Magnolia residents are encouraged to attend the final free workshop for innovative neighborhood solar campaign Solarize Seattle: Magnolia. The workshop will take place Thursday, October 20th at the Discovery Park Visitors Center. This is the final workshop in a series hosted by Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED), Sustainable Magnolia, and Puget Sound Solar to educate residents about the benefits of solar power in their neighborhood. Workshop attendance puts participants on the fast track to a free solar site assessment and up to 20% off the cost of a solar system. The campaign is set to be a catalyst for an unprecedented number of residential solar installations in Magnolia neighborhood.
Since the campaign’s launch in July, Magnolia residents have been lining up to participate in the neighborhood’s limited-time Solarize campaign. So far, 146 Magnolia residents have registered and 12 have already contracted to install a solar system. According to Andrew Kopser, the first Magnolia resident to install a solar system through the campaign, “I’ve thought of getting solar panels for a long time. If I would have had to do all of the research, I probably wouldn’t have done it. It was nice that the Solarize project managed all the details.” Both Kopser and his wife Kristi Maschhoff agreed that “It is fun to go look at the energy we are generating and to watch our meter run backwards.” Site assessments and contracting will continue through 2011 for Magnolia residents that register for Solarize Seattle: Magnolia by the deadline on October 31.
Solarize Seattle: Magnolia is the second campaign of Northwest SEED’s Solarize Seattle program (www.solarizeseattle.org). The campaign features a group-buy program that provides a streamlined process for residents to purchase residential solar systems for a discounted price. With the neighborhood leadership of Sustainable Magnolia, the limited-time Magnolia campaign intends to install over 200 kilowatts of solar energy in Magnolia by spring of 2012. Northwest SEED’s pilot Solarize campaign in Queen Anne resulted in 30 installations totaling over 130 kilowatts of solar, a 300% increase in solar installations in that neighborhood.
The final Solarize Seattle: Magnolia workshop will be held at the Discovery Park Visitors Center (3801 W Government Way, Seattle, WA 98199) on October 20th from 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Additional webinars will take place on November 2nd and November 10th. All workshops and webinars are free and open to the public.
Attendees are encouraged to register for Solarize Seattle: Magnolia at www.solarizeseattle.org/registration.
About Northwest SEED: Northwest SEED is a non-profit organization that empowers community scale clean energy through expert guidance that combines technical support, community education and practical implementation. www.nwseed.org.
About Sustainable Magnolia: Sustainable Magnolia is a team of committed volunteers acting to educate and actively engage citizens to help mitigate the climate crisis and to promote a sustainable quality of life in our community. www.sustainablemagnolia.org.
About Puget Sound Solar: Puget Sound Solar designs, sells, and installs solar energy products and systems for your home or business. www.pugetsoundsolar.com.