OK, I’m not sure I actually want to run a Solarize Program, but I certainly want to encourage them. So, yeah, I’m interested in Sari Steuber’s advice on the topic [3]. His article has useful pointers to their experience, as well as solid lessons learned.
The good news is that a lot of this is completely obvious. You run a community solar project the same way as you run any other community project: plan, partners, patience.
In the case of home solar installations, there are a couple of specific things that need to be worked out. Ironically, getting access to solar technology and installation services is probably the easy part. The tricky part is working with the local power grid and, ideally, local credit unions and other lenders.
In the US, the grid is operated and regulated by a patchwork of local entities, so it is critical to have everyone onside. Otherwise, the home installations will not be allowed to connect to the grid, or will be charged absurd amounts by the utility. It’s best to have this policy landscape very well in hand before you ever offer anything.
Ideally, local financial institutions can offer loans tailored to home PV installations. This isn’t really a matter of resources, as these are relatively small sums. The issues are accessibility and appropriateness, by which I mean, matched to the nature of the project (it is a home improvement, but may involve long term maintenance and connection fees, etc.)
The rest is largely education, PR, and sales.
Looking at this discussion, I’m comparing it to our local “Solarization” over the past few years [2]. It is clear that our program followed the same playbook, right down to “Nothing motivates people like a deadline.” ([1], p. 6)
So…this seems to be the state of the art, circa 2020.
We shall see what develops on the other side of the pandemic, If enacted, the proposed federal infrastructure bill could have substantial incentives and funding for solar power, including home and community solar initiatives. Most important, it may level out and stabilize some of the policy patchwork, so there are fewer local gotcha’s to navigate.
Stay tuned.
- Linda Irvine, Alexandra Sawyer, and Jennifer Grove, The Solarize Guidebook. Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED), Portland, OR, 2011. https://www.transitionus.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DOE-Solarize-Guidebook.pdf
- Midwest Renewable Energy Association. Solar Urbana Champaign. 2020, https://www.growsolar.org/solar-urbana-champaign/.
- Sari Steuber, How to Run a Solarize Program, in Resilience, April 2, 2021. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2021-04-02/how-to-run-a-solarize-program/
Robert McGrath's Blog 