Regent and Donna are hosting a Community Solar Array (CSA) on their property to share solar with their friends and neighbors that flows onto their field. SunCommon is hosting this event to tell folks about how memberships work, and help folks that can’t make solar work on their property benefit from the CSA. With that comes a guaranteed 7% savings on your electric bill. As you can imagine there are lots of folks state wide who are interested in this program, but we are opening the membership first to folks in New Haven. Folks who sign up at this party are guaranteed to get a membership in the Seguin’s array. Please RSVP below so we can make sure we have enough refreshments for everyone!
Community Celebrates Innovative Transportation Future at SunCommon SUN CARnival
Locals Test the Smart Pairing of Solar + Electric Vehicles
COLCHESTER, Vt – Under sunny solar-friendly skies, Vermonters gathered at St. Michael’s College on Sunday afternoon for the 2nd annual SunCommon Sun CARnival. During the community event homeowners browsed the 14 models of electric vehicles, popped the hoods and enjoyed test rides with the vehicle owners. Given the state’s rural geography, electric vehicles provide a clean energy alternative for many Vermonters seeking a solution for their daily travels.As of July 2015 there were nearly 950 plug-in electric cars registered in Vermont representing an 85% increase since 2013. Electric cars can be found across the state in two-thirds of Vermont communities. In addition to the savings on fuel, electric cars generally cost less to maintain and they qualify for a federal tax credit, which reduces the purchase or lease price.
“These events show our community members how electric cars are benefiting the lives of Vermonters, saving them money on gas and maintenance, keeping pollutants out of the air and providing a safe and fun drive, which is increasingly powered by renewable energy,” said David Roberts, Coordinator of Drive Electric Vermont.Curiosity prompted conversations about fuel savings, charging stations and affordability. “My wife and I bought a Nissan Leaf 2-1/2 years ago and almost a year ago we went solar, too. I love my EV and I enjoy driving it so much that I volunteer with United Way by giving rides through the Neighbor Rides program,” said Adam Bortz of South Burlington. “We never would have thought we could do all this but both solar and my electric vehicle are so accessible now that it made perfect sense to us.”
Solar and electric vehicle enthusiasts explore EVs, electric-assist bicycles and SunCommon’s solar programs at the Bristol Sun CARnival on Sunday July 26, 2015. SunCommon will be hosting the next Sun CARnival at St. Michael’s College on Sunday Aug 16th.
With electric bills in hand, many solar homeowners and EV drivers dispelled the myth that solar and electric vehicle technologies are cost prohibitive. “We’re going to come out ahead $1,000 in combined gasoline, propane and electrical yearly expenses; and create a much smaller carbon footprint! We’re really happy with these changes in our lives and our ability to share our energy output with our neighbors as well,” said Natalie Good of St. Albans. The Good family powers their home, efficient heat pump heating system and electric vehicle with their SunCommon solar system.SunCommon hosted Sunday’s event as a low-pressure opportunity for Vermonters to educate and engage with fellow community members and organizations. “While folks likely don’t know how many kW hours they’re using everyday, they certainly understand how much money they’re spending on energy bills,” said Clary Franko of SunCommon. “Solar and EV technology are a perfect fit and save people money. Driving an EV for the equivalent of $1 per gallon of gasoline is pretty appealing.”
Local residents enjoy free Open Hearth pizza after test-riding electric vehicles and electric-assist bicycles at SunCommon’s Sun CARnival in Bristol on Sunday July 26, 2015. SunCommon will be hosting the next Sun CARnival at St. Michael’s College on Sunday Aug 16th.
ABOUT US: SunCommon is an innovative certified Vermont Benefit Corporation that directs us to attend to the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. We believe everyone has the right to a healthy environment and safer world – and clean energy is the place the start. Our mission is to tear down the barriers that have made renewable energy inaccessible. We do that by making it easy and affordable for all Vermonters to go solar. www.suncommon.com
by Josh O’Gorman | June 16, 2015
WATERBURY — A renewable energy company is walking the walk as it divests in fossil fuel companies.
SunCommon announced Monday its employee 401k investment portfolio no longer includes companies that produce or profit from fossil fuels, and will instead invest more heavily in renewable energy.
“At SunCommon, we believe everyone has the right to a healthy environment and safer world, and clean energy is the place to start,” said Duane Peterson, president and co-founder of SunCommon. “Divesting from fossil fuels was not just a moral play, it was a financial play. We’ve moved away from fossil fuels and in turn invested in our clean energy future.”
