Honda, SolarCity team up to offer EV + PV

honda-solarcity-screen-shotSunPower has teamed up with Nissan and Ford, Solarcity has worked together with Mitsubishi, and now Solarcity and Honda are pairing up to push forward solar-charged driving.

The solar company and car company today (Feb. 20) announced a partnership to make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers in the U.S., providing a cleaner source of electricity at a lower cost than utility-supplied power.

As the firms put it in a news release –>

“Honda and SolarCity will explore opportunities to integrate solar power and electric vehicle recharging, envisioning a future in which Fit EV and Accord Plug-In Hybrid owners will be able to charge their cars from the power of the sun.”

$65 million in solar projects
The partnership establishes an investment fund to finance $65 million in solar projects to assist Honda and Acura customers with the initial cost of solar power installation. Through the partnership, according to Solarcity, Honda and Acura customers and dealerships will be able to install solar power with little or no upfront cost, depending on the customer’s choice of plans.

“By making it easier and more affordable for its customers to use clean power, Honda is reinforcing the fact that solar is the new normal,” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.

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Customers will be given a choice to pre-pay for their solar electricity or pay a monthly payment that will be lower than the cost of their current utility bill, with insurance, repairs and monitoring service included. Millions of Honda and Acura customers and hundreds of dealerships in SolarCity’s 14-state service area may be eligible for the special offer, and SolarCity and Honda expect to be able to accommodate thousands of interested homeowners in the fund.

“We believe Honda and Acura customers are going to be very interested in going solar once they find out that they can install solar at their home with little or no upfront cost, can lower their monthly utility bill, and can make a positive contribution to protecting the environment,” said Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

SolarCity offers service in all or parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. Honda and Acura customers interested in these new clean energy options can find more information atwww.hondasolarcity.com.

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