Let the Sun Shine: Lennar Homes Plans to Install Solar Energy Systems on All Its New Houses.

By Sanford Nax, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Aug. 22–One of the central San Joaquin Valley’s largest home builders is taking the alternative-energy movement a significant step forward with the announcement that it will make solar energy standard on all its new houses.

Officials at Lennar Homes said they will begin with 258 houses at their Chateau at Cathedral project in Clovis and Orchard Estates II in Reedley, and then spread the program to other projects as they come on line.

Each house comes with a rooftop solar electric power system as standard equipment. The 2.3-kilowatt system, which would cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to install on an existing house, is expected to cut energy bills 40% to 60%, said Charles Schein, marketing manager. Home buyers also get a one-time tax credit of $2,000.

Lennar officials said they are not increasing the prices of the houses to absorb the additional cost but do get a break by purchasing the systems in bulk. The company also is eligible for a state rebate that is equal to about 30% of the cost of the system, said Bill Kelly, general manager of the new homes division of SunPower, the San Jose business that provides the solar systems.

Lennar, which builds up to 1,000 houses per year from Tulare to Fresno, is the largest developer in the region to make solar a standard feature. The company is expanding the program statewide after rolling it out in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, Schein said.

Lennar’s commitment to solar power runs tandem with Gov. Schwarzenegger’s effort to make California the nation’s leader in alternative energy. In 2006, the governor signed legislation that put the finishing touches on his Million Solar Roofs Plan, which provides incentives to builders and homeowners who install solar panels in new homes and convert to solar energy in existing residences.

“We have to differentiate ourselves. It is a way to give back to the environment we change by putting new homes on it,” Schein said.

The number of builders installing solar systems is growing but remains a fraction of all new subdivisions. The California Building Industry Association estimates that 1,500 new solar-powered houses were built last year for about 2% of total construction.

This year, developers from Chico to San Diego have submitted applications for almost 700 residential solar systems through the California Energy Commission’s Solar Homes Partnership program, which provides the financial incentives and other support, said Amy Morgan, a CEC spokeswoman.

SunPower is working with 10 builders in California, with Lennar being the largest, Kelly said.

“They were the first national builder to step up to the plate,” he said. “Others are following their lead.”

SunPower estimates that as many as 5% of new houses in the state this year could feature solar panels.

“That may not sound that impressive and relatively small but at the same time it was less than 1% a couple years ago,” Kelly said.

Dave Brown, commercial and residential design consultant for Akeena Solar in Clovis, said the installation rate in the Valley is among the nation’s greatest because utility costs keep climbing.

Lennar is not the first in the Valley to offer solar as a feature. Valley Pacific and Sundowner Homes produced smaller-scale, solar-only communities, and Generation Homes, which built 100 houses in 2006, announced in January that it was going all solar.

Generation’s president, Robert Wood, said making solar standard when builders are struggling in a slow market is a cost some developers may not want to absorb right now. The company has sold 50 solar-powered houses in the Valley.

“Everything is about the dollar, and the addition of solar is a pretty sizable add for us,” Wood said.

Lennar is one of the nation’s largest builders, so its situation is different. “Through our volume, we’re able to get our costs down,” said Mike Miller, Lennar’s division president in Fresno.

The establishment of the state solar incentive program also was a catalyst. “We’re finally able to get the [costs] to fall into line,” he said.

The SunPower system features 10 panels on a one-story house and 12 panels on a two-story home. It is part of Lennar’s Solar Plus package, which also includes a radiant barrier in the attic to reflect heat, increased insulation, more efficient air conditioning and tighter ductwork.

Brown said the presence of a solar system increases resale value and could lead to a quicker sale, especially in the hot central San Joaquin Valley. “We are the highest users [of electricity] in a utility district that has some of the highest rates in the country,” he said.

The reporter can be reached at snax@fresnobee.com or (559)441-6495.

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