Community Empowerment through Collective Bargaining
Community solar initiatives has become the new renewable energy revolution and empowering communities through collective bargaining one community at a time. Since 2009 when Portland, Oregon developed the first Solarize Portland campaigns, nearly two dozen communities across the US have adopted the Solarize model.
The term "Community Solar" focuses on projects designed to increase access to solar energy and reduce upfront costs for participants. The Solarize model is a community grassroots effort to develop a community solar initiative to help residents and business owners overcome the financial and logistical hurdles of installing solar power through high volume group purchasing. The project effectively merges community activism and education, simple low-cost marketing, job creation and economies of scale to drive participation.
The goal is to transform interest in clean energy into action by tackling the three major market barriers:
Mark Sylvia, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Commissioner, sums it up for us, “Residents are choosing PV systems in their homes not only to reduce their carbon footprint, but also because it makes good economic sense. Solarize Mass and the results achieved are a true example of how we are going to create a cleaner energy future for Massachusetts – community by community.” The same can be said for New York communities. People want to be involved. The more citizens have a say in projects and can benefit financially from them, the less resistance there will be towards renewable energy in the future.
The Solarize model is designed to be of short duration to stimulate the market within a community and then we step aside. In order to keep costs of promotion at a minimum, volunteers and community supporters are heavily relied upon to spread the word. People want a healthier environment but the market is still in its infancy and there seems to be a lot of confusion and misguided trust towards installers. The Solarize model helps eliminate this confusion and guides the consumer through the process to build a support system for them. There truly is power in numbers!
The term "Community Solar" focuses on projects designed to increase access to solar energy and reduce upfront costs for participants. The Solarize model is a community grassroots effort to develop a community solar initiative to help residents and business owners overcome the financial and logistical hurdles of installing solar power through high volume group purchasing. The project effectively merges community activism and education, simple low-cost marketing, job creation and economies of scale to drive participation.
The goal is to transform interest in clean energy into action by tackling the three major market barriers:
- High Cost - Photovoltaic installation contractors are selected through a competitive bid process; collective bargaining and group purchasing lowers the out of pocket cost to the participant by 20-30%.
- A Complex and Confusing Process - Community-led outreach marketing and education by project managers and other trusted community partners deliver a direct appeal from one friend to another to join the campaign.
- Lack of Customer Commitment - Collective education and bargaining provides a safe environment for customers to feel comfortable with their investment.
Mark Sylvia, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Commissioner, sums it up for us, “Residents are choosing PV systems in their homes not only to reduce their carbon footprint, but also because it makes good economic sense. Solarize Mass and the results achieved are a true example of how we are going to create a cleaner energy future for Massachusetts – community by community.” The same can be said for New York communities. People want to be involved. The more citizens have a say in projects and can benefit financially from them, the less resistance there will be towards renewable energy in the future.
The Solarize model is designed to be of short duration to stimulate the market within a community and then we step aside. In order to keep costs of promotion at a minimum, volunteers and community supporters are heavily relied upon to spread the word. People want a healthier environment but the market is still in its infancy and there seems to be a lot of confusion and misguided trust towards installers. The Solarize model helps eliminate this confusion and guides the consumer through the process to build a support system for them. There truly is power in numbers!
The Grassroots Ripple Effect
Grassroots marketing is about
building strong, lasting relationships with a specific group or community. The power of a successful grassroots marketing effort is striking; remember the three F's: feel good, frequent, and free.
- Feel-good: Make it a memorable, feel-good campaign that motivates people and brings out their passion. Spending time in the market meeting with local influencers is the best way to create ideas that resonate with that audience.
- Frequent: Grassroots is about permeating a community and building relationships locally on many levels so the buzz grows. To do this, it’s important to have multiple layers of communication to keep the messages and excitement fresh, frequent and strong. This also means tapping into the valuable resources of your partners.
- Free: One of the best ways to get people excited about your product is having them taste, feel or use it.
Numbers Don't Lie
Most of the community solar initiatives have
reported tripling their number of solar installations within their
communities. In 2008, Portland had only 38 installations completed on
homes citywide. Solarize Southeast Portland began their first campaign
in July of 2009 and at the close of their campaign approximately 350
homes signed up for the project and 120 homes had completed
installations. Additionally, 78 non-Solarize systems were completed
compared with only 20 during the same period the year before, a 209%
increase. Successfully, 347 kilowatts of new PV capacity was added to
Portland's grid and will produce an estimated 326,000 kWh of electricity
each year, eliminating 190 tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent of
not driving 418,000 miles every year. [Source: DOE] The latest report, Portland has completed 457 solar energy installations and saving
3, 491 MWh of electricity annually. That is more than 1,600 metric tons of
CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere annually.
[Source: http://oregon.cleanenergymap.com/]
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center launched their Solarize Massachusetts pilot program in May of 2011 which covered 4 towns: Harvard, Hatfield, Scituate, and Winchester. Combined these towns only had 28 residential systems installed. During Massachusetts Solarize pilot, 162 residential systems were installed for a total of 829 kW of new solar capacity, saving 651 metric tons of CO2 annually and 13,000 metric tons over the lifetime of the systems. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 2,500 cars. [Source: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center]
[Source: http://oregon.cleanenergymap.com/]
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center launched their Solarize Massachusetts pilot program in May of 2011 which covered 4 towns: Harvard, Hatfield, Scituate, and Winchester. Combined these towns only had 28 residential systems installed. During Massachusetts Solarize pilot, 162 residential systems were installed for a total of 829 kW of new solar capacity, saving 651 metric tons of CO2 annually and 13,000 metric tons over the lifetime of the systems. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 2,500 cars. [Source: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center]
