1BOG helps homeowners purchase solar in bulk.

With a mission to drive wider residential solar adoption, a new Bay Area startup is using bulk purchasing to bring the costs of solar down for individual homeowners.

"We are trying to leverage numbers and drive savings for people," says Sylvia Ventura, co-founder of 1BOG, or One Block Off the Grid.

The for-profit organization is aiming to help homeowners install 200 kilowatts of solar power, or the equivalent of the electricity used by a typical San Francisco city block, in its first campaign.

It plans to do so by working neighborhood by neighborhood with residents interested in investing in solar electric systems, which would create economies of scale and drive down the costs of installation.

Seventy qualified homeowners signed up with 1BOG in its first month, according to Ventura. The company is gearing up to issue a Request For Proposals to solar electric system installers that can handle numerous orders for solar electric systems within one neighborhood.  "Our goal is 60 houses in 30 days," Ventura says.