(July 7, 2016) Though neither of the Worcester County meetings to organize a solar power cooperative was in danger of breaking attendance records, organizers continued to stress the importance of signing up online to realize its goals.
“When we went into this, we realized things in Worcester tended to start slowly. I’m actually encouraged by the eight we already have,” said Corey Ramsden, Maryland project manager for MD Sun, the nonprofit dedicated to helping communities form solar co-ops.
Meetings in Ocean Pines and Snow Hill during the past few weeks drew about the same number of people Ramsden said, which was about 15. From that perspective, the deal and potential savings on solar installation was enticing enough to convert nearly one-third of the audience to potential business partners.
“Assuming we’re successful, which is a goal of at least 20 participants, we’d then start the next phase of the process,” he said.
Ramsden said he would be spending the next few weeks working with event sponsors and those already in the group to try to cross the finish line.
Should that happen, the group’s wants — as outlined by responses to questions posed as part of the online form — would be ranked, collated and developed into a request for proposals document.
This document will be provided to a number of solar system installers, and any suggested by the group, to solicit bids.
By gathering into a cooperative arrangement, Ramsden said, the group can realize greater savings based on its purchasing power and savings on marketing expenses.
Anyone in Worcester County can elect to be part of the process, or drop out if it’s discovered solar solutions aren’t a good fit.
Once the form is submitted, Ramsden said MD Sun would look at satellite images of the owner’s property to see if it’s adequate to generate enough power.
However, he said, those images aren’t always entirely accurate, so property owners might need to be their own advocate should the property be determined to be unacceptable.
Ramsden said owners need about 200 square feet of roof space for the smallest viable system at 3 kW, and added ground-based solutions were also available.
The area to be covered in panels must get good, direct sunlight preferably between 9 a.m. and 3p.m., and should face south, east or west. Ramsden said north-facing surfaces don’t get enough direct sunlight to be of much use.
The form is at www.mdsun.org/worcester.
In it, MD Sun asks for information such as the address where solar panels are to be located, a recent utility bill plus asks users to rank several factors used in selecting a solar installer.
“When we went into this, we realized things in Worcester tended to start slowly. I’m actually encouraged by the eight we already have,” said Corey Ramsden, Maryland project manager for MD Sun, the nonprofit dedicated to helping communities form solar co-ops.
Meetings in Ocean Pines and Snow Hill during the past few weeks drew about the same number of people Ramsden said, which was about 15. From that perspective, the deal and potential savings on solar installation was enticing enough to convert nearly one-third of the audience to potential business partners.
“Assuming we’re successful, which is a goal of at least 20 participants, we’d then start the next phase of the process,” he said.
Ramsden said he would be spending the next few weeks working with event sponsors and those already in the group to try to cross the finish line.
Should that happen, the group’s wants — as outlined by responses to questions posed as part of the online form — would be ranked, collated and developed into a request for proposals document.
This document will be provided to a number of solar system installers, and any suggested by the group, to solicit bids.
By gathering into a cooperative arrangement, Ramsden said, the group can realize greater savings based on its purchasing power and savings on marketing expenses.
Anyone in Worcester County can elect to be part of the process, or drop out if it’s discovered solar solutions aren’t a good fit.
Once the form is submitted, Ramsden said MD Sun would look at satellite images of the owner’s property to see if it’s adequate to generate enough power.
However, he said, those images aren’t always entirely accurate, so property owners might need to be their own advocate should the property be determined to be unacceptable.
Ramsden said owners need about 200 square feet of roof space for the smallest viable system at 3 kW, and added ground-based solutions were also available.
The area to be covered in panels must get good, direct sunlight preferably between 9 a.m. and 3p.m., and should face south, east or west. Ramsden said north-facing surfaces don’t get enough direct sunlight to be of much use.
The form is at www.mdsun.org/worcester.
In it, MD Sun asks for information such as the address where solar panels are to be located, a recent utility bill plus asks users to rank several factors used in selecting a solar installer.