go. Although he had technically lived in Fresno all his life, he was a war veteran who then worked for the world’s largest recycler of hazardous waste. Bob traveled and was on planes approximately 48 weeks out of the year. He did not spend much time at home.

After retiring, Bob finally got the chance to focus on his home and was shocked to discover how high his utility bills had risen. “I got an $800 bill,” Bob exclaimed. He started investigating and realized that the rates were only going to continue to increase. “Not a day goes by when I don’t open up the newspaper and see PG&E asking for another price hike,” said Bob, “Something’s wrong with that picture.”

Bob began to seriously consider getting home solar power in Fresno, but was discouraged by the high upfront costs of the PV systems. He and his wife had been looking into options for several years, but it was always the same story: home solar was “completely cost-prohibitive.” Of course, there were “great tax breaks” available for Fresno solar panels, Bob cited, but as a 100% disabled war veteran, they meant nothing to him as he did not have to pay taxes. Bob had worked for an environmental company for the majority of his life and sustainability and environmental benefits were very important to him. Not only did he want to take control of his high electricity costs but he wanted access to clean energy. “I didn’t know how to get solar power – I didn’t have the cash,” he explained. 

But, then came the fateful home and garden show of a year ago. Frequent attendees of home shows, Bob and his wife were at a yard show last year when they met an Akeena representative. When Bob told the representative about his predicament, the representative smiled, “Boy, do we have a program for you!”

That program was Sunrun home solar financing. With a Sunrun power purchase agreement, Bob and his wife were finally able to get their Fresno solar home. They installed a Sunrun system the same size as his best friend’s, without having to pay the $40,000 his friend had paid.  

Bob was so happy with his new Fresno solar power system, that he’s been spreading the Sunrun word to his friends, family, and neighbors. Having referred 5 people to Sunrun, he has received 5 free months of electricity and those whom he referred have a free month each! Thanks to Bob and other homeowners like him, the Fresno solar community is growing faster than ever. “You have to afford to be green,” Bob said, “but you guys made it affordable. No one can be perfect, but you guys are close.”