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Peter Murphy, Solar Program Director, Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Grow Solar Metro East was a community success! The program was organized by Lewis and Clark Community College, Madison County Planning and Development, Glen Carbon Cool Cities Committee, the Sierra Club, and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, with StraightUp Solar as the competitively selected solar installer. Huge thanks to the Luecking, Durbin, and Shilliday families for hosting Solar Open Houses at their homes this year!
The program has come to an end with 67 homes going solar, putting 674 kW of clean, renewable energy into Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe Counties. We are pleased to announce that this is the most successful Grow Solar Metro East program ever!
In their first year, these arrays will reduce CO2 emissions by 1,510,624 pounds or avoid 749,086 pounds of coal (3.7 rails cars). For you tree fans, this carbon offset is the equivalent of annual carbon sequestration from an 806-acre forest (Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator).
Almost 300 individuals attended over two dozen Power Hours in August-November resulting in 67 installation contracts. Word-of-mouth and social media connection between participants was absolutely critical in turning in these kinds of numbers. Once installed between now and next spring, people flying over the Metro East area will see 1,000+ new Grow Solar-inspired solar panels powering our region to a clean energy future.
Of the 600+ KW of solar contracted, approximately 504 KW should be installed by the end of 2019 with almost all to be complete by April 1st. Because everyone worked together and made their own solar installation commitment contribution, the maximum 3% rebate threshold was achieved — congratulations! Once at least 250 KW of project installation is complete, rebate checks will be mailed to participants within 90 days of that milestone or their installation date, whichever comes later. If you have questions about your installation, please contact StraightUp Solar directly.
The Grow Solar Metro East organizers are proud of our community’s performance and we hope to build upon 2019’s success. Expect a post-program/post-project survey in the coming months. Please take the time to provide both improvement and positive reinforcement feedback regarding the program, Power Hours and installation process.
