April was an exciting month for us at Sungevity. By adding 5 new states to our coverage area, Sungevity was able to significantly expand the population which we’re able to offer easy, affordable and clean solar power. But we’re not going to stop there. We have 42 states to go! As you read this, we’re already beginning to assess what states make the most sense to branch out to next. As we make this decision, we consider a number of different factors:

1. Insolation. Obviously the more sun a state gets, the more power solar panels are able to produce. The good news is that US is fine when it comes to sunlight. In fact, every state in the continental US has higher insolation than Germany, where solar power is already flourishing.

2. Grid Electricity Prices. The beauty of the Sungevity Solar Lease is that many of our customers are able to see savings versus their utility bill from day one. We’d like to continue to offer this proposition, so it often makes the most sense to expand into states where the cost of a solar system spread out over a number of years (using a Solar Lease) is lower than the grid cost of the electricity that the system generates.

3. State renewable incentives. Many states want to see more power being generated by clean renewable energy sources and offer rebates to help cover the upfront cost of a solar system. Then there are also states that have adopted renewable portfolio standards in which utilities must generate a portion of their energy through renewable means or buy “Renewable Energy Credits” (REC’s) from those who do generate clean energy. States which offer higher incentives (through rebates or REC’s) are often those where it makes the most sense for Sungevity to offer Solar Leases.

We’d love to be able to serve all 50 states and have no doubts we’ll be there soon. In fact the changes that have made attractively priced Solar Leasing possible-lower equipment prices and more efficient business models like Sungevity’s to name a couple-are only continuing to move in our favor. We have no doubts that, given a little time, you’ll see Sungevity’s systems on rooftops near you, wherever you may be!

Today we feature a guest post by our very own Susan Hollingshead, VP of Sungevity People:

Walking into the office, I can feel the buzz as I walk in the front door. It’s our monthly Town Hall meeting day and, as with every month, the excitement is palpable. We love gathering together this way, crowded between desks and cubicle walls, sitting on chairs, tables or the floor, standing room only in the back. We’re here to share, to update one another, to applaud our new team members and to learn who the new Sfunster of the Month is. (A SFunster is a Sungevity employee who has lots of SFUN carrying out our mission of Solar For Universal Need). I’m always touched by the fact that whether we’ve hired four or forty people that month, the applause for each is prolonged and genuine.

You can see that support for each other in so many of the ways in which we interact; from picking up our maracas and shaking them every time a sale is made to the orange t-shirts, jackets, sweaters and even tennis shoes that we delight in wearing for any and all occasions. We treasure our orange pool table in the kitchen area. It’s more than a pool table: it’s a symbol of our commitment to having Sfun together.

The Town Hall starts and I look around the gathering – bigger every month (we were 30 in January 2009, we’re 134 now and we’ll be 180 by July) - and think about the deep commitment to our work that I see in the faces of so many of my team members as they listen avidly to the folks in the Marketing Department present the campaign for 2011.

We come to Sungevity from many places, for many reasons. I’m sure that, for some, initially it’s the paycheck and the great benefits, maybe some are attracted to the company’s location in Jack London Square and the awesome views of the water. But at the end of the day, we’re here because we’re engaged, we’re excited and we believe in the mission: “Build the world’s most energized network of solar customers who power their lives with sunshine.”

We’re here to create something wonderful – a world that can truly be powered by sunshine. There’s no better time to be at Sungevity and live the dream. Each day we can see that our efforts, individually and collectively, can truly make a difference.