Solar co-op forms on Middle Peninsula

Newport News, Va - - "Today is sunny and I've got a roof that could generate energy," Maureen Fairbrother said at her home on Friday.

The Middlesex resident has a long-term goal of converting her home's energy usage to solar power. She's hoping other residents will consider it as well.

"The sun is an incredible source of power on this planet," she said. "This is technology that is doable, long-term and a good investment." Fairbrother is working with Virginia Solar United Neighborhoods, known as VA SUN, to form a solar co-op on the Middle Peninsula. The co-op brings together homeowners who are interested in solar power and walks them through the process, according to Aaron Sutch, program director with VA SUN.

Co-ops, Sutch said, address two barriers that come with solar energy conversion: cost and education.

"The goal is so residents are educated consumers," Sutch said. The group hosts informational sessions for residents covering the basics of solar power and by soliciting bids for a bulk purchase with an installer, they are able to reduce the cost.

Tradition Brewing Co. in City Center, Newport News. The brewery has been under construction since the first of the year and they plan to have their Grand Opening in early June with some of their first beer. Tradition Brewing Co. in City Center, Newport News. The brewery has been under construction since the first of the year and they plan to have their Grand Opening in early June with some of their first beer. Owen King discusses starting Ironclad Distillery in downtown Newport News. The family run business is begining to produce bourbon at the facility.

The co-ops aim to have about 100 qualified members, Sutch said. To start, once the co-op has 20 to 30 interested residents, VA SUN screens each roof using digital tools to see if it's a good fit for solar. They then issue a request for proposals for an installer. The co-op reviews the bids, each property is visited and individual contracts are drawn up.

The bulk approach can save homeowners about 10-20 percent, Sutch said. Homeowners who install solar power capabilities earn a tax credit of 30 percent of the installation cost on their federal taxes. Gloucester resident Tom Crockett said the total cost has dropped significantly since the he and his wife, Susan, designed their 2,400-square-foot solar-powered home 30 years ago.

Planners in Gloucester are working on a new set of rules to accommodate large solar facilities in certain areas of the county. A proposed amendment to the county's zoning ordinance would allow solar-energy facilities to be constructed by right in both industrial and rural countryside districts...

Planners in Gloucester are working on a new set of rules to accommodate large solar facilities in certain areas of the county. A proposed amendment to the county's zoning ordinance would allow solar-energy facilities to be constructed by right in both industrial and rural countryside districts...

"Technology is improving and evolving and there are some new innovations since we installed our system," Crockett said. The Crocketts' home is powered by solar thermal and solar electric panels on the roof. The home is "essentially net zero," which means they make just as much energy as they produce on an annual basis. "For homeowners who want to adopt solar energy, a co-op is a good way to do it," Crockett said. "You have people who know all the ends and outs to help you work through the process and you can be assured you are getting a pretty good price."

Crockett will share his experience with solar power at a film screening of "Catching the Sun" hosted by the Mathews Film Society on July 14. The screening will be a pre-launch to the co-op, which should officially kick off in late August.

"If you are hoping this is going to pay you back in the first year, it's not going to happen. You have to look at it as a long-term investment," Crockett said. "I've been very pleased with what we did and I'd do it again."

The Middle Peninsula co-op will include, so far, Mathews, Gloucester and Middlesex counties. VA SUN is also currently working with the city of Newport News, Sutch said, to launch a co-op there next month. VA SUN, a nonprofit group, has created 12 co-ops across the state since it started in 2007, according to Sutch. The group has helped more than 410 residents in Virginia go solar, resulting in about $8 million worth of retail solar sales. Sutch said they have installed about 2.5 megawatts of solar capacity.

"As an organization really we love to tout the data and the success but it's really about movement, building and reaching out to a lot of different communities," Sutch said. "Typically they may not be hot beds for solar like say Charlottesville or Northern Virginia but for us it's really important to be able to reach out and help as many communities as possible."

A recent study by the Center of Biological Diversity ranked Virginia in the top 10 for least-friendly states for distributed solar development. "We are improving a little as far as utility scale," Sutch said. Gloucester County passed an ordinance last year setting news rules to accommodate large solar facilities in certain areas of the county. In Isle of Wight, a potential solar project on Oliver Farm in Longview is expected to bring about 200 jobs.

Sutch said an outdated business model for utilities in the state has held solar development back. Crockett agreed, saying that regulations in the state are not encouraging for small residential scale or small commercial solar developments but it is moving in a positive direction.

"We're very behind as a state and it's unfortunate because there are economic benefits to states that grasp the opportunities," Fairbrother said. "This is not something to ignore. I don't know what it will take to shift this if each one of us don't try to push this along. There should be more conversations about it.

"This is the future," she said. "Why are we not going in a very bold way to tackle this? It's up to each and everyone of us."