Solar Up New Paltz!
Also in New Paltz, another campaign led by the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition and a photovoltaic solar energy contractor called “Solar Up New Paltz!” looks to get people to install solar panels on their homes.
“Solar Up comes at climate action from a little bit of a perspective of frustration — that in the big picture, we’re not doing more to stop climate change and our government, right from Kyoto on, has not been stellar in their efforts to get off fossil fuels,” explained Dan Guenther, with the Climate Action Coalition. “I think most people are at the point where they believe climate change is real. Some of us believe that the spinoffs can and will be devastating.”
Farmers worry about climate change because it could ruin crops. Super storms, like Hurricane Sandy, have coastal dwellers anxious of rising tides. Wildfires out West and increasingly intense weather events have put a face on the concept of global warming.
“We feel that a lot of countries are really taking proactive action. Germany is one of them,” he said. “We’re feeling, ‘Do we need the government to make this happen? Or can we have a grassroots effort?’”
Solar Up New Paltz! is a combination between government and grassroots. It educates people about NYSERDA’s solar energy incentives for homeowners. But it also educates and creates opportunities with vendors close to home.
Guenther said that this winter — with its horrendous cold compounded by high energy costs — has brought people to the brink. If they weren’t ready to think about solar, Winter ’13-’14 helped change their minds.
“A lot of people have had it with increased costs of utilities,” he said.
Matt Calardo, with Lighthouse Solar, noted that Solar Up New Paltz! technically relies on economy of scale. If only 10 homeowners sign up, they’ll save $0.20 per DC watt on the installation — saving $1,400 on a typical 7 kilowatt array. If 11 to 20 people sign up, it goes up to $0.30 per DC watt — or $2,100 for an average 7 kilowatt system. If 21 or more people sign up, it’s $0.40 per DC watt — or a savings of $2,800 off of that 7 kilowatt system.
By buying together, citizens will help their neighbors save too.
“The whole intent behind the program is to facilitate local residents going solar,” Calardo said. “By having multiple homeowners in the same area go solar all at once, we’re going to be able to offer a discounted price on these systems.”
Solar Up is also time-sensitive. They’re looking to get people to sign on before the end of July. That’s so homeowners can take advantage of NYSERDA’s more generous $1 per watt incentive, which is likely dropping later this summer.
“We just wanted to give an opportunity for everybody to take advantage of that rebate while it is still $1,” he said.
Whether they realize it or not, New Yorkers live in a progressive state — in terms of its laws that incentivize solar power. “Homeowners and even business owners have a great opportunity to go solar in New York State and have the state really be behind them — and facilitate them doing so,” Calardo said.
Right now, residences in New York can snag that $1 per watt NYSERDA incentive — up to 25,000 watts or $25,000. But that’s on top of state and federal tax credits for homeowners who put up solar panels.
Compared to 2014, with its rollercoaster of energy prices in the Hudson Valley — a ride that caused real financial hardship for many — getting solar panels stabilizes energy costs.
“They’re really low, no maintenance. You’re not going to have a lot of risk or ongoing costs,” the Lighthouse Solar sales manager said.
“You’re locking in your cost per kilowatt hour. That’s what happened this winter, when everyone received their utility bills in February or March,” he said. “The kilowatt rate was closer to $0.22 per hour. The average for the past year was closer to $0.15. That was a big shock to a lot of people.”
Solar panels can bring that down to $0.06 to $0.04 per kilowatt hour, but sometimes it is better than that.
People are sometimes reluctant to get home solar panels, because there’s a sense that — like PCs or smartphones — old equipment would become outdated. But for many stark energy costs are overshadowing that worry, he added.
“Solar is here to stay. We’re just at the beginning of the solar revolution — the solar movement. It’s going to become more and more widespread,” Calardo said. “But as time marches on, there’s going to be less and less incentives or support from the governments. They want the market to take over.”
Getting involved
New Paltz 10% Challenge is holding an event on Tuesday, June 24. It’s at 6:30 p.m. at the New Paltz Community Center. Learn more by heading to https://www.greenjobshudsonvalley.org/.
A third Solar Up! event has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 1 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the New Paltz Community Center. Learn more at https://www.solarupny.com/.
You can read more about Lighthouse Solar at https://www.lighthousesolar.com/hudson-valley-solar-installer/.
