GoSolarMarin announced last month that it had sent a Request for Proposal (RFP) to 15 solar companies that had expressed an interest in bidding on a "group installation" contract to bring solar power to Marin County homeowners.
Published: November, 2007
GoSolarMarin Issues RFP to 15 Solar Companies
GoSolarMarin announced last month that it had sent a Request for Proposal (RFP) to 15 solar companies that had expressed an interest in bidding on a group installation contract to bring solar power to Marin County homeowners. The coalition of homeowners now numbers in the hundreds; the eight-page RFP contained specific conditions to be met by the bidding companies, which range from local to regional and national solar providers.
Lisa Max, the creator of GoSolarMarin, said that the RFP focused on specifics, including price, quality of material, and workmanship and performance ratings from other installations.
I have been in continuing conversations with nearly all the firms that requested the RFP, Max, a San Rafael resident, said. In our initial meeting with homeowners several weeks ago, the discussion revolved around discounts in the 20-30 percent range for a group installation contract. Since then, none of the companies have suggested that type of pricing is out of the question.
She said the ultimate pricing will be influenced by the number of homeowners who commit: The more that sign up, the better the pricing.
Max said the RFP had been constructed by a volunteer committee chosen from the group that attended the public meeting held October 1 at the San Rafael Corporate Center. At that meeting, eight of the companies as well as Dana Armanino, the Marin County Sustainability Coordinator, were on hand to answer questions and to discuss solar power.
We are keeping to the schedule that we set out at that meeting, Max said, noting that the RFP calls for the installation work to be carried out during the first half of 2008.
The RFP established other deadlines:
• October 24, companies to return completed RFPs
• October 25-31, RFP reviews and reference checks
• November 1, vendor selection
To this point, the response of homeowners and the support of local officials has been entirely supportive, Max said. The companies, although competitive, have also been quite helpful when we have asked for information. I’m now beginning the process of talking to banks and finance companies to see what avenues are available there for our coalition.
GoSolarMarin, supported by the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods, the Lincoln San Rafael Hill Neighborhood Association, Sustainable Marin, Sustainable San Rafael, Sustainable Novato, and MarinLink, has expanded its focus to include all residential homeowners in Marin County. My original concept was for my neighborhood, Max said, but each time that I talked with another group, the support was such that I’ve decided that strength in numbers should translate into lower prices and better contract terms.
