California gives solar panels to low-income homeowners

Sunshine may be a free gift from nature, but harnessing its power comes with a hefty price tag: installing residential solar panels can cost more than $15,000.

That hefty price-tag has made solar panels a luxury reserved for middle-to-upper class homeowners. But, California is aiming to bring the green power to all.

A new state-run program - paid for with money raised through California's cap and trade system - will see more than 1,600 roof-top panels installed by the end of next year. 

"I haven't received my first electricity bill yet, but I'm excited to receive it," says Bertha Hansbrough, who had solar panels installed on her home in Gardena, California earlier this month. 

She tells As It Happens co-host Carol Off that she expects to save upwards of 75% of her $150 US monthly bill. "I really like going to the metre and seeing the arrow pointing in the opposite direction," Hansbrough says, showing the solar panels are adding energy to the power grid, rather than drawing on it. 

The program, which will be run by an Oakland NGO called Grid Alternatives, is expected to save residents roughly $800 US in the first year and as much as $32,000 US over the panels' 30-year life span.

To qualify, applicants must live in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, as designated by the state. They must own their homes and make no more than 80 percent of their community's median household income.

"It makes a big difference in how often you wash, how you let your children or grandkids use the computer; all of those things that make kids kids," she says of her lower electricity costs.

Hansbrough had considered having solar panels installed on her home years ago, but it would cost more than $23,000 to buy the panels and have them installed; making them impossible. She paid nothing under the new Grid Alternatives program. Ongoing maintenance will also be covered. 

Hansbrough says she plans on putting the cost savings into an education fund for her grandchildren.