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Given the info at this page and the seeming MLM-scheme detailed on this page I'm rather inclined to believe the less altruistic motivation, but I could be mistaken. Ah, well. At least his commentary is generally well-written.

Given the info at this page and the seeming MLM-scheme detailed on this page I'm rather inclined to believe the less altruistic motivation, but I could be mistaken. Ah, well. At least his commentary is generally well-written.

Oh good lord, you work for or are running a fucking green energy company. Hoping to scam the public purse for your dinner are you? Conflicts of interest? How can you possibly give out an objective opinion on this subject?

What a fraud!

You wouldn't happen to be basing your comments on your personal economic interests at the expense of objective facts, would you?

Here's a chance to get the blue-collar side going: http://www.citizenre.com/web/index.php?p=franchise d.
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US job growth through solar power: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html

Please read the contract again - the "approval" is not the approval by the client of the designs, but the approval by the company of the client's "application". The money is due when the company gives the customer the design - which can be years before its installed.

No contract for the plant exists. Public hearings are required for zoning changes, and anything that large would attract a lot of attention. Like municipal zoning change requests ... which are public.

The investors being scammed are the future investors - "look, we have this huge order backlog - lend us money for the plant" - as well as anyone foolish enough to sign up for this sight unseen.

The clause about owing the 25 years rental in one shot is for any default - which includes not paying the $500 when the "design plans" are submitted to the client. This would make a nice scam - give the client plans, then when they refuse to pay the deposit because the delivery date is years off, they're in default - collect $40,000.00 (and if they don't pay it, seize their home).

Read 7.2 again. It doesn't say the customer has any approval or veto on the design:

A Security Deposit is required of the Customer upon approval of the REnU's engineering design. The Security Deposit is $500 for all REnU systems with a nameplate capacity of 5 KWp DC or less, and for REnU systems with a nameplate capacity larger than 5 KWp DC it is $500 plus 10 cents per Wp DC for every Wp DC greater than 5 KWp DC. This Security Deposit and any interest is maintained by Provider and will be applied against the recovery cost of a REnU in the event of Customer cancellation or Provider termination of the Rental because of Customer's failure to pay or for some other breach on Customer's part. Upon completion of this Agreement, and after final rent and other charges are paid in full, the Security Deposit will be completely returned with interest. Interest will be based upon the 1-year U.S. Treasury Note. Inter- est will be compounded

It's the company that approves the design - not the customer; after all, its the company that has to approve the design (drawn up by either their workers or a 3rd party contractor), then give it, along with a billl for $500, to the customer.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the "termination options"
http://renu.citizenre.com/index.php?p=svc_h_ter
Nowhere is there an option for the customer to terminate the agreement if "they don't approve the design". Nowhere! Quite the contrary. Once they've been "approved", they're stuck.

If the customer could cancel the agreement after their "application" has been accepted, why not say it somewhere on the site? They don't.

Again, they don't have a factory, nor do they even have a site for it; they don't have the money, and their contracts are designed to mislead. Sorry, but it doesn't pass the "smell test".

Yes, my link http://www.qcimarketing.com/ is redirected to http://www.jointhesolution.com/olero/. QCIMarketing.com is easier for people to remember, so that's how I have it setup (I don't believe I'm the only one who uses a redirect on the Internet, do you?). Unseemly? You're kidding, right? If you really feel that way, then I'm sure the Fortune 1000 "seems" "unseemly" to you (and your miniscule "anti-redirect" group) then, too, right?

I'm sure you can understand these economics: Our costs are about half of our competition due to many reasons, supply-chain integration being one of them.

Who says we won't be selling them in the future? Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions...

As far as your comment on our website design, you'll have to forgive me, I'm not sure of the point you are making here (sounds like a personal web design preference to me), but we do have 3 main web functions: corporate information (http://www.citizenre.com/), customer information (http://www.jointhesolution.com/olero/), and associate information (http://www.powur.com/olero/).

Hope that helps explain things a little better for you.

PJ

http://www.qcimarketing.com/

I don't vouch for any particular scheme, but I'm not swallowing the magic "sequestration" pill either.

"Without wrecking every economy in the world and more or less completely stopping third world development"

To malign climate models and then proffer far less robust economic models as justification to do nothing is bordering on religious dogma. Friedman's economic model has two major logical holes, it assumes resources are unlimited and polution is "someone else's problem", both assumptions are clearly false.

Oh and BTW, China and India are "developing" nations, the "third world" use most of thier energy wandering around the desert looking for food and water.

You can rent the solar panels from http://renu.citizenre.com/ and just pay them for the electricity they generate at the same rate you're paying the utility company.

I've signed up but panels won't be available until September. Also, you have to put down a $500 security deposit and you'll probably want to check with your homeowner's insurance to see what you need to do to protect them.

