[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.12]Solar panels are an increasingly common sight on the tops of homes in wealthy parts of Washington, D.C. [00:08.20]Now the costly technology is moving into a poorer area of the city. [00:14.48]And, the people who live there are getting the panels for free. [00:20.16]Southeast Washington D.C. is an area known more for low-income housing than new technology. [00:28.04]But several homes in Southeast now are topped with solar panels. [00:34.04]Tila Felder is among those who have received solar panels for her home. [00:39.68]She praised the lower energy costs. [00:42.84]"I am very excited. My electric bill has really dropped. The last few months it's been $40 per month [compared to] $200 a month." [00:56.84]Local officials make these solar panels available to residents [01:01.28]whose yearly earnings are at or below $50,500 for a family of three. [01:08.92]A family of four can make up to $60,000 a year and qualify for the panels. [01:15.92]Ted Trabue is with the local government program, [01:19.80]DC Sustainable Energy Utility. [01:23.52]He says they plan to put solar panels on hundreds more homes. [01:28.92]"We're doing about 135 this year; next year the goal is 200. We've been able to hit ours goals every year for the last four years. [01:36.90]In the years after that, the funding looks secure. [01:41.08]I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to do more like 250 homes." [01:45.56]Atta Kiarash installs solar-equipment. [01:49.32]He says he will set up as many as 1,200 solar panels this year. [01:56.40]That is not a high number compared to states like California. [02:02.00]But Mr. Kiarash and other Washington officials [02:05.60]believe the number of installed panels could double by 2016. [02:11.12]"Most of the time; most of our clients hear (of) us through word of mouth, [02:14.64]through other jobs we've done in the past or through existing clients, [02:19.64]and what they do is they reach out to us and we do the income qualification [02:23.33]and we come out and do a site visit and make sure that they qualify. [02:26.40]And if they qualify, we just put them on our construction schedule and we get the job started. " [02:31.44]The program is paid for with fees from factories and oil processing centers for their carbon dioxide emissions. [02:40.16]Government officials expect millions of dollars in savings as the solar panels become more popular. [02:48.20]They believe energy subsidies to poor families will be cut and electric costs will go down. [02:55.96]They add that new jobs will be created. [03:00.80]Edwin Amaker also lives in Southeast Washington. [03:04.88]He is pleased with the 16 new solar panels on his roof. [03:09.64]"Well, I was told that I would save between 30-40 percent which is major, [03:15.20]you know, when you start talking about the price of energy nowadays. [03:19.08]So I like that; the less money out of my pocket, the more money I have for the family." [03:24.52]Washington officials hope to start a program next year [03:28.16]to help small businesses install solar panels on their buildings. [03:33.84]They hope to turn the nation's capital [03:36.64]into an environmentally-clean solar city. [03:40.64]I'm Jonathan Evans.