Finally! Solar installation starts!

We've been eagerly waiting a few long, sunny, months for this news! We got the call this week from "Livelight" (our contractor), telling us that our solar "kit" was finally in and ready for installation.

Part of Solarize Pendleton (and many other "solarize" programs) is that we all work with a single contractor to get the best cost savings. One problem with this is that if you're not first in line, you wait... and wait... and wait... But it looks like our waiting is almost over! Today the roofers came and installed the mounts and rails that the solar panels will be mounted on. It took 2 men about 3-4 hours to do it. With a new house like ours, with engineered roof trusses, it was pretty straightforward, so we were told. We feel lucky this way. I guess some older, and more custom houses have had a harder time mounting the "bases". Monday the electrician comes with the panels and inverters and such, then it's inspections and finally the electric company will hook us up to the grid. This is what our house looks like today:
We've watched a few other solar installations going up in our neighborhood and are excited to soon be joining them. Despite the long wait, which was also partially due to manufacturing delays and very high demand, we're still glad we went with the "solarize" program, and can't wait to show you the end result!!

Going solar!!

We're doing it! Friday, we found out that we were one of 50 households who won a zero-interest loan through the city of Pendleton, OR!!! There were 93 households who applied, so we feel incredibly lucky! We'll have 4 years to pay back the loan, and will have to agree to a lien on our house, but much of that loan will be paid back with tax rebates that we should be getting in the next 3 years. We also met with the actual contractor who measured our roof, looked at the inside and outside of it, and inspected the electric system. Once again, he said we have a "near perfect" place for solar on our roof. We'll be getting the actual bid in the mail soon, signing the paperwork, and hopefully the company will start installing in June, or July. They have about 200 households who've signed up who are in various stages of commitment for the mass city project, so that should cut costs even more.

The drawing for the loan awards was done at Friday's Growers' Market here in Pendleton. While we missed the actual drawing, a white board was left up with all the names in place of who won the awards and who didn't. They wrote each name down in the order they drew them, and if any of the 50 households for some reason can't go through with a solar array installation, then next in line will be eligible. Looking at the list kind of reminded me of high school try-outs for sports or plays. While we're thrilled to be on the "in list", this being the small town that it is, we knew some of the people who didn't get one of the loans.... co-workers, neighbors, friends... So it's a bit bitter sweet, since we wish all 93 families could get a similar loan. We've also been learning just who in town will also be going solar and have found out a few of our neighbors will also be on this adventure with us, which really makes us happy, since we'll have someone else to compare notes with. But until I have more notes to share ourselves, shine on, shine on....

Going Solar

My husband and I have been thinking about this for many years... figuring out a way to go solar or wind power, or? Finally, I think the stars have aligned and the combination of a local city program, and tax credits available right now, and a South-facing house roof in a city with lots of sun has got us moving forward at last. We're not quite sure if we can do it, but we've taken the first steps.

We attended a local information system, through the city of Pendleton, Oregon. Solarize Pendleton is an amazing program that has been put together with the help of many different people and agencies. I encourage you to look at their program, and copy it in your own communities. We feel that we can not afford to miss out on this opportunity. And in this day and age, it even makes sense to pull money out of retirement funds to invest in solar energy for our house, instead of Wall Street. We're hoping we can get one of the no-interest loans that the city is offering. Wish us luck!!

We have the Oregon Energy Trust coming out next week to do an energy audit of our house to see how we can improve how we use and save energy. They'll look at the insulation, appliances, heat, AC, hot water etc... At the same time, we will be getting an assessment as to whether or not our house is situated to be a good candidate for solar. They'll look at how much shade we get (almost none), and the orientation of our roof (almost due South). The panels need to face South for the best energy generation. The size of our roof will also determine the size of array we can get. At this time, there is no program to buy back excess energy that we generate, but it will be credited back to our electric account to use when the sun is not out. Excess energy will go to our neighbors to use, keeping it all local.

I thought it'd be fun to bring you along on the journey as we try to "go greener".

It's a cause we both feel very strongly about, and want to teach our boys, by example that it needs to be a priority, both for the environment, and for our fellow citizens who have sacrificed their lives drilling for oil in the Gulf Coast, or mining for coal in West Virginia. Not everyone can go solar, but we can all make steps to use less gas and electricity.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Also, I'd love to hear any other stories and experiences of others who have gone solar!!!