Mary is a retired schoolteacher who lives in Maryland in a house she owns, which she referred to as a “small bungalow.” She was an early adopter of community solar, subscribing to the first community solar farm managed by Neighborhood Sun, known as Panorama. She learned about the concept while shopping at her local grocery store, MOMs Organic Market, which is one of Neighborhood Sun’s community partners. Mary already had 18 solar panels installed on her roof, but they were not covering the entirety of her electricity needs.
“Well, I had been in my house for a while and had arranged to get solar panels put on the roof, but they were not going to cover my electricity needs, so I wanted to supplement with alternative energy. Solar was easy. I saw the project was starting up, so I jumped on that. My journey was pretty straightforward. It was such a wonderful– and I’m sure they still are wonderful– but the crew at Neighborhood Sun was so energetic and excited about the project. They were all involved in something new.”
Mary said it was important to her to see creative placement of the solar arrays, such as on city rooftops, over highways, etc., rather than them taking up fields that could be used for other purposes. The community solar farm Mary is subscribed to is located on a capped landfill in Maryland, turning a brownfield site into an environmental asset for the community. She said subscribing was an easy choice for her, and the dual-use nature of the site factored into her decision at the time.
“There was nothing that big for me to hesitate about. It was an easy process to sign up, as I remember. And I was very motivated to move away from fossil fuels. I did like Neighborhood Sun because it felt local. I mean, I know where Fort Washington is, you know.”
“Well, I’m extremely aware of climate issues. I actually taught environmental science at the high school level and a little bit touched on pure climate science. so I was definitely interested in getting off fossil fuel energy sources. And when I found I couldn’t quite cover it with the solar, then I looked around and learned I could. And so I chose the solar to go with Neighborhood Sun on that.”
Although the savings were not a primary motivator, Mary has still benefitted from savings on each electricity bill since her community solar farm was connected to the grid. Because she only needed a small share of her local community solar farm’s output to supplement her own rooftop’s output, her savings are not as significant as someone who is relying entirely on community solar to cover their household’s electricity needs.
Mary emphasized that the fixed discount provided by community solar subscriptions is especially valuable for seniors who rely on a fixed income. Fortunately, the discount provided through community solar is a fixed percentage, so savings increase as utility rates increase.
“Seniors need community solar the most because they’re on a fixed income. Every time there’s a price hike, it affects them. But, I always tell people I talk to, this is not a direction you go because it’s a big discount in cost. It. The goal is to reduce fossil fuel emissions. And that’s definitely my goal.”
Mary has referred friends and neighbors in her area to community solar, earning herself $50 gift cards for each person she helped to subscribe.
The first thing people ask is if it was a lot cheaper. ‘Did you get a big discount on your energy?’ they would ask. And I definitely get some. It’s 5 or 10%, but, but that’s not the point. You’re going to pay for energy one way or another. So it’s ideal to get a better, healthier source of energy for the planet. Now, the discounts are great. I don’t deny it. And they were helpful-kept me going as I went down this path. And they’re helpful in talking to other people. You know, we got a [gift card] for recruiting other people. So I would say ‘You get a little bit and I get a little bit, and we both get alternative energy.’ So they [the financial benefits] are valuable. Absolutely.”
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