Sacramento Utility Leads New Solar Home Construction

The solar industry may be shifting towards utility-scale projects, but the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is leading the nation in new homes being built with solar panels.

According to SMUD, since the inception of its SolarSmart Homes program in 2006, the utility has worked with over 18 builders to develop over 1,000 energy-producing, and energy-saving homes, homes.

Currently these homes are capable of producing up to 40 percent of their energy needs while saving owners up to 60 percent annually through energy-efficient features.

The 1,041 homes in SMUD’s district are enough to boost the profits of any of the public solar companies, but it’s a movement that shouldn’t be ignored. If First Solar (FSLR :NASDAQ) and SunPower (SPWR :NASDAQ) can figure out how to help promote these types of programs without spending massive amounts of marketing dollars, programs like SMUD’s could improve their bottom line.