Join the Arlington Solar Co-op

A new solar co-op is now being formed in Arlington. The Arlington Solar Co-op is part of a local, grass roots effort organized by’ EcoAction Arlington , the’ Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE)‘ and’ Virginia SUN’ (a program of Community Power Network), a local non-profit that helps communities go solar.

A few spots are still available to join the Arlington Solar Co-op. Learn more.’  In the meantime, here’s the third of 4 posts on solar.

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‘ The Benefits of Going Solar

Solar is now much cheaper than what it was just a few years ago and is now economical for many homeowners. A small residential-sized (3KW) solar system producing a percentage of a home’s electricity can now be easily purchased for less than $10,000- Federal tax incentives further reduce the cost of a system an additional 30%.

Larger systems producing a greater percentage of electricity have a proportionally larger up-front cost but produce more electricity and annual savings. Independent of system size, payback times for residential systems in Virginia are approximately 10 years.

Yet it’s easy to argue that the value of solar is much more than what’s reflected in its price and payback times. Because a solar system has no moving parts and major component warranties of 25 years, the expected lifespan of a system is more than 30 years. When you go solar you now become an energy producer, using a clean limitless source of fuel to become more independent of an increasingly expensive and dirty traditional power grid. More than half of Northern Virginia’s electricity is generated by fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) and according to Virginia State Corporation Commission, the cost of electricity has risen more than 22% in the last seven years.

Going solar is a way to take your energy destiny into your own hands and join a growing movement of people of all political affiliations in Virginia and across the country that are saving on rising energy costs and helping the environment.

An investment in solar power is also a commitment to renewable energy and can help reduce carbon emissions and reliance on foreign oil supplies. In addition, a homeowner’s decision to go solar take away just of bit of the power of the utility companies to decide how electricity is generated and will help Arlington meet its 2050 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent compared to the 2007 baseline.