Sustainablog: Way back in 2006 (as a few of you may remember), David Anderson, Shea Gunther and I started Green Options (a brand now owned byHuddler). Our business concept wasn't solely focused on publishing content at that point; rather, we wanted to build an online marketplace for home solar shopping. We envisioned a site that could provide the initial information you needed to make a decision, and connect you with both installers that could do the job for you, and financial services for paying for a system.
Ultimately, we failed with this plan: the technical requirements for such a site were pretty intense, and, quite frankly, we were all content folks at heart. Even spinning off a separate company focused on this goal wasn't enough to make it happen at that point. So, I'm always interested to see what others may be doing on this front, as I still think it's a solid business idea.
Geostellar is the latest offering on this front, and after playing around with it just a bit (I didn't go as far as creating a profile), I'm pretty impressed with what they've done. Without signing up for anything, I was able to check out the solar potential of my home (which I knew was pretty low), the possible cost savings of either buying a system or going with a leasing option (or a PPA for those of you in the know), the energy generation potential, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we'd avoid. I could have also chatted with a sales rep. Had I signed up, I'd have been able to compare installation and financing options, and even join an affiliate program...Please continue reading via Sustainablog: http://sustainablog.org/2013/12/online-home-solar-marketplace-geostellar/