Interested to learn how solar works, especially here in Seattle? Join A&R Solar, Verity Credit Union, and your neighbors to learn about solar in a fun, no pressure environment. We will be holding Solar 101 workshops at three Seattle Verity locations: Thursday, Sept 21 at Verity's Wallingford Branch, 4545 Stone Way N, Seattle, WA 98103, from 6-7:30 pm Tuesday, Sept 26 at Verity's...
The Washington State Legislature has approved a new solar production incentive, enabling thousands more homeowners and businesses to go solar during the program’s eight-year timeline. Homeowners Here are the program's highlights: From now until June 2021, homeowners who install a grid-connected solar photovoltaic system can receive up to $5,000 per year for eight years. Your eight years start as soon as your...
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the regional wholesaler of federal hydropower, announced that it expects rates to increase 5.5 percent over the next two years. The BPA’s customers —there are more than 120 — primarily are electric utilities in the Northwest, which in turn sell the power to their customers. For example, Seattle City Light purchases about 40 percent of its...
We find that a lot of people are disappointed to learn that solar won’t offset all of their electricity costs. But they shouldn’t be. Only a fraction of people have the needed resources to offset 100 percent. Many of our customers fall in the 50-75 percent range. And plenty others only see 20-40 percent of their electricity offset by solar. Why is this?...
As the costs of renewable energy continues to come down--even passing coal and natural gas in some markets--solar developers are increasingly looking for land to host solar projects. Here are a few helpful tips to find out if your land is a good resource to become a solar farm. How much acreage do you have? One megawatt of solar typically requires 6-8...
When the power goes out, will you be ready? The emerging battery storage market will offer solar homeowners peace of mind during outages and natural disasters, while safeguarding against spikes in electricity rates. The cutting-edge products available to us in the Pacific Northwest aren’t quite ready for prime time--yet. Several companies are planning major product releases in the coming months, and we...
We feel you. Ever since Elon Musk announced that Tesla would unveil a new solar roof, we’ve been all a-tingle. After all, who doesn’t love a big advancement in the solar industry? But, like you, we’re still waiting on the details, including how much these shingles will cost and when they will be available in Washington and Oregon (heck, we’re still...
Ten years ago, two guys (Andy and Reeves, hence the A&R) founded a company that was based on the crazy notion that people would want to install solar on their homes and businesses in the Pacific Northwest. It turns out that solar works really well here, just ask any of our 1,000+ customers. Like any emerging industry, solar has been through a lot of...
Washington's largest solar project is now complete. The 1.27 megawatt project sits atop the new IKEA store in Renton, which opened Wednesday. Here is the project by the numbers: 1.27 MW 3,250 solar panels 4,770 ballast trays (they hold the panels) 22 inverters 16-25 crew members, including electricians, roof techs, and general laborers 244,000-square-feet Will produce 1,261,000 kWh of electricity, the equivalent...
KidsQuest Children's Museum's new downtown Bellevue location opened to the public after more than a year of renovations. A&R Solar installed a solar energy system on the steep-pitched roof of the museum. And our installation team did it decked out in spandex superhero costumes. A&R Solar donated the system--valued at $25,000--to the museum as part of the Solarize Bellevue campaign. We must admit: It...