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Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?: Yes

Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:: I have been working very hard for the last 5 years to learn all I can and to share what I have learned with others.

I was lucky enough to have my efforts put in print on the front page of my local paper:

Brighter than sunshine
By GRANT HUANG Staff Writer
Subscribe to the Maryland Gazette
________________________________________
Jim Artuso is a man on a mission to spread the word about home solar power.
The Glen Burnie resident is one of more than 700 independent sales agents for a controversial Delaware-based energy startup called Citizenre.

The company is promising to bring solar power to the masses by allowing homeowners to rent the expensive equipment required at a fraction of the cost needed to buy it. Local experts say it's a claim that can't be fulfilled, a pipe dream likely to damage an infant industry's credibility.

But regardless of whether it can deliver, Citizenre's powerful message is spreading rapidly thanks to local sales agents around the country like Mr. Artuso. More than 20,700 homeowners nationwide - including 78 county residents - have signed up to reserve the company's solar power systems, which won't be ready for installation until sometime in 2008.

"The number (of homeowners reserving systems) is going up by hundreds each week. It's a wonderful number," said Erika Morgan, Citizenre's vice president of communications. "It proves our pilot proposition, which is that people will accept this deal and sign up for a long-term rental even knowing they won't get the system this year. It also proves our associates are interested in selling this deal even though they're not being paid a dime to do it right now."

That's right. Mr. Artuso won't get any money for his efforts, including the 50 signs he's erected along county roads this summer. He paid for those out of pocket, but that's no sweat for a self-described regular Joe who truly believes in the future of solar.

"I've heard about solar power since I was in elementary school. The technology has been there that long," said Mr. Artuso, who pays the bills by working as a production line mechanic for Phillips Foods Inc. in Baltimore. "It's just been out of reach for 30 years because it's too expensive. (Citizenre) is designed to bring solar to the average guy, like me. And if they don't work out, I don't lose anything but the time I spent getting the word out."

He gives only the noblest of reasons for getting the word out. Freedom from corporate titans like Constellation Energy. Reduced reliance on coal, which fuels the power plants providing the vast majority of household electricity. Oh, and a chance to save the world, one kilowatt-hour of pollutant-free, green energy at a time.

Money is the catch

Of course, solar power alone can't power a house year-round, even if the entire roof were covered with solar panels.

Electricity output drops on cloudy days, at nighttime and during the winter, when days are shorter. That means BGE and Constellation Energy will always supply some of the power.

But the biggest catch is money. It costs between $30,000 and $50,000 to buy and install a solar power system big enough to provide electricity for the average home.

That's why the whole point of Citizenre's residential rental model is affordability, Ms. Morgan said. To cut costs, Citizenre plans to produce its own solar panels en masse at a manufacturing facility that it will build and operate.

But the company won't say when or even where the facility will be built, only that it's "somewhere in the northeastern U.S." and that construction has yet to begin.

Critics see the secrecy as evidence of a possible scam.

"They claim they're going to build a factory that's going to revolutionize the price of their product. But it's the missing ingredient here, central to everything they're spinning," said Peter Lowenthal, executive director of the Maryland-D.C.-Virginia chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "Maybe they'll raise a billion dollars and make this happen. But for now, selling promises is very upsetting to an industry that's just getting on its feet."

Ms. Morgan said the secrecy is necessary because Citizenre is in the midst of sensitive negotiations with two state governments, both of which are vying to host the manufacturing plant.

"We may look back on this and say we've been silent too long," she said. "But if we released partial information that people would poke holes in, we would regret that as well."

She said a formal announcement on the location and time frame for the facility will come within two months.

Not a scam?

Citizenre's secrecy and waiting period have stirred local skepticism.

Myrl Hartman was driving along Ritchie Highway in July when he noticed one of the signs Mr. Artuso had put up, advertising cheap solar power.

Though the 84-year-old Glen Burnie resident signed up with Mr. Artuso to reserve a system, he also asked the Maryland Gazette to look into Citizenre's business practices.

"I read the contract and I showed it to my daughter-in-law and she goes, 'oh it's got to be a scam,' " Mr. Hartman recalled. "It just sounded too good to be true."

Here's Citizenre's pitch.

Customers sign up for contracts lasting one, five or 25 years, paying a monthly rate per kilowatt-hour that's based on a 12-month average of utility rates in their state. This rate is only updated at the end of each year, which is why Citizenre's Maryland rate is only 8.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, far less than the 14 cents per kilowatt-hour BGE is charging after its rate hikes. Citizenre allows users to lock in the lower rate for the duration of their contract.

According to 2001 data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the average household consumes roughly 29 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, which means Citizenre customers already signed up will pay a monthly rental fee of around $77. Using the same electricity consumption data, BGE customers would pay a monthly utility bill of approximately $122. These figures are based on many averages, such as a home size of 1,500 square feet.

