Solar power companies have an image problem – and they are beginning to do something about it.
Despite a sharp drop in the price of solar panels and innovative financing plans that have brought the technology to many middle income households over the past decade, it is still seen as a luxury only rich, mostly white, consumers can afford.
That perception both hampers solar expansion in less affluent communities and drives political opposition to initiatives promoting greater use of solar power as a renewable alternative to gas, oil and coal.
Though it has grown dramatically in recent years, solar power still makes up less than 1 percent of U.S. energy supplies and relies heavily on government incentives to compete with traditional energy sources. Those incentives help companies such as SolarCity, Sunrun (RUN.O) and others market solar power contracts that offer customers 20 percent savings on their energy bills.
Read more at Reutershttp://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-solar-minorities-insight-idUSKBN0TS0G220151209#25DFFLYil2ptsi6J.99
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