Palo Alto Businesses Skip Solar Program

Local businesses have been encouraged to sign up for Palo Alto CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now), selling excess energy generated by rooftop solar systems to the city's Utilities Department. When the program was rolled out in March, backers hoped to buy an extra 4 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power 1,250 homes.

Things haven’t worked out that way, according to Palo Alto Online, which reports that not a single company has joined the program.

While several companies expressed an interest in the program, they shied away after crunching the numbers.

Now the city’s Utilities department is crunching the numbers, seeking a way to sweeten the deal for businesses without impacting ratepayers.