Nation's largest private home builder teams with BP Solar to become first

               builder to provide free solar electric systems



    DELAND, Fla., Aug. 6 /EMWNews/ -- Victoria Gardens by Shea Homes

will offer free solar power systems to its homebuyers through August 31.

Shea Homes is the first builder to roll out a national solar offering and

has chosen to work with BP Solar, a global leader in solar energy. The

initiative is part of the builder's ongoing commitment to reducing the

carbon footprint of homes in all of its Shea Homes Active Lifestyle(TM)

Communities across four states.



    The BP Solar Home Solutions(R) systems are estimated to reduce the

homes' electric bills by up to 60 percent per home. This is in addition to

the approximately 30 percent energy usage reduction Victoria Gardens by

Shea Homes residences already achieve with the Shea Green Certified(TM)

standards for home building. Each home will be equipped with a 3-kilowatt

solar power system, which helps provide security against electric rate

increases, allowing consumers to hedge their future risks in the volatile

energy markets.



    "By providing our buyers with free solar energy systems, we're taking

efficient energy use a step further by actually creating energy," said Jeff

Gersh, Area Vice President of Victoria Gardens, which features Shea Homes

residences. "This provides both short-term and long-term benefits for our

customers in the form of significant cost savings, and it also makes a

positive impact on the environment."



    "With the addition of solar in a home, we're no longer just efficient

users of electricity, we become producers. Integrating a solar system into

a home during construction makes it more accessible and affordable than

it's ever been. Victoria Gardens' homes pass the true test of a 'green'

home by integrating a mix of energy-saving and energy-generating devices

that deliver immediate and long-term benefits for our customer."



    Solar systems will be free through August 31 to new homebuyers in Shea

Active Lifestyle Communities in Arizona, California, Washington and

Florida, including Deland's Victoria Gardens. After August 31, the systems

will be available as an upgrade option. Homeowners will be able to track

how much power their system is producing, along with its environmental

benefits, via a Web-based remote monitoring system.



    "Creative business partnerships are helping to transform the American

residential marketplace with homes that combine energy efficiency with

solar power," said DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy Alexander A. Karsner. "These homes will help transform the

built environment into healthier, more prosperous and sustainable

communities that reduce our carbon footprint, enhance our energy security

and contribute to the fabric of a cleaner, more efficient America."



    To maintain a consistent and visually appealing look for its high-end

resort communities, Shea Homes chose BP Solar's Integra(R) systems. The

Integra system offers a low-profile installation, enhancing the look on

asphalt shingle roofs.



    "We're proud to be Shea Active Lifestyle Communities' exclusive solar

provider as they become the first national residential builder to introduce

solar across all of their communities," said Mary Shields, global vice

president of marketing for BP Solar. "We are pleased to see that home

builders around the country increasingly see the value that solar brings to

their homes as well as to their homebuyers."



    SunWorks Solar Systems, Inc. will install The BP Solar Home

Solutions(R) systems in the Victoria Gardens homes. SunWorks professionals

have years of experience in installing roofing and solar fields and are

trained by BP Solar on the proper system design and installation processes.



    Shea Green Certified homes are built with a combination of the most

important and cost-effective standards for green residential building set

by LEED, National Association of Home Builders, and Environments for

Living(R).



    In addition to solar power systems, standard features in Victoria

Gardens green homes include solar attic fans, blown-in insulation from

recycled cellulose, wood from sustainable forests, framing techniques that

use up to 10 percent less wood and save 5.5 trees per home, leak minimizing

construction via sealed ducts and penetrations,

satellite/weather-controlled irrigation systems, Energy Star-rated

efficient appliances, dual pane low-e windows and motion and occupancy

sensor lighting.



    Additional details of the Shea Active Lifestyle Communities BP Solar

promotion are available at http://www.sheasuperiology.com/trilogy/ for

details on the BP Solar promotion.