On top of the monthly fees, Citizenre customers must pay a $500 security deposit that's returned at the end of the contract period. If the contract is broken, the company keeps the deposit and will rent the solar power system to another customer.

None of these fees will be charged until Citizenre actually installs the system, which means the company's early marketing scheme is legal.

"As long as there's full disclosure and they're not taking that security deposit until they come through (with the solar power systems), they're not scamming the consumer," said Racquel Gillory, a spokesman for the Maryland Attorney General's Office. "As I understand it, if they don't install the systems, the contract is null and void."

Citizenre's technical claims and business model also seem feasible, if impossible to prove.

"Everything they say is theoretically possible. I don't find any lies," said Paul Maycock, who created the Department of Energy's photovoltaics division in 1975 and now runs a consulting company called Photovoltaic Systems, Inc. "What I don't have is information on how and when they are going to get systems installed ... that result in their model being financially sound."

Ms. Morgan countered by saying outside observers are speculating without all the facts.

"If you try to reverse-engineer our business model, but don't have our proprietary information, of course you can't make it work," she said. "I think we've got the early mover black eye. I think we've responded to that by being very low-key. And time will tell whether that was wise."

A sunny solar future

Aside from waiting, there doesn't appear to be any sure way of knowing whether Citizenre can deliver. But one thing seems clear: residential solar power is poised to explode in Maryland, even if Citizenre winds up buried beneath a mountain of hype.

Chesapeake Wind and Solar, a Jessup company that sells and installs home solar power systems, has seen triple-digit sales growth over the last seven years.

"We're finding that our phone is absolutely ringing off the hook with people who are concerned about their future energy supply," said CEO Richard Deutschmann. "They're concerned about their bills, they're concerned about global warming ... and they want to talk about installing residential solar."

Chesapeake Wind and Solar now installs an average of five home solar power systems a month, with each system costing between $30,000 and $40,000.

State and federal incentives have played a major role in fueling the interest in solar.

For instance, Maryland is one of 38 states that have passed "net-metering" legislation, which allows homeowners to send any extra solar-generated electricity back into the utility grid. In return, they receive credit against their bill from companies like BGE, which must produce 2 percent of their power through renewable sources by 2020 under state law.

The Maryland Energy Administration issues grants of up to $3,000 for home solar power systems. Homeowners who install the systems are also eligible for a federal tax credit capped at $2,000.

Add it all up and it could take 40 or even 50 percent off the purchase price of a system.

The savings still aren't enough for Mr. Artuso to buy a whole system for himself, but he encouraged homeowners with enough money to take the leap without waiting for Citizenre. He plans to keep on spreading the word, and he's won at least one convert: Mr. Hartman, who's gone from skeptic to fellow Citizenre salesman.

"I believe in solar," Mr. Hartman said. "I believe in anything that will produce renewable energy for this country."

Asked what he would do if Citizenre proves to be a house of cards, Mr. Artuso smiled, only a little sadly.

"Hopefully someone else with bigger backers and more money will come along," he said. "I'll go back to trying to put solar on my roof, one panel at a time."
________________________________________
Published 09/08/07, Copyright © 2007 Maryland Gazette,
Glen Burnie, Md.

Please HELP do for solar what Pickens is doing for wind! Visit www.powur.com/homeenergy1 and click on View Our Mission - watch the presentation. Then join by hitting the backspace arrow and sign up by clicking Become an Ecopreneur.

contact me jimartuso@tmail.com

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What excites you about this campaign?: This campaign helps bring to light the fact that we all can see the trouble our country is headed for, and it shows that we will no longer wait for our leaders to finish making their profits before they move forward and help our nation.

What do you want to do to help?: Getting the word out is all fine and dandy, but I want to generate action on a large scale.
I would like to start a renewable energies expo in my state. I live right outside of Washington D.C. and we are clueless about renewable energy.
Saying that WE ARE ADDICTED TO OIL is a load of crap. How can you be addicted if you have NO other choice.

James Artuso's Blog

Homeowner seeking backyard wind power

Homeowner seeking backyard wind power
By ALLISON BOURG Staff Writer
Subscribe to the Maryland Gazette

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A Pasadena man is seeking permission to put two wind turbines on his property near Downs Memorial Park, apparently the first such request to come before the county.
Richard Hawse and his wife, Mary, are not only requesting a zoning variance next week to allow structures taller than 25 feet on his 4-acre property c… Continue

Posted on September 23, 2008 at 11:00pm — 3 Comments

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At 12:59am on November 3, 2009, Louielamson2000 said…: Hello James. Thanks for posed up the articles [home solar power] on your page. Please keep in contact .Have nice day.