Solar Garden | Solar Gardens Aim To Bring Renewable Power To The People
David Amster-Olszewski looks up at the solar panels atop a dormitory roof at Colorado College and sees a garden.
Three years ago, as an undergraduate, he raised money to help the school install a 25-kilowatt system and it has been quietly generating power ever since. Everyone, Amster-Olszewski believes, should have a chance to buy into solar power, even if they own a condo, rent, can’t afford the high upfront costs of solar or simply have a roof that never sees the sun.
That’s the idea behind his new company, SunShare , which aims to build what’s called a “solar garden” in Colorado Springs beginning in October. In a solar garden, individuals or families pay for a number of panels in a large solar installation. SunShare is planning to build an initial 500-kilowatt system somewhere in Colorado Springs.
“The whole idea is to open this up to as many people as possible,” Amster-Olszewski said.
The electricity generated at the solar garden would flow into Colorado Springs Utilities’ power grid and Utilities would credit customers’ bills with the energy their panels produce, rather than having the panels tied into the homeowners’ electrical system.
For Alicia Archibald, who rents her home, it’s the perfect solution. She put a deposit down on two panels as soon as she heard about the idea.
“I wanted to be the first in line,” she said. “This way, they offer me the opportunity to get renewable energy.”
The solar garden’s size brings economies of scale, while also allowing people to buy solar with a fairly small initial investment (the minimum purchase is two panels, which costs $1,100).
“Everything gets less expensive for each person because you’re doing it as a group,” said Garrett W. Jacobs, SunShare’s sales manager.
Although SunShare is taking deposits already, it still needs approval from Colorado Springs Utilities to start putting up panels; the deposits go into an refundable escrow account. The Utilities board, composed of City Council members, is scheduled to consider the idea on Sept. 27. If approved, the program would be open to other solar projects, not just SunShare.
For Joseph Coleman, owner of The Blue Star, Nosh and La’au’s restaurants, a solar garden is just a simpler way of going green. He signed up for three panels for his home and would like to order 10 more for his businesses. The proposed program is only for homes initially, but small businesses may be added in the future. Utilities is working on a similar program for large commercial customers (see sidebar).
“It’s cheaper for me to do it (through the solar garden) rather than have all the
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