Central District nonprofit Clean Greens Farm & Market will receive a donated solar power system if 60 homes or businesses in central Seattle choose to install solar systems in the coming months. Nonprofit Bike Works, based in South Seattle, is also participating.
The donation is a project of Solarize Seattle, part of Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED) and Seattle City Light. It aims to increase solar energy installations through a group purchase, which will bring down the price for each home. To participate in the project, you must attend a free public workshop to learn more about solar energy and to receive a free site assessment for your home or business.
If the targets are reached, the solar systems for the nonprofits will be donated by Puget Sound Solar and Artisan Electric.
The Solarize Seattle website has more info:
“We’re confident we can hit both of these benchmarks in Central/Southeast, given that our previous campaign in Northwest Seattle succeeded beyond all expectations,” said Mia Devine, project manager at Northwest SEED who is managing the Solarize Seattle: Central/Southeast campaign.
Bike Works and Clean Greens Farm & Market were selected by the Solarize Seattle: Central/Southeast Community Coalition, a volunteer group of individuals and non-profits such as Sustainable Seattle, who led the award selection process. The competitive application process took into account the suitability of each organization to generate solar electricity on site and to serve as a public educational tool.
“This project would be highly valuable to our organization,” says Bike Works Executive Director Deb Salls, “because it would reduce our direct energy costs, leaving more resources to invest in our youth and adult education programs. It would also be a point of pride for us and interest in the community.”
The donated solar electric system will be rated at 3 kilowatts (kW) and will include all equipment and labor required for a rooftop installation, in addition to 10 years of maintenance service (the system itself has a life expectancy of at least 25 years). The award is approximately a $15,000 value and will provide the host organizations with an additional value of up to $750 per year in electricity savings and Washington State production incentive payments.
You can track the progress towards the installation awards on the Solarize Seattle website.