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mem-winterhill.livejournal.com[I posted this as a reply to the original post, Somerville looking for solar energy volunteers, but I think it should be more widely seen.]
I attended this meeting hosted by the Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change. The city is serious about submitting an appliction (very soon) for the Solarize Mass process. Learn more about that here: http://www.masscec.com/solarizemass
If they are approved, they want to roll it out also very quickly. If successful with their application, they envision the process of outreach to neighbors in late spring and this coming summer. Then a big wave of installations follow the sign ups. The idea is that with a certain number of committed folks, they get a certain price, discounted for a bulk purchase. But there are tiers, and if more people sign up the price might even drop. Depends on how the outreach goes, of course.
At the meeting, they were sensitive to both the concerns and issues of renters and landlords. Questions were raised about shared housing like condos as well. Seemed like a good cross-section of folks with appropriate issues. Little minority representation, however.
They are looking for volunteers to commit to this in the very short term, because they need folks for their application process. If you would consider being a solar ambassador, don't wait--contact them for more details soon. Volunteer work might mean presentations at local community meetings, booths at festivals, answering email questions, that sort of stuff.
Other interesting tidbits: they want to investigate providers that offer both ownership and leased scenarios. So you won't necessarily have to drop big money on this. And they are interested in business owners and other community groups being involved too. It's not limited to homeowners. Another cool tidbit: one of our neighbors is associated with the Google Sunroof project, and that began a discussion of how that resource could help residents investigate suitability and make decisions. If you haven't seen it, check it out: https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0
I attended this meeting hosted by the Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change. The city is serious about submitting an appliction (very soon) for the Solarize Mass process. Learn more about that here: http://www.masscec.com/solarizemass
If they are approved, they want to roll it out also very quickly. If successful with their application, they envision the process of outreach to neighbors in late spring and this coming summer. Then a big wave of installations follow the sign ups. The idea is that with a certain number of committed folks, they get a certain price, discounted for a bulk purchase. But there are tiers, and if more people sign up the price might even drop. Depends on how the outreach goes, of course.
At the meeting, they were sensitive to both the concerns and issues of renters and landlords. Questions were raised about shared housing like condos as well. Seemed like a good cross-section of folks with appropriate issues. Little minority representation, however.
They are looking for volunteers to commit to this in the very short term, because they need folks for their application process. If you would consider being a solar ambassador, don't wait--contact them for more details soon. Volunteer work might mean presentations at local community meetings, booths at festivals, answering email questions, that sort of stuff.
Other interesting tidbits: they want to investigate providers that offer both ownership and leased scenarios. So you won't necessarily have to drop big money on this. And they are interested in business owners and other community groups being involved too. It's not limited to homeowners. Another cool tidbit: one of our neighbors is associated with the Google Sunroof project, and that began a discussion of how that resource could help residents investigate suitability and make decisions. If you haven't seen it, check it out: https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0
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