How a community solar scheme is turning sunshine into dollars
By Kelly Vaughn on 11 July 2012
Years ago, a Basalt native Paul Spencer set out to build an off-grid home not far from RMI’s Snowmass office. Through the process of designing and building his house, he developed a passion for real estate, and became well versed in renewable energy technologies. He began looking into the option of a green development in the Roaring Fork Valley: super-efficient homes powered by renewable energy.
But, due to trees shading the proposed building sites, rooftop solar didn’t work. Instead, Spencer proposed to build a shared solar array that would power the neighborhood. While the development didn’t go through, the community solar concept remained.
Now, Spencer is the president and founder of Carbondale-based Clean Energy Collective (CEC) an LLC that builds, operates, and maintains community-based clean energy facilities, currently all solar PV. Last week, David Wiedinmyer, director of business development, led a group of RMI staff on a tour.
“There are real and significant obstacles that the solar industry faces,” said Wiedinmyer. “If there weren’t you’d see a lot more solar on rooftops throughout the country.”
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