The North Carolina Solar Center at N.C. State plans to initiate Solarize Raleigh, a program that seeks to make solar energy more affordable for Raleigh residents, in the spring.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Solar Out reach Program will grant be tween $15,000 and $20,000 to Solarize Raleigh, according to Jim Kennerly, policy ana lyst and solar policy outreach coordinator for the Center.
The City of Raleigh ap proved the program and will assist with its promotion as well as provide the permits and inspections required for construction, according to Robert Hinson, renew able energy coordinator and project manager for the City of Raleigh.
The center will work with companies that will provide a volume discount for consum ers when groups of residents purchase solar panels for their homes, Kennerly said. By selling in bulk, companies are able to reduce the cost of manufacturing the panels.
“We want to get as many people interested as possible so you can get a volume dis count for the product,” Ken nerly said.
Asheville city of f icials have already employed the program’s volume discount tactic, after which the cost of solar panels decreased by 26 percent, according to Ken nerly. Portland and Boston implemented the program, too.
“Asheville is a smaller com munity so we want to achieve that and hopefully do even better,” Kennerly said. “As long as we have these grants it’s going to be our goal to help municipalities reduce the cost of solar.”
The program should also increase awareness about solar energy, according to Kennerly.
“We want more people to see the benefit of this technol ogy and unlock this market,” Kennerly said. “The cost of solar had gone down dra matically, and now it’s even easier to finance at a lower cost,”
In addition to finding a group of solar photovoltaic installers, the center will continue outreach and mar keting for the program and take advantage of the re sources provided by the City of Raleigh and other outside partners, Kennerly said.
“We want to bring all those people together and facilitate what really is a private busi ness transaction,” Kennerly said.
By collaborating with the center on the program, the City of Raleigh will take one step closer to its goals because it is a “natural fit” with its mission statement of creat ing a “21st century city of innovation” through prac tices such as environmental and economic sustainability, according to Hinson.
“From the City of Raleigh’s perspective, we hope to grow the solar industry and this is a way to start that process.” Hinson said. “It’s an oppor tunity to learn what the new technologies are, what the cost of solar really is… and a way of providing a better resource.”
Though “Solarize Raleigh” is currently a residential pro gram, it may expand to com mercial institutions in the fu ture if successful, according to Hinson.
Kennerly said that with the solar center’s location at N.C. State, he also hopes the pro gram will encourage students to learn more about the solar industry.
Through it's efforts as a partner with the Department of Energy's SunShot Solar Outreach Partnership the North Carolina Solar Center has received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to go through with a group solar purchase program called "Solarize Raleigh." Solarize programs such as this have been successful in Boston, Portland and Asheville. Photo by Elizabeth Davis
