Southern Tier Solar Works (STSW), a program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition (BRSC), is launching Solarize Southern Tier East (SSTE) to bring solar energy to our area. SSTE offers homeowners and small businesses a path to energy savings that are fixed, predictable and long-term.
The SSTE campaign will serve Broome, Tioga, Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Counties, and will partner with three competitively-selected, installer partners – Astrum Solar, ETM Solar/TAITEM Engineering, and Renovus Energy – with the goal of doubling existing residential solar in the five counties.
The SSTE 2015 campaign is a limited-time initiative designed to incentivize “going solar” with the help of a streamlined site-assessment process and group discounts. Online enrollment will run through June 10. Early enrollment and contracting is rewarded through higher State incentives and earlier installations. Registration and all program information will be available at www.southerntiersolarworks.org.
The public will have 10 weeks to enroll during this campaign. The more people who sign up, the lower their cost becomes. Installations will begin this summer, with most completed before winter of 2015. Financing is available through NYSERDA’s Green Jobs Green New York program and through select banks and credit unions.
Two program launch events and more than 30 community meetings, brown bag lunches, and solar home tours across the five-county region – all free and open to the public – will give participants opportunities to learn what it takes to go solar.
Solarize programs jump-start regional solar markets, lower price volatility and bring energy independence to our communities. By increasing our energy efficiency and our use of renewable energy sources, New York can become a national leader in the clean energy economy. Solar power is the most plentiful, free, and constant source of energy on our planet.
Be a part of an energy future that will benefit our entire society – from local job growth, to lower energy costs, to the improved health and wellbeing of our communities.
Locally, the campaign launches on Friday, April 3, at Binghamton University Innovative Technologies Complex, 65 Murray Hill Rd., Vestal, Energy and Science Building, Room 2008 from noon to 1 p.m.
Upcoming programs, locally, include a community meeting on April 9 at Tioga Downs, West River Road in Nichols, from 7 to 9 p.m.; on Tuesday, April 14 at the Elks Lodge located at 223 Front St. in Owego from 7 to 9 p.m.; on Wednesday, April 15 at the Vestal Public Library, 320 Vestal Parkway East in Vestal from 7 to 9 p.m.; a Solar Tour on Saturday, April 18, at the Owego-Apalachin School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., registration information is available by calling (607) 342-3159; a community meeting on Monday, April 20 at the Broome County Public Library located at 185 Court St. in Binghamton from 6 to 8 p.m.; a community meeting at the Southern Tier Earth Fest – Exhibition on Saturday, April 25 at SUNY Broome Community College, 907 Upper Front St. in Binghamton from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; a community meeting on Wednesday, April 29 at the Spencer Town Hall, 79 E. Tioga St. in Spencer from 7 to 9 p.m.; a community meeting on Sunday, May 3 at the Berkshire Community Hall located at 11 Jewett Hill Rd. in Berkshire from 2 to 4 p.m.; a community meeting hosted by Broome County Environmental Management Council on Tuesday, May 6 at the Broome County Public Library located at 185 Court St. in Binghamton from 5 to 7 p.m.; a community meeting on Thursday, May 28 at the Park Terrace United Methodist Church, 30 Glann Rd. in Apalachin from 7 to 9 p.m.
For up-to-date event information, visit www.southerntiersolarworks.org.
