Indiana Borough Partners on First County Solar-Co-op
February 3rd, 2020
Solar co-ops take advantage of collective purchasing power to make it easier and cheaper for people to install solar systems. Participants select a single installer on behalf of the entire group through an open and competitive bidding process. The chosen installer then provides personalized proposals for all co-op members at a discounted group rate. The bigger the Co-op, the better the deal.
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In November 2018, Indiana Borough and other local entities partnered with Solar United Neighbors to create the first Indiana County Solar Co-op. Solar United Neighbors is a non-profit that has helped more than 2,500 homes go solar and facilitated a total of 19,000 kW of solar energy since 2007.
The Indiana County Solar Co-op grew to become one of the most active co-ops in the state in terms of raw numbers and the percentage of participants who signed solar contracts. Eighty-nine individuals signed up to form the co-op. Seventeen of those individuals have already signed contracts and currently enjoy having solar installed on their properties. Solar production in Indiana County has risen 66 percent as a result of the co-op, producing a total of 169.02 kW of solar energy. Additionally, 5 million pounds of CO2 has been reduced as well.
There is more to come in the future. Since the first round of the co-op was so successful, Indiana Borough and Solar United Neighbors are teaming up again for a second round of the solar co-op in 2020. In addition to recruiting more residential participants, we hope to expand more into the business sector of Indiana County, as well as explore options to finance municipal projects as well.
Solar co-ops take advantage of collective purchasing power to make it easier and cheaper for people to install solar systems. Participants select a single installer on behalf of the entire group through an open and competitive bidding process. The chosen installer then provides personalized proposals for all co-op members at a discounted group rate. The bigger the Co-op, the better the deal.
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In November 2018, Indiana Borough and other local entities partnered with Solar United Neighbors to create the first Indiana County Solar Co-op. Solar United Neighbors is a non-profit that has helped more than 2,500 homes go solar and facilitated a total of 19,000 kW of solar energy since 2007.
The Indiana County Solar Co-op grew to become one of the most active co-ops in the state in terms of raw numbers and the percentage of participants who signed solar contracts. Eighty-nine individuals signed up to form the co-op. Seventeen of those individuals have already signed contracts and currently enjoy having solar installed on their properties. Solar production in Indiana County has risen 66 percent as a result of the co-op, producing a total of 169.02 kW of solar energy. Additionally, 5 million pounds of CO2 has been reduced as well.
There is more to come in the future. Since the first round of the co-op was so successful, Indiana Borough and Solar United Neighbors are teaming up again for a second round of the solar co-op in 2020. In addition to recruiting more residential participants, we hope to expand more into the business sector of Indiana County, as well as explore options to finance municipal projects as well.
