Ford and SunPower, Silicon Valley's largest solar manufacturer, have formed a unique partnership that will allow buyers of the new Ford Focus Electric to receive rooftop solar panels at a deep discount.

"This is a great opportunity to take solar mainstream," said SunPower CEO Tom Werner. "We're thrilled to provide electric car owners with a clean source of fuel."

It works like this: men or women who purchase a new Focus Electric, which goes on sale in California later this year, may also buy a 2.5-kilowatt SunPower rooftop system for less than $10,000 (after the tax credit). The SunPower system, which will provide enough juice to power an electric car for 1,000 miles, typically goes for $18,000. SunPower also hopes consumers will buy additional powers to cover their household energy needs.

The partnership is likely to be both practicable and profitable as electric car owners often buy solar panels as well. MercuryNews.com reports that over one-third of Nissan Leaf owners have solar panels on their homes with 25% of Leaf owners planning to do the same.

Click here for more information about the 2012 Ford Focus Electric.

What do you think about the new partnership between Ford and SunPower? It makes me wish I had more money. If I could afford an electric car or solar panels I’d probably purchase them, but as I don’t have a spare $10,000 (or even $1,000) lying around I’ll have to stick with traditional cars and traditional electricity.

Photo: Ford.com

 

Tags: ford focus electric, electric vehicle, electric cars, solar panels, sun power, ford
Categories: Cool Cars