Al Gore's solar panels: part deux

Ecotality points out the sheer madness of solarizing Al Gore's mansion:

Based on Gore’s average monthly kilowatt usage from Nashville Electric Service in 2006 of 18,400 kw - a figure we know from public records first revealed by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research - and also based on the solar estimator’s knowledge of the average amount of sun that hits the Nashville area - calculates Gore would need 8,700 square feet of solar panels in order to generate 50 percent of his home’s electicity usage over the course of a year.

Bottom line: that much won't fit on his roof and would be enormously expensive. I'd suspect it's true, with a mansion that size, Al ain't gonna be pumping much juice back into the grid. So it'll always be a solution for part of his energy needs...and the point of the Ecotality post is that it's all just political shenanegans on his part and oh my this is all so expensive, etc., etc.

Fine. Whatever. Bill Hobbs can make his case about Al Gore. For the rest of us, however, there are alternatives already available:

Instead of making you spring for $25,000 or more in gear, Citizenrē says it will loan you a complete rooftop solar power system, install it for free and sell you back the power it generates at a fixed rate below what your utility charges. The company hopes to make back its investment with those monthly payments, augmented by federal tax credits and rebates.

Will Citizenré make it? Who knows. But these are the sorts of projects that should be looked into in much greater detail. Maybe goverment-guaranteed loans would be an effective way for companies like this to raise the necessary capital? Presumably more people would be willing to jump on the solar bandwagon if they don't have to fear the startup costs.