CHENANGO COUNTY – This spring, Southern Tier Solar Works – a program of the Binghamton Regional Substantiality Coalition – is launching Solarize Southern Tier East (SSTE), a volunteer-led community initiative dedicated to bringing solar energy to residents and small businesses throughout the region.
SSTE provides homeowners and small businesses a path to energy savings that are fixed, predictable, and long-term, as well as counsel about options that call for zero upfront costs. The SSTE program will serve Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Counties. The Solarize program will partner with three competitively-selected, qualified solar installers – Astrum Solar, ETM Solar/Taitem Engineering, and Renovus Energy. The goal of the initiative is to double the existing residential solar in the five counties.
The 2015 SSTE program is configured to provide incentives for participants to “go solar.” This will be achieved through a streamlined site-assessment process and group discounts. Online enrollment for SSTE will begin on March 21 and will run through June 10 of 2015. Higher state incentives and earlier installations will be available for those who get on board early.
SSTE will have two launch events to better serve the large geographical area that the program aims to serve. The first launch event will be held on Tuesday, March 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown. The event will include a press conference and will be followed by the first community meeting and reception. The second launch event will be held on Friday, April 3, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Binghamton University Innovative Technologies Complex – in the Energy and Science Building, Room 2008.
Following the launch events, there will be a variety of community meetings, brown bag lunches, solar home tours, and other educational activities for participants to learn what is required to lower their electric rates and keep them low for years to come. The public will have ten weeks to enroll. The more people who sign up, the lower the cost will be to all participants. Solar installations will begin in the summer of 2015 and most will be completed by the winter. Funding for solar installations is available through NYSERDA’s Green Jobs Green New York program, and through select financial institutions.
