After the city of Sedona partnered with Solar United Neighbors to form the Northern Arizona Solar Co-op, the group began looking for an Arizona-based company to install the solar panels for the members of the organization.
Bob Pifke, a Sedona resident, joined the co-op as one of 17 members on the selection committee, which selected Tempe-based Icon Power to install solar panels for their second 163-member solar co-op.
“We’ve gone through this process where we’ve selected the vendor based on evaluating three different bids, then the winner, Icon Power, will provide individual estimates to each house based on what they want to do,” Pifke said. “Do they want to have essential things powered by solar or the whole house solar? What kind of backup? And so forth. But then each of the co-op members get a bid, and then they’ve got 30 days to decide whether they can accept it or not.”
The Solar Co-op is a part of Sedona’s goal, along with other cities in Northern Arizona, to decrease carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 in alignment with the city of Sedona’s Climate Action Plan.
This co-op is the second co-op for Northern Arizona after 83 households took place in the first co-op launch in 2021. Now residents in Sedona, Flagstaff and Coconino County have the opportunity to join the co-op again.
“We are excited to be working with the city of Sedona for a second time, after partnering with them for a successful co-op last year in which 83 Northern Arizonans went solar,” Solar United Neighbors Arizona Program Associate Adrian Keller said. “Sedona has an ambitious climate action plan, and we are proud to be working with them to help increase residential solar adoption in the community.”
Through the co-op’s selection committee, each of the three bids prepared by Solar United Neighbors were evaluated based on efficiency, materials, cost and tax credit. And according to Pifke, the selection committee eventually came to an overall consensus on Icon Power based on price.
For Pifke, like many other residents, the decision for solar power comes down to cost efficiency. With the roughly $25,000 purchase with years-long return on the investment, co-ops like this one are popping up all over the country to lower costs of solar panel installation.
“Whenever you buy as a group, you’re going to get a better price,” Pifke said. “And when we were playing out the different scenarios with these three bidders, with the co-op, it was at least 10% less than when I got my individualized quote for my solar.”
Currently, 163 members will have a free quote from Icon Power on installation. But the co-op is still open for members to join for the time being.
“The city of Sedona’s Climate Action Plan sets an ambitious target of reducing community-wide [carbon] emissions by 50% by the year 2030,” Sustainability Manager for the city of Sedona Alicia Peck said. “The Northern Arizona Solar Co-op will help us meet that goal by lowering the cost of solar for residents and business owners, ultimately making rooftop solar more accessible for our community.”org