SunCommon is one of the largest solar installation companies in Vermont, responsible for half of residential solar projects and one-third of commercial projects in 2014. To meet rising demand, the company doubled its workforce last year and now employs nearly 70 people.
The company automatically enrolls its employees in a 401k retirement plan, which during the past 42 months has amassed $740,000.
“Those investments now will no longer fuel the planet’s carbon pollution, but will support thriving companies in the clean economy,” Peterson said.
While it might be right for the planet, it also appears to the right move financially. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, since 2013, global numbers show more renewable power has been added each year than coal, natural gas and oil combined.
In the short term, in 2014, investors with a low-carbon portfolio did better financially than those heavily invested in fossil fuels, according to Jillian Mayer, divestment coordinator for environmental advocacy group 350 Vermont.
More important though, according to Mayer, is the long-term investment picture, which she says will see fossil fuel companies unable to access fossil fuel reserves they have already sold, leaving investors with what she referred to as “stranded assets.”
To continue reading SunCommon divests from fossil fuelers please visit the Times Argus here.
SunCommon, a Vermont Benefit Corporation, has chosen to divest its 401k portfolio from fossil fuels. The divestment announcement was followed by a staff-wide educational presentation by Maeve McBride of 350VT and Dan Quinlan of Divestor.org. In keeping with SunCommon’s legal charter that directs the company to attend to the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, the 69 employees were offered mutual fund options that support clean energy.
“At SunCommon, we believe everyone has the right to a healthy environment and safer world – and clean energy is the place to start. Divesting from fossil fuels was not just a moral play, it was a financial play. We’ve moved away from fossil fuels and in turn invested in our clean energy future,” said Duane Peterson, president and co-founder of SunCommon.
SunCommon automatically signs up each employee to the company’s 401k retirement plan on their first day of work, matching up to 4% of their salaries. SunCommon employees, in three and a half years of business, have amassed over $740,000. “Those investments now will no longer fuel the planet’s carbon pollution, but will support thriving companies in the clean economy,” Peterson added.
According to a recent analysis presented at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit, global numbers show more renewable power was added each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined. This shift began in 2013, when the world added 143 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity. That same year, plants that burn fossil fuels added 141 gigawatts.
“Today, the US solar industry employs 174,000 Americans nationwide – more than tech giants Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter combined – and pumps nearly $18 billion a year into our economy,” said Rhone Resch with the April 2, 2015 release of the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review(link is external). Resch is president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
In Vermont, SunCommon built half of the state’s residential solar last year (3 of 6MW) and one-third of the commercial solar capacity according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight report. To meet the rising demand for solar, SunCommon doubled its workforce in 2014.
Vermont has become a proven leader in the growing green economy, but the shift is now happening on a larger scale. “A massive global transition away from fossil fuels is underway,” said Timothy Yee of Green Retirement, Inc., SunCommon’s retirement advisor, “Fossil fuel companies have four to five times more fossil fuels in existing reserves than can be safely burned meaning these inventories will become stranded assets. Investments in fossil fuel companies are, therefore, bad risks. Careful investors recognize the adverse effect that risk poses to their portfolios and act to divest from fossil fuels before a correction occurs.”
SunCommon joins a growing list of Vermont institutions committed to supporting clean energy. “It’s great to see SunCommon divest from fossil fuels alongside Sterling College, Green Mountain College, and Goddard College, as well as the many state employees who have chosen fossil free options for their retirement funds. The growing momentum of the fossil fuel divestment movement was reinforced this week with the announcement that the G7 leaders agreed we need to phase out the use of fossil fuels,” said Eric Becker of Clean Yield Asset Management, one of America’s oldest socially responsible investment advisory firms – based in Norwich.
In just three years, SunCommon has helped over 1,400 Vermonters move toward energy independence by going solar.
FOR VERMONT’S NEXT GENERATION, SOLAR IS AN ASSET
APR. 20 2015
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Emily McManamy, who is the storyteller at SunCommon. She is a native Vermonter who lives in Starksboro.
When my husband and I were house hunting in 2010, Starksboro was not on our radar. We were young 20-somethings on the hunt for an affordable property in Chittenden County unaware of Addison County’s rural charm. As native Vermonters, we craved space, peace and quiet and hunted for the progressive, inventive ethic we enjoyed from our college years in Boston. And that’s how we found Starksboro.
While we were house hunting, Starksboro was busy planning its own future. The town decided to power its municipal buildings and Robinson Elementary School with clean, renewable and affordable energy. The town went solar in October 2010 by installing a 100kW project behind Robinson Elementary School with the help of AllEarth Renewables.
