SCCA is embarking on its first Energy Project – spurred by strong interest in the topics of energy efficiency and solar power at meetings in 2012, we applied for grant funding from the City of Minneapolis this spring to engage with Seward businesses, help connect you to resources, and, hopefully, get some solar projects going in the neighborhood.

The news the community solar has now been put into law by the state has opened up some new doors for us to explore. While the details are still being worked out internally by Xcel, we do know a few things: community solar allows businesses who do not have a roof suitable for solar power, who don’t own their own building, or who don’t have the capital to invest in their own array to “subscribe” as a partner in an array that’s built on another roof. As a subscriber, you get most of the benefits related to having your own solar power equipment, but without needing to maintain, manage, host, or pay for the whole expense of the project on your own.

Neighborhood solar company Applied Energy Innovations is already working with a nearby business, Northern Sun, at 2916 East Lake, to do the first project in the area. They’ll be recruiting neighborhood residents to subscribe to the system. In Seward, we’re hoping we can establish a group of business owners to work together on a similar kind of project. There are lots of details to work out, but we already want to know if you are interested in hosting an array (if you have a relatively new, flat, unshaded, large roof on your building), or subscribing to an array in a different location. Please feel free to email questions or let us know about your level of interest at info@sewardbusiness.org. There will be much more information coming out about this project in the coming weeks. We are very excited to see how SCCA can support your business in making use of all the energy programs available to you.