Willow Glen Resident
News
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Fully Charged: Willow Glen resident Susan Price-Jang chose solar-powered energy for her Goodwin Avenue home.
Local resident greets Earth Day with a plan
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
As global warming discussions heat up, one Willow Glen resident already has a plan.
Mike Borbely has been a proponent of solar power for a long time. He launched a website, writes blogs and facilitates discussion panels on his site where residents can become informed and chat with each other to compare notes on the use of solar energy.
Most recently, his efforts have led to something bigger--a joint effort between SolarCity and Willow Glen.
Borbely is working as a "solar champ," or liaison between residents and SolarCity, a solar energy company based in Foster City. The company is bringing its community program--designed to offer significant discounts on solar electric systems to homeowners and businesses that participate--to San Jose.
"It takes someone on the ground level," says SolarCity Solar sales consultant Don Giberson, "a 'solar champ' to help rally the community. Mike was very aggressive about making sure we brought the program to San Jose."
Borbely also caught the attention of other Willow Glen residents as well.
"I think it's great that he is taking the initiative to put together this website and community resource," says Willow Glen resident Caroline Alemany.
She is also interested in solar power and says thanks to Borbely and his willingness to share his knowledge, she feels at ease with the renewable energy source.
Currently, the market price for energy is about $10.04 per kilowatt, Giberson says. Through the program, the discounted rate will be offered it at $7 until July 31.
"We want to help people save," Giberson says.
The savings, however, don't stop at the financial level. He says SolarCity wants to help residents do their part for the environment.
The area defined for this program will be Willow Glen, Rose Garden and Cambrian, or ZIP codes 95125, 95126 and 95124. The reasoning behind launching the program in these three communities is that the company can come in on a single day and install the systems at relatively close homes, Giberson says.
The goal of the program is to reach 175 kilowatts, or 40 to 45 homes using a 4 kilowatt solar panel system.
The wattage used in each system varies, depending on the size of the area the system will serve.
Harnessing the sun's energy just makes sense, Borbely says.
"We get more than 300 days of sunshine a year," Borbely says. "We should take advantage of this."
Community workshops are being held for the three areas, where residents can come and learn about the program and have their questions answered.
"We take the mystery out of solar power," says SolarCity marketing manager Heather Vaughan.
The solar company has had success in the other communities it has visited for the program, such as Portola Valley and Mountain View, Vaughan says.
The hidden strength of the program, however, is that with the community workshops, people have a forum to ask questions.
"The value of the workshops is tremendous," Vaughan says. "Residents get to ask all the questions they may have about the systems like 'How many people have purchased solar?' 'Am I getting a good value or price?' 'How will I know?' "
Solar companies in the past have not been good about conducting outreach, Vaughan says. It's hard for residents to adopt a new form of energy without knowing anyone else who had done so successfully, she says.
"The more people talk about this, the more it creates an energy around solar power," she says.
A Solar San Jose community workshop is set for April 21 at 10 a.m. at the Towne Theater, 1433 The Alameda.
The second workshop will be held May 12 at 10 a.m., Hoover Community Center, 1677 Park Ave.
Willow Glen resident Mike Borbely has set up the workshops with SolarCity.
For more information or to RSVP to a workshop, visit www.solarsanjose.com.
