METRO EAST - The pandemic has prompted many people to think differently about their daily lives, and for some this has included making the investment to make their homes more sufficient with renewable solar energy. One local program, Grow Solar Metro East, has made this process easier and more affordable for 41 property owners who have committed to going solar in 2020.
Powered by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), Grow Solar is a solar education and group-buy program empowering communities across the Midwest to invest in solar energy. The MREA coordinates two Grow Solar programs in the Metro-St. Louis area: Grow Solar Metro East and Grow Solar St. Louis.
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Grow Solar Metro East began in 2016 in Godfrey, IL with the help of local organizations and a partnership between Lewis and Clark Community College and the MREA. Since then, Grow Solar Metro East has resulted in more than 175 local solar installations.
In 2019, the EarthWays Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden partnered with Washington University in St. Louis and MREA to pilot a similar program in St. Louis City and County. In its first year, Grow Solar St. Louis saw an incredible surge of interest from St. Louis City and County residents with 424 KWs of renewable solar energy being added to the St. Louis area.
This year, despite a global pandemic, the Metro East program proved once again that interest in solar is booming! The 2020 program will see another 411 kWs of solar added to Calhoun, Madison, St.Clair, and Monroe Counties. Together with sister program Grow Solar St. Louis, program participants earned a 2% rebate for their Grow Solar systems, in addition to already lower-than-market prices through the group buy. The combined total of 867 kW of new capacity will offset over 1,621,730 pounds of carbon dioxide and save solar homeowners roughly $105,862 on electricity bills collectively in their first year of operation alone.
But, Grow Solar is not just about purchasing solar. The program also set out to help educate the community about solar energy. As part of this mission, Grow Solar Metro East hosted 20+ Solar Power Hour webinars, with 191 folks who registered to learn about solar energy. Providing solar and energy efficiency education today pays sustainability dividends in the future when these folks decide to act, even if it is not as part of this year’s program.
With the successes of the 2016-2020 program years, the team is excited to start thinking about Grow Solar Metro East 5.0, launching in spring of 2021!
In the meantime, residents looking for more information about the program can visit GrowSolarMetroEast.org to sign up to receive important updates about the launch of next year’s program.
