Dear Editor and Watertown Neighbors,
I know that many of you have received information about the current Watertown solar initiative called Neighborhood Solar. Two years ago, my husband, David Breakstone, and I decided to explore this option when Neighborhood Solar ran for the first time. We had no idea what to expect.
I attended one of the informational meetings and found Ben Mayer of SunBug well-organized, informative, and willing to answer all questions. The program and the process made sense, so David and I asked SunBug Solar, Neighborhood Solar’s installer, to do a site visit and give us a proposal. We thought we would not be good candidates because our roof already had solar thermal panels for hot water. Ben Mayer’s site visit affirmed that we could indeed add solar photovoltaic panels.
Ben was a joy to work with, and SunBug took care of processing all the rebates and permits. Although our system was expected to supply 97% of our electricity, which amazed us, we have not had an electrical bill since it was installed. And it is very nice to have non-taxable income show up in our checking account every three months when the SREC check arrives. Our last one was for about $500.
The cost has turned out to be very doable. Currently, there’s a 23% discount through Neighborhood Solar, which when combined with federal and state tax credits and rebates, brings the system’s cost to half of what it would have been without these incentives. And there’s terrific financing. Instead of paying Eversource (they frequently ask for a rate increase, by the way), we will pay off our loan, and we should be making money in four to five years.
I want to add my enthusiastic endorsement of this program for anyone considering solar. Jocelyn Tager has done all the legwork to make the process easy by finding the best solar company, SunBug Solar, the only solar company in the Greater Boston area to receive Angie’s List’s Super Service award four years running. She is not getting paid. The discount goes straight to you.
There’s not much time left for this program. It ends at the end of December. But there is enough time to get a free look-see, estimate, and proposal. It’s easy. Just send an email to neighborhoodsolar@sunbugsolar.com (and put Neighborhood Solar in the subject line) or call SunBug Solar at 617-500-3938.
It really is a good deal.
Sharon Bauer
Pearl Street