Fairfield maple sugarer Harvey Bushey is planting a new crop on his farm, a community solar array. A longtime resident of Franklin County, Bushey has meticulously tended to his sugarbush by boiling sap every spring for his business, Log Cabin Maples. On a recent afternoon, Bushey and his wife, Mary, were found enjoying the bucolic Vermont tradition alongside the state’s promising new future of solar energy. As Bushey stoked the fire and drew the syrup from this year’s maple crop, a SunCommon solar install crew planted a 150kw community solar array in the field just outside the sugarhouse window.
Vermont maple farmer hosts a Community Solar Array from SunCommon on Vimeo.
“We’ve got all this land here and I’d love to have a nice solar array put in,” said Bushey of Fairfield. The one-acre array will serve about 30 Vermont households looking to get in on solar. Community solar arrays were created to serve a Vermont population unable to go solar at their own homes.
“While solar is perfect for many Vermont households, some homes are not great candidates because they do not face south or have trees that block the sunshine,” said SunCommon co-founder Duane Peterson.“SunCommon’s Community Solar Array program allows all Vermonters to do their part to bring about clean energy.”
Landowners like Bushey with an acre of open land can host a Community Solar Array. While landowners are compensated for their land, many enjoy an added benefit.
“I’m happy we’ve got something like this on our land,” said Bushey, a grandfather and great-grandfather that recognizes the opportunity to protect Vermont’s natural resources by repowering the state with clean, renewable energy. “This is something we’re doing for our kids. I love it.”
The effect solar will have on future generations is already being realized. According to an analysis unveiled at the 2015 Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit,more renewable powerwas built in America last yearthan oil, coal and gas combined.
“These community solar arrays represent the birth of an innovative effort to build an independent energy future for our Vermont,” said Peterson. “We’re all in this together and our goal is to make it easy and affordable for regular Vermonters to participate in repowering our beloved state.”
The benefit of community solar is felt both by land hosts and the members that join the array.
“When I see these great solar arrays in the fields, I see a new iteration of Vermont’s working landscape,” said Community Solar Array member Wendy McArdle. “It’s a new way of looking at our land as a way to produce the things we need and be respectful to our environment.”
When sharing his motivation for hosting a community solar array, Bushey notes how proud he is to support Vermont’s green energy future: “I’m going to be happy as the dickens every morning to see this when I get up.”
ABOUT SunCommon:SunCommon, Vermont’s largest solar business,believes that everyone has the right to a healthy environment and safer world -- and clean energy is where it starts. Energy from the sun can power our lives, heat our homes and fuel our cars. Our mission is to tear down the barriers to renewable energy. We do that by making it easy and affordable for all Vermonters to go solar. SunCommon was charteredas one of Vermont's pioneering Benefit Corporations and is aCertified BCorp based on arigorous third party assessment of ourcommitmentto the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.
The business is headquartered in Waterbury Center where most of our 90 workers operate out of Vermont’s largest net-zero office building which produces more energy than it uses. SunCommon has earned distinction as one of Vermont’s Best Places to Work, received an Environmental Merit Award by the US EPA and a Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. SunCommon’s values-led business memberships include Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Social Venture Network and Renewable Energy Vermont.
Source:SunCommon. 4.24.2015