Mount Pleasant’s Solar Power
29 02 2008
We were very excited last year when we heard about the plans of the Mount Pleasant Solar Co-op to create one of the Countries first solar-powered communities.
Residents working with Switch LLC, a renewable energy company, are working to replace their electricity with 3,000 kilowatt-hours of solar power in at least 100 homes in Mount Pleasant.
However all this seems to be in jeopardy due to a complex conflict in regulations requiring power companies to fund energy efficient projects which may acctually end up deflect funds to other purposes. The neighbors were counting on credits to offset the cost of installation which would no longer exist if a proposed Ward 3 bill passes.
It’s things like this that make people so disillusioned with the legislative process. We are sure there are a lot of intricacies we don’t understand, but what we do get is the possibility that District residents may not have as much of an incentive to go green.
Granted homeowners can still opt to get the solar panels for the full price, but it would be nice if the people that make an investment for everyones betterment, can make the initial cost a little less painful!
We will keep you posted, because this project will hopefully serve as an example to other area neighborhoods. [FlickrPhoto: Reinhilde]
Wonder if they’ve already gotten approval for solar panels in the historic district?
I was actually thinking about adding solar panels to my roof sometime in the near future. They wouldn’t be noticable from the street. Does anyone know if Switch LLC (or any other company) would do work on a single house instead of many houses?
[…] in Mount Pleasents lead for solar powered homes in the district is a development calling itself Capital Solar Condos. The building is a renovated […]
I would be happy to speak with any of you about the Mt Pleasant solar coop. We are fully engaged in the DC City council’s proposed bill and are in fact counting on it to make the Mt Pleasant Solar coop happen. The article in the Washington Business Journal was confused because Pepco has a particular view of the Clean and Affordable Energy act of 2008 that the MTP Solar Coop does not share–we are fully supportive of the bill. On the issue of Historic Permits, we have not gotten the permits yet, but do not anticipate problems as the panels will not be visible from the street. Please feel free to contact me directly. Solarcoop@yahoo.com