Salisbury hosted several events in the past few weeks trying to gain the towns interest into equipping the whole city with as many solar panels as possible. It all began with the Solarize Salisbury at the Lee Street Theatre downtown. The Solarize event was open to the public and allowed local citizens to get rough estimates for their houses and businesses to receive solar panels. This event even laid the foundation for Catawba College to decide that they will be installing solar panels for the whole college. So many solar panels will be installed that we will have more Solar panels than the entire countries solar paneled colleges combined.
To help answer more questions about Solarizing Salisbury and green energy in general, The Center for the Environment hosted the President of SmartPower, Brian Keane and the Solarize Salisbury campaign manager Lane Wallace. The event was semi-informal with Lane Wallace and audience members simply asking questions about the importance of green energy and some questions about how to install solar panels.
Brian Keane focused on the three kinds of barriers that Solar energy is facing right now with the number one barrier being that people simply think that solar panels will not work, and Keane insured the people in attendance that it really does work. Also, some people in the audience who already have solar panels installed in their homes also assured the people that the science behind solar panels is sound.
The second barrier of solar energy is that people have no idea where to buy solar panels. In fact, 80% of Americans say they would like solar panels but only about 3% actually get them. This is mainly because it is hard to find the right people to talk to about getting solar panels; they aren’t sold in your average hardware store next to the washing machines. One of the goals of the company SmartPower is, in fact, to make solar panels more readily available in stores for people. Until that time though, the local organization Solarize Salisbury is here for anyone interested in a solar energy estimate.
The third and final barrier of solar energy is the cost. The average cost for installing solar panels on a home is around $15,000. However, in the state of North Carolina, if you install the solar panels before December 31st of 2015 you get a 65% tax break. Also, if you install enough solar panels and/or do not use all of the energy that the panels create then the power company will have to pay you for the extra energy that they use from you. This money will then be credited towards your monthly energy bill.
If you would like more information on solar energy, Lane Wallace from Solarize Salisbury has an office right here on campus in the Center for the Environment and you can visit the Solarize Salisbury-Rowan Facebook page. Also, Brian Keane donated his book Green is Good to everyone at the event and the Center for the Environment has extras if you would like one.
