Material & Equipment Choices

Solar Energy

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Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Energy

Solar PV technology captures the sun’s energy and turns it into usable electricity. For the technology to work the photovoltaic solar cell absorbs solar radiation. Once the suns energy interacts with the PV cell, electrons begin to move, creating a flow of electric current.

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Rooftop Solar

The roof, shading and the home’s orientation can all affect the size and production of a solar PV system. Solar panels usually perform best on minimally shaded, south-facing roofs with a slope between 15 and 40 degrees. The nonprofit Solar United Neighbors (SUN) is creating a solar co-op that will make it easy for all residents who are rebuilding their homes to save on the installation of solar panels, often significantly below what they would pay on their own. The solar co-op is free to join and there’s no commitment to purchase a system. By going solar as a group and its members choosing a single installer, the group can save on the cost of solar in addition to taking advantage of the existing significant tax credits available for rooftop solar.

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Community Solar

Community solar, also known as solar gardens, consists of large solar PV systems that allow multiple customers receive the benefits of a solar PV system, without needing to install an onsite system. Through community solar you either subscribe to a certain number of panels or a certain amount of electricity production. The two main options for accessing community solar are through subscriptions and ownership, the most common being subscriptions.

Through a subscription, participants to become subscribers and typically agree to pay a fee that is lower than utility rates for the solar electricity produced. Bill credits for the electricity produced are then added to the utility bill.
Through ownership, participants to purchase a certain amount of the panels from the solar garden and receive the benefits of the electricity produced by those panels, similar to a rooftop system.

Interested in Community Solar?

Homeowners affected by the Marshall fire are eligible to sign up for community solar from Sunshare that is cost neutral to buying power from the grid.

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