I was drawn to Starksboro’s commitment to our green energy future and now, nearly five years later, I’m proud that my fellow Starksboro residents voted to purchase the array providing healthy, safe and affordable energy for our future.
Community-scale solar has been hot in the headlines this year as we see increased presence in our towns. I took exception to an April 5 editorial by Mr. Peter Rothschild (“A deep divide”) about the recent solar siting hearing at the Statehouse. I was in attendance that evening and spoke in support of solar. And while some of the speakers were fellow young professionals, I was surprised to see Mr. Rothschild frame his piece as solar being a simple division of the ages: “Many of the people advocating for absolutely no regulation of the siting of solar projects were under the age of 30, an age below which most folks may find it hard to amass enough money to buy a home. For most people who own a home, it is their largest single investment, so it’s natural to expect them to fight for some regulations to protect the value of their homes.”
I agree. When I was a 26-year-old young professional, I found it difficult to afford a home in Vermont. The high cost of living, expensive oil bills and tight job market encouraged my husband and me to consider leaving our native Green Mountains in search of not-so-greener pastures elsewhere. When the economy tanked and my job security was in question, I again turned to solar’s promising future by joining the ever-growing clean energy workforce, now 15,000 strong statewide. I, too, am looking to “protect the value” of my home, but I choose to do so by investing in an infrastructure that supports Vermont’s clean energy independence. I choose solar.
I urge Mr. Rothschild not to discount the voice of fellow Vermont residents because of their age. I dispute his argument that this is simply a demographic debate. But, to his point, if indeed those supporting solar tend to be young renters, then I imagine this is the very generation that the Vermont housing market will depend on as these renters search for affordable, clean, renewable energy options in their neighborhood. This generation is, after all, Vermont’s future tax base. I don’t think young Vermonters are taking a “free-rider position” in the debate. I see them working toward securing their own existence in a future they have a hand in designing.
This is where I want to raise my family. I want to live in a place that not only has accepted responsibility for our impact on the climate, but is also actively working toward a solution. My kids will learn in a classroom powered by solar, with the very power source beautifully planted in the field by the school. No longer will generations be disconnected from their energy sources. As the former Robinson Elementary School Principal Dan Noel once said, “It’s the right thing to do, because we’re not relying on other people to make our electricity. That’s a very Vermont sort of independence.” The lessons of climate change will not be taught in our students’ textbooks, but every single day when they walk into their solar-powered classroom.
Let’s set an example by supporting solar instead of discounting the very voices that depend on it the most.
Significant Energy Spill Disclosed to Vermont Regulators
Pursuant to environmental protection statues, the State of Vermont has been notified of a significant energy spill. Vermont Hazardous Waste Management Regulations Section 7-105 requires that:
All discharges and/or releases that meet any of the following criteria shall be immediately reported to the Secretary (ANR) by the person or persons exercising control over such waste by notifying the Waste Management & Prevention Division.
At 8:02am today, SunCommon notified the Agency of Natural Resources of a massive solar spill. Attempts to limit this discharge have failed, and it appears that the spill will continue unabated. Unchecked, this incident is pouring solar radiation the equivalent of 3 billion gallons of gasoline across Vermont’s landscape – every day.
In calculating the penalties for such an energy spill, SunCommon asked the Agency of Natural Resources to consider the offsetting benefits for the thousands of Vermonters who harness this solar energy to generate clean, safe, renewable power.
“We expect these spills to only worsen, as the days lengthen into summer,” admitted Duane Peterson, co-president of SunCommon in making this disclosure to state officials.
To alert citizens to this public safety situation, SunCommon created this educational video.
To report a solar spill near you, sign up below!
by Caleb Elder | January 19, 2015
A recent study from the Solar Foundation found that Vermont had more solar jobs per capita in 2013 than any other state. This is particularly impressive when you consider how the solar industry has thrived across the country, providing plenty of competition. The numbers for 2014 aren’t in yet, but based on what I’ve seen this year, Vermont will likely maintain its No. 1 spot in the rankings.
Many of these new jobs go to recent graduates of our local schools, or maybe to those returning from college elsewhere, excited to pursue a solar job back at home. When I graduated from Middlebury College in 2004, having grown up in Addison County, this kind of opportunity was much harder to find. Still other positions have been created or expanded at existing companies in response to new solar business opportunities.
