Following on a tradition of promotions, Honda has perhaps taken the greenest route yet by establishing a $65 million fund with SolarCity to help owners of Hondas and Acuras go solar easier. The promotion is sort of a turn about from when homes used to have promotions that included new vehicles. With this promotion a new vehicle adds to the home.

As a vehicle producer, Honda has made headway in making vehicles more efficient and has introduced both hybrid plug-in electric vehicles and EVs, this just kind of is an offer greener than a car or truck can offer, but might move people in the right direction in terms of using cleaner energy. “Both Honda and SolarCity believe people will take action if you give them the opportunity. What we need are solutions that are ready for consumers,” said Steven Center, vice president of Honda’s Environmental Business Development Office.

“We all have responsibility to address climate change. But I think more importantly We’ve got to create an environment that can stimulate that new type of thinking,” said SolarCity Chief Revenue Officer Toby Corey. By working with Honda to promote solar as a cheaper option than grid-supplied electricity without a big—if any—up front cost, the companies are likely helping to foster such an environment.

The partnership is aimed at addressing climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the home, business, and from transportation energy use, according to SolarCity. SolarCity said that Honda and Acura has potentially millions of customers across the solar third-party ownership company’s 14-state service area. The service area includes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

Dealerships in SolarCity’s regions may also install solar at their locations through the partnership. Through the offering, thousands of interested homeowners could go solar. Customers can choose to pre-pay for their solar electricity or pay a monthly payment lower than the cost of their current utility bill, with insurance, repairs and monitoring service included, SolarCity said.

Beyond the residential PV partnership, the companies may look into integrating PVs and EVs wherein a Fit EV or Accord Plug-In Hybrid owner could charge their vehicles with their PV array. Such a product or project would be ideal for a zero-energy home or community, for instance. Some new homes have been built with such chargers or wired for them and/or solar arrays in the past, but they’ve been done largely because the builder has chosen to build them with the option, and SolarCity has offered EV chargers alongside its PV arrays for consumers as well. 

Honda and Acura customers interested in these new clean energy options can find more information at www.hondasolarcity.com.