The Greater Akron Innovation Network for Sustainability (GAINS) hosted their first monthly meeting of 2020 this week (2nd Wednesday of every month). This month’s meeting was hosted by Gina Burk who led the discussion about supporting a local renewable energy future. The two speakers were Gary Easton, from the Appalachian Renewable Power Systems, and Tom Ghinder from the Akron Solar Project.
Beyond explaining his products, services and the economic incentives that presently support transition to solar power outside of the obvious environmental benefits, Gary spoke about Solar Cooperatives where large of people can opt into a Co-op and receive a discounted rate per watt as it such organizations save him advertising expenses and he passes the savings on to consumers.
Tom spoke about how to “get ready” for solar by doing simple things such as utilizing Google’s Project Sunroof that will show you what areas of you roof receive the most sunlight. He also shared his experience of getting an online quote for which he simply needed his present electricity bill (to determine amount of electricity used in his household). The site provided detailed information including charts that demonstrated the benefits of how much someone will benefit from an investment in Solar.
Gina’s presentation included a beak down of the Property Assessed Clean Energy financing program in Ohio. There is a high emphasis on consumer protection, and a low-interest long term loan meant to help people consider making investments to improve the energy efficiency of their home.
