Solarize the Triangle is a partnership of 11 communities designed to help residents and businesses reduce their costs for solar photovoltaic system installation. The initiative launched on August 10 and will be accepting registrations through December 31, 2022.
Residents and businesses will be able to save on the ordinary cost of solar energy and battery power through the program’s combined purchasing with others across the Triangle and through the availability of a federal tax credit.
The initiative is designed to assist residents, businesses, and nonprofits to become more resilient, reduce energy expenses, and save on the cost of renewable-energy systems by obtaining volume discounts on materials and installation services. Solarize campaigns are driven by community group purchasing and a tiered “bulk” purchasing concept. The more residents and business owners who contract for solar installations through the program, the more savings accrue for all participants.
The Solarize the Triangle Program will help enable more Raleigh residents and businesses to install solar energy, a high-impact climate action that will help Raleigh achieve its climate goals as laid out in the Raleigh Community Climate Action Plan to promote clean and renewable energy in Raleigh and the region.
The objectives of the regional program include:
- Making solar energy more affordable: lower the cost of solar energy through the power of group-purchasing and reduced acquisition costs. Savings passed to residents of the Triangle region;
- Making solar energy more accessible: contractor(s), materials and pricing will be highly vetted for best practices using a competitive bid process;
- Education and community engagement: widespread community engagement, education and outreach activities through town hall meetings, workshops, solar “open house” gatherings, and outreach through local community groups and events;
- Promoting solar-positive policies: encourage local governments to adopt streamlined solar energy permitting policies and fair utility distributed generation policies; and
- Giving back: Solarize the Triangle and selected contractors will use a portion of campaign proceeds to donate a solar energy system to a deserving local nonprofit organization and/or help to underwrite solar-energy systems for qualified low- and moderate-Income families with high energy burdens.
Solarize the Triangle is a campaign developed by the Triangle Sustainability Partnership. Communities involved include Chatham, Durham, and Orange counties; the cities of Durham and Raleigh; and the towns of Apex, Cary, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Morrisville. The Triangle J Council of Governments and Solar CrowdSource are facilitating the launch.
Original source can be found here
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