Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Renewable Energy Access through Leasing Act of 2011 or the REAL Act of 2011. I'd like to thank Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Mark Udall for joining in this bipartisan effort. Many homeowners would like to install solar panels or other renewable energy systems, but face the daunting challenge of paying the upfront cost for the technology. To purchase and install a new solar energy system, for example, can cost between $20,000 and $30,000. This is a significant and often prohibitive cost, even when more than justified by long-term savings. A promising option to promote residential use of renewable energy is leasing. Here is how it works: A company pays to purchase and install the system and the homeowner pays a fixed monthly fee to lease the renewable energy system from the company. It is easy for the homeowner, often requires no upfront cost, and can even save them money on electricity bills. Leasing has been successfully used for everything from satellite TV dishes to car. Why not solar panels too? One of the problems has been that renewable energy system leasing does not have a well-established financial market. Investors are reluctant to pursue these opportunities, in large part because of the uncertain lifespan of the renewable energy systems. The REAL Act would address that problem by having the Department of Energy insure the value of the lease.…”