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Hocking Schools to Receive Solar Arrays as Part of Energy Competition
By: David Lee
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The Federal-Hocking School District could save thousands of dollars a month in electricity costs thanks to a local project that will place a solar array on the roof of the middle and high school.
The Athens County-based Solar ACCESS project will be able to place the 704-kW array on the roof of the schools as part of a U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar in Your Community competition. The competition aims to fund projects that support community-based solar programs in underserved communities.
According to the competition’s guidelines, Solar ACCESS will need to design and install local solar projects within an 18-month period for customer bases consisting of at least 20 percent Low and Moderate Income (LMI) or 60% non-profit.
Solar ACCESS is a partnership between UpGrade Ohio, Third Sun Solar, and New Resource Solutions and was formed in order to enter the DOE competition. In February, it was selected as one of 35 participants in the contest to receive funds. From the funds, $50,000 was used as seed money to start up Solar ACCESS, and $10,000 will be used as technical assistance vouchers.
UpGrade Ohio, the non-profit leading the project, also originated as a special project. The Southeast Ohio Public Energy Council formed UpGrade Athens County – the predecessor to UpGrade Ohio – last year to enter the Georgetown University Energy Prize. UpGrade Athens County was announced as a semifinalist, and it is waiting to hear if it’s one of the finalists able to compete for the $5 million grand prize.
“Our goal is to drive demand for clean energy in Southeast Ohio by inspiring action and encouraging people to connect to different resources to save energy,” said Sarah Conley-Ballew, the executive director of UpGrade Ohio.
She said her organization hopes to establish a community fund that is sufficient enough to fund solar energy projects within the community by itself.
“The Solar ACCESS project pairs local individuals with a valuable, new solar project in Athens County,” continued Conley-Ballew.
Solar ACCESS pools together local money to install solar panels on community buildings serving LMI families in Appalachian Ohio. Conley-Ballew says local and social benefits such as lowering costs to attend schools encourage people to assist in the solar efforts.
“The challenge is helping Southeast Ohioans recognize and step up to join the [green] revolution that’s taking place across the country,” said Conley-Ballew.