Join Us in Promoting Solar

Green Needham’s Solar Team is planning to greet spring with a renewed push on bringing more solar installations to Needham and beyond. We’ve had some lively discussions via phone and email

over the past few months and will be holding our first group gathering on Tuesday, April  4 at 7 p.m.  All are welcome to join us. Contact Nick Hill at nickhill1@verizon.net or 617-429-3862 for details.

We’ve been looking at a number of issues, including:

• Getting more solar installations on municipal buildings. Direct Energy Solar (formerly Astrum Solar) is donating a small system to the Town as part of the 2014 Solarize Needham effort. We’ve been working with the Town to get this rolling and should have plans finalized shortly. The bigger question is “How can we get larger solar PV systems on existing and new Town buildings”? Is there an opportunity to use Town-owned land for ground-mounted systems?
• Exploring the possibility in Needham for community solar, which makes the benefits of solar available to those who can’t install systems on their own roofs.  See our blog post about community solar.
• Finding ways to encourage more solar installations on Needham homes and businesses.
• We don’t really have a focus on public policy and legislative advocacy, but both the State and Eversource have proposed changes in how renewable energy is promoted, incentivized and priced. If there are any “policy wonks” out there (or anyone willing to delve into the details), we’d love your input and assistance.