A rising variety of Mesa County residents are absorbing the Western Slope sunshine in additional methods than one.
Mesa County Photo voltaic Co-op, a photo voltaic group-buy initiative facilitated by Photo voltaic United Neighbors, has introduced greater than 200 households and companies on board.
Of these, no less than 50 neighborhood members are having photo voltaic panels put in at their properties or companies.
This co-op is anticipated to be the largest in Colorado, with greater than 350 kilowatts of photo voltaic vitality being deployed to the area’s rooftops by means of Alasta Photo voltaic Heart, and greater than $1 million in preliminary native investments.
“I’m so pleased to see the response that we’ve had,” mentioned Wendy Metzger of Mesa County Photo voltaic Co-op. “It exhibits us that individuals within the valley are getting collectively to assist our valley be a greater place to reside and a greater place typically … Folks really feel extra assured that there shall be energy obtainable for them ought to something go incorrect on the planet round us.”
Metzger, who lives in Loma, is the chairwoman of Mesa County Photo voltaic Co-op’s steering committee, a bunch of residents dedicated to spreading using photo voltaic vitality and adopting it for themselves.
She sees a rise in photo voltaic vitality as useful to the Grand Valley, not solely in terms of decreasing electrical energy prices, but additionally environmentally.
She applies photo voltaic vitality to her personal native small enterprise.
“I believe, within the Grand Valley, all of us worth our tourism trade, which relies on clear air and fantastically preserved out of doors areas,” Metzger mentioned.
“Photo voltaic helps in that respect. I’m a small enterprise proprietor with managed environmental agriculture. I develop lettuce indoors and fish in an aquapond setup. It’s energy-intensive at occasions, however the photo voltaic will counter and offset that. It’s a very good match with my perception in attempting to ensure we develop contemporary, wholesome meals for the local people and hold our air clear and never be fairly as depending on oil and fuel, which I don’t assume will ever go away fully, however we might do a greater job of getting some cleaner vitality obtainable.”
Signal-ups for the present photo voltaic co-op are closed, however these occupied with being on the waitlist for the following co-op can join at SolarUnitedNeighbors.org/MesaCounty.
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