Solar jobs are distributed more evenly around Vermont than jobs in other tech sectors, which tend to gravitate more heavily toward Chittenden County. Distributed generation is a key principle in developing renewable energy projects. Basically it means they can’t all be clumped together in one spot. This means that if we support this industry, it will continue to provide green jobs and clean energy for every town and gore across our state.
There’s no question about it: Solar is generating jobs in Vermont, and our future can be bright.
Caleb Elder
Starksboro
Editor’s note: The writer has worked in the solar power industry for seven years.
SunCommon honored at Gov. Shumlin’s Inaugural Address
Today was a momentous day. And a particularly exciting day for our growing solar company. Gov. Peter Shumlin was reelected for a third term and chose to highlight Vermont’s strong and growing renewable energy sector as a centerpiece of his inaugural address. The Governor’s address wove a narrative of Vermonters looking to make a difference, entrepreneurs working to create jobs and Vermont’s continued dedication to our natural environment.
“We know what makes Vermont the best place in America. Without our mountains, hills, and valleys; our farms, streams, lakes, and forests – remote, quiet, and rooted in rugged marble, slate, and granite – Vermont would be just another place to live. Our natural habitat binds Vermonters tightly to our state; it’s what inspires others to put roots down here,” said Gov. Peter Shumlin.
The Governor’s address was not news, but rather a reminder of our responsibility as citizens. Our small, beautiful state can further the fight against climate change. These vistas, these luscious green hillsides and snowcapped mountains, are a daily visual reminder of what we’re working to protect.
“We know everything we hold precious is under threat from climate change and pollution. Time and again, since I’ve been Governor, we have borne witness together to the destructive power of extreme weather on our homes, businesses, farmland, roads and bridges. This extreme rain and flooding have also worsened our water pollution problems, hastening all that is undermining the beauty and health of our lakes,” said Gov. Peter Shumlin.
Vermont’s size and scale presents opportunities to build our green energy future and reduce our impact upon our land. Our progressive, small and innovative community is an incubator to transform big ideas into real solutions. Simply put? We get things done. So that’s why we’re here. SunCommon is a mission-driven pioneering Benefit Corporation right here in Vermont. We live here and we want to protect it. So, to do our bit we’ve focused our energy on green energy. House by house, panel by panel we’re changing the way Vermonters power their lives, their homes and their vehicles. And wouldn’t you know? We need Vermonters to get the job done.
“SunCommon of Waterbury Center is making solar more accessible for homeowners from all income levels and providing good jobs for young people who want to stay here,” said Gov. Peter Shumlin. “Look at Dayton Brown. Born and raised here, he attended Vermont Tech for engineering and joined the Vermont Air National Guard, serving a tour in Afghanistan. He is now making a life for his family, working for SunCommon. His co-worker Graham Fisk, a solar advisor for the company, came to Vermont to attend Middlebury College and, after leaving for a time in the big city, Vermont’s promise called him back. Dayton and Graham, we’re glad we have you.”
We’re glad we have you! Dayton and Graham are a piece of our beautiful puzzle. Our company doubled its workforce in 2014 and we are thrilled to see the excitement, passion and drive coming from Montpelier to further this renewable energy movement of ours. Our environment is important and none of this gets done without the support from our community. Gov. Shumlin’s focus on community solar and his proposal for an Energy Innovation Program highlighted how we can add “community-scale, locally generated clean energy to our portfolio.”
“No one knows better than Vermonters how to turn a challenging adversity like climate change into opportunity. Just look at our burgeoning green energy industry. Through Vermont innovation and collaboration, partnered with creative public policy and regulation, we are pioneering the development and deployment of locally generated, low carbon energy, creating jobs and putting money in Vermonter’s pockets while we do it. Yesterday’s huge power plant, far away out there somewhere, connected to us by endless poles and wires, will be supplanted by tomorrow’s integrated micro-grid, with community scaled renewable energy systems powering our smart, green homes and businesses.”
We’re grateful to see Gov. Shumlin lead the charge in building upon this community. Thanks for joining us.
Vermonters soak up solar energy
I was excited to read “Smaller renewable power projects up 58 percent in VT” (Nov. 17). The cost of solar has come down so far, and Vermont’s thriving solar industry has gotten so efficient, that thousands of Vermont homeowners now actually save money on their utility bills by going solar.
I got my solar system with no upfront cost and a low monthly payment and love it. I encourage others to look into saving money by doing the right thing as well. Good news for a change!
Corey Decker
Fletcher
To continue reading more Letter to the Editors, click here.