New SolarCity Stockton Location Expands Services to Homeowners & Businesses in the San Joaquin Region
SolarCity Opens New Stockton Operations Center
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) expanded its California operations with a new center in Stockton. The company opened the facility to serve homeowners and businesses across the San Joaquin region.
Moreover, the expansion brought new clean-energy jobs to the area. It also gave more customers access to rooftop solar.
SolarCity Comes to More San Joaquin Valley Customers through Stockton
SolarCity said Stockton homeowners and businesses could install solar photovoltaic systems with no upfront installation cost under its financing programs.
Instead, customers paid for the solar electricity their systems produced. In many cases, SolarCity marketed those agreements as a way to pay less for electricity than customers paid their traditional utilities.
Consequently, the SolarCity Stockton operation helped reach more customers throughout the region.
New Stockton Facility Creates Local Jobs
SolarCity Stockton opened the 18,000-square-foot operations center on Arch Airport Road.
The company launched the facility with more than 70 full-time employees. Those locally hired workers handled sales, customer consultations and solar installations.
Additionally, SolarCity said it planned to hire for 16 more full-time positions.
The opening ceremony brought together company employees, customers and government officials. Congressman Jerry McNerney, California Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman and Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva attended the event.
Clean Energy Becomes an Economic Story
McNerney connected SolarCity’s Stockton expansion with the broader growth of renewable-energy employment.
At the time, he also promoted the GREEN Act, H.R. 2368. The proposal focused on career and technical training for workers entering the clean-energy sector.
Meanwhile, Eggman emphasized another part of the solar transition. Cleaner energy could lower energy costs and reduce pollution. At the same time, investments in renewable infrastructure could create local jobs.
SolarCity Pushes Its Financing Model
SolarCity built much of its early growth around making solar easier to finance.
Rather than requiring homeowners to purchase an entire solar system upfront, the company offered financing structures that reduced the initial cost of switching to solar.
Therefore, rooftop solar became available to customers who might not have considered purchasing a system outright.
The Stockton center also placed sales and installation teams closer to San Joaquin Valley customers. As a result, SolarCity could handle consultations, installations and customer service more efficiently.
Stockton Joins California’s Solar Expansion
The Stockton opening showed how quickly the solar industry was expanding during this period.
Solar was no longer only an environmental story. Instead, it became an energy-cost, infrastructure and employment story as well.
Furthermore, local operations centers put solar workers directly inside the communities adopting the technology.
For Stockton and the surrounding San Joaquin region, SolarCity’s expansion meant more than additional rooftop panels. It also meant new jobs, greater access to renewable electricity and another step toward a more distributed energy system.
SolarCity Stockton
“Stockton is a focal hub for us to efficiently service the San Joaquin region and to meet the growing demand for solar energy. We are pleased to contribute to the local economy, help more homeowners and businesses make the switch to clean energy, and potentially save thousands of dollars on utility bills,” said Dennis Cox, SolarCity’s regional vice president of Northern California.
San Joaquin area homeowners and businesses interested can receive a free consultation by contacting SolarCity directly at 1-888-SOL-CITY (1-888-765-2489) or online at http://www.solarcity.com/request. Candidates interested in available employment opportunities in Stockton can contact SolarCity online at http://www.solarcity.com/jobs.
STOCKTON, Calif., July 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