You might want to check out the REnU program at Citizenre, http://renu.citizenre.com/

The gist of the program is that they will buy, install and maintain a solar electric system for your home. You then sign a contract and agree to pay them for the electricity generated by the solar system. You can sign a contract for 1, 5, 10 or 25 years and you get a fixed rate per Kilowatt throughout the contract period that is your current rate off the grid at the time of sign-up. So if you are currently paying 10 cents a Kilowatt when you sign up for a 25 year contract, then that price is fixed for 25 years.

The beauty of this program is that it allows any homeowner to have a solar system without the huge upfront costs. You will need to continue service with your current electric company as this is a grid-tied system (no batteries). You will need to be in a state that has a net-metering law for it to be of any use (as they will include enough panels to feed the grid during sunny days and then you can draw back your energy credits at night off the grid.) Even though it is possible that you will not be paying any more money to your local electric company for electricity, you may still be charged a monthly connect fee. You will also need to make sure that your homeowners insurance covers the solar system as they will not be responsible for damages such as a tree limb falling on the panels.

Overall, I looked at the program and was quite impressed how consumer friendly it was. I am always looking for the "catch" and I could not really find it. They require a $500 deposit and will only dock you the deposit if you decide to break the contract (as long as you allow them to recover their system and it is in good condition.) They will maintain the system and keep it in good repair throughout the contract like one would expect from a power company. They will even add more panels to your system or subtract panels from your system based on your changing energy needs.

I was pretty impressed, and if they can get enough product together as well as the infrastructure to pull this off, I can see the majority of whole neighborhoods going with this plan. Instant carbon neutrality.

This guy's system is very highly customized. Normal solar installations, if they're off-grid, batteries instead of expensive fuel cells. They also live in smaller houses without ludicrous energy needs like hot tubs, and they use efficient appliances.

Here's a solar installation that's grid tied and only cost $12,000. Then there's Renu which, for a $500 security deposit and the current rate from your electric company, will design, install, and maintain a grid-tied solar system on your roof. Not only is your electric rate locked in for a period of years (imagine how much you'll save paying 2006 electric rates in 2026), the $500 security deposit bears interest over the length of the contract. At about 6%, compounded annually over 25 years, that adds up to $2,145.94.

And this is the reason so few people (including me) are "green".

You don't need to spend half a million bucks to be "green." A big part of being "green" is making informed decisions about consumption, and changing some of your habits. Do you recycle? Do you buy compact fluorescent light bulbs? Have you installed a programmable thermostat? What about an insulating jacket for your hot water heater? If you've done any of these things, you're "green."

If you do it right, being "green" will save you more money than you spend. For example: My friend lives in a similar sized house to mine, in the same neighborhood. He's got a conventional thermostat, an unjacketed water heater, and normal light bulbs. His electric and gas bills are about 40% higher than mine. My $40 programmable thermostat and $20 water heater jacket save me more money in a month than they cost cost, and I installed them myself. My compact flourescent light bulbs, bought in bulk from CostCo, save me more money in a year than they cost me initially, and nobody has ever complained about the color or the sound of the lighting.

You can go further. My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive-solar home that was heated with a wood stove and electricity and it cost less to build and significantly less to heat and cool than a normal home, but was just as comfortable. He did this by using his head and thinking about each design element of the house before he started building.

So while there are tons of people out there who do crazy stuff like this, most "greens" simply think before they act, and save a ton of money by not going along with the crowd. The degree to which you want to green your life is up to you. But don't think you need to live up to these examples. Do what you think is best. Just do something!

For those who don't want to bother with the expense of buying and installing your own PV system, there's Renu. With a $500 deposit, they'll design and install an grid-tied PV system for you and charge you only for what it produces at the current rate, which you can lock in for 5 or 25 years. And if you've got a 25 year contract they'll move the system when you move.

Actually, Solar Power is already feasible. A study that was commissioned by the European Union in 1995 tasked the European Photovoltaic Industry Association to determine what it would take to make PV electricity cost competitive with traditional power. BP Solar was the lead investigating company and reported to the EU in 1997 that they could make PV comparable if they built a 500MWp plant.

As a matter of fact, one of the newest players in the renewable energy market - The Citizenre Corporation - is offering Solar Power to all American homes at virtually no cost to the home owners. The Program, called REnU - which stands for Residential Energy Unit - represents the most forward-thinking initiative toward energy independence and preservation of the environment.

We might actually go down the history books as the last generation who burned anything to make a watt.

Actually, Solar Power is already feasible. A study that was commissioned by the European Union in 1995 tasked the European Photovoltaic Industry Association to determine what it would take to make PV electricity cost competitive with traditional power. BP Solar was the lead investigating company and reported to the EU in 1997 that they could make PV comparable if they built a 500MWp plant.

As a matter of fact, one of the newest players in the renewable energy market - The Citizenre Corporation - is offering Solar Power to all American homes at virtually no cost to the home owners. The Program, called REnU - which stands for Residential Energy Unit - represents the most forward-thinking initiative toward energy independence and preservation of the environment.

We might actually go down the history books as the last generation who burned anything to make a watt.