Solar-powered neighborhood opens in Antelope Valley (California)

[jpak]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/solar-powered-neighborhood-opens-in-antelope-valley.html

The Antelope Valley welcomed its first solar-powered community Wednesday with the grand opening of Arroyo, a development promoters say will reduce homeowners’ energy bills and the overall cost of homeownership.

The ranch-style properties that sit on half-acre sites in Lancaster and include up to five bedrooms were built by Los Angeles-based KB Home and offer solar-power systems as a standard feature.

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For example, according to information provided about Arroyo, a single-story three- to four-bedroom home could generate an estimated energy bill of $94 a month or even as low as $46 a month if a home buyer chooses to boost the property’s solar capacity.

In comparison, Lancaster officials said residents reported spending an average of about $210 a month on gas and electric bills, according to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

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[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. More suburban sprawl, this time with PV cells on the roof

KB homes is one of the home building megacompanies with an *interesting* track record. While I acknowledge, that it is better than no PV cells, the OP is nothing more than a KB press release.

[K8-EEE]

2. um....Lancaster?

That's pretty grim way-burbs. But better solar panels than no solar panels I guess. I had a friend who made the mistake of investing in some development out there. He figured he could do the effin' drive for a couple of years and then sell it for TONS of money. Guess what. YOU GUESSED IT! He is miserable there and there are brand new houses in the development selling for less than he owes on his. How do you get out of THAT?

[txlibdem]

3. Will there come a time when it will be tough to sell a home with no solar panels?

The other poster has my sympathies about KB selling new homes for less than he owes on his but it got me thinking. When will having solar water heating and solar panels on the roof of your house become a necessity for potential buyers?

[kestrel91316]

4. Oh, those will sell well out in Lancaster. Now that our space program is about dead.