By the Legacy Solar Co-op Team, 4/25/19

Spring is a time for action. To get out there and do something. More sunshine means we can tackle that list of projects we’ve avoided all winter, right?

Sorta.

Unfortunately the list of things we could do is far longer than the list of things we can do.  And just like you, Legacy Solar Co-op has a project list that’s longer than our current resources allows us to tackle. It’s not that we don’t want to execute. Helping solar projects come to life is a beautiful thing we never tire of seeing. Our list is long because it’s filled with worthy projects that aren’t getting the love they deserve.

We have to act quickly to change that. Tax incentives and previously awarded grants have to be used before they sunset.

The Co-op is owned by some of the most committed and generous people we’ve ever met, and you all have helped us do some amazing things in the past.  So what about 2019 and 2020?

That’s up to you! Read more

Legacy Solar Co-op’s solar bond program provides part of the financing to pay for up-front costs in the first year of the project’s development. The following projects are well on their way, but still need your support to be completed. Here are a few ways you can get involved:

• Purchase solar bonds: Available in increments of $250, you can help support this project by purchasing bonds and earn between 4-6% interest yearly.
• Become a tax sponsor: Provide the major sponsorship needed to make these projects come to fruition. If you are interested or have questions, please reach out to us by contacting info@legacysolarcoop.org.

Here are some project developments in January, 2019: Read more

(Issued by Renew Wisconsin, 1/14/19)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 14, 2019
Tyler Huebner, Executive Director
608.255.4044 x 1
tyler.huebner@renewwisconsin.org

Renewable Energy Champions Set to Receive Honors at RENEW’s 2019 Summit

RENEW’s eighth annual Renewable Energy Summit, set for Thursday, January 17, 2019, will furnish the occasion for recognizing individuals and organizations who have made significant and lasting advances in renewable energy development here in Wisconsin. Titled “Scaling Up for the Job Ahead,” RENEW’s Summit will take place at Monona Terrace in Madison; registration starts at 7:30 AM and the program runs from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. The recognition ceremony will begin at 12:45 PM.

At this year’s Summit, RENEW will honor three Renewable Energy Champions for their leadership and accomplishments in 2018. They are:

• Dane County Executive Joe Parisi
• Chequamegon Bay Renewables
• Legacy Solar Cooperative

Read more

Kurt Reinhold, 10/23/18

The fall season is bringing with it lots of excitement for LSC and our members for project development.  We have the following projects either being built right now or in the process of signing contracts to be built in the coming months.  Most of these are fully capitalized, but we will let you know when we need an infusion of bond assistance from our members to close the year’s project loans.

1. City of Beaver Dam.  Member North Wind Renewable Cooperative of Stevens Point just started working on City Hall this week and will start next month on the Watermark Center, and together with LED retrofits for the former, will complete over 200 kilowatts of solar and save over 279,000 kilowatt hours a year!
2. VFW #8483 Truax-Longmire (Madison).  Member Midwest Solar Power of Madison is also starting this week to install 40 kilowatts of solar atop this VFW post and should be completed by mid-November.  Our Co-op helped finance $25,000 worth of this project — thank you to our bondholders — plus helped the VFW apply for (& receive!) RECIP and Solar 4 Good grants.
3. Sawyer County Housing Authority (Hayward).  Member Carlson Electric of Hayward is starting construction on solar arrays that will cover 6 separate buildings with interconnections feeding individual residences for this low-income housing non-profit.  The total wattage for these projects will be over 175,000 kilowatt-hours of clean and quiet solar energy for 52 families in Sawyer County.
4. Humane Society of Burnett County (Webster).  Carlson Electric is also going to built a ground-mount system for this wonderful shelter and education center.  The system will be 19 kilowatts in size (58 pv modules x 340 Watts each) and help offset over 50% of the center’s annual electrical use.
5. Bethel Horizons (Dodgeville).  Member WES Engineering of Madison will be sponsoring and installing this project that will cover 2 buildings with 20 kilowatts each.  The Prairie Center and the Venture Arts Retreat Center will each be generating about 50% of their own power for their electrical needs at these two sites.  Our Co-op will be making over $30,000 in loans to this project to help make it more financially sound for all parties.

There are 4 other host site clients that may be signing contracts in the next week or so. We will feature them in the next e-Newsletter.  Thank you all for your membership, your readership, and your support in purchasing bonds that help finance and make these projects happen!  See you next month.  Until then,

Sunny Regards!
Kurt

By Kurt Reinhold, 7/8/18

Happy July to you all! I feel like the luckiest guy in all of Wisconsin to be working with such a forward leaning group of people in our Co-op.  I want to thank all of you who decided to join our Co-op ($25/yr or $100/lifetime equity membership) in recent months.

Our membership has grown from 96 in December of 2017 to now over 115 by the end of June of 2018.  We have provided over $800,000 in solar loans through our Slice-of-Sun bond program, and hope to double that by the end of the year.

That’s right, double.

Because of the success of our programs, we have as many as 15 new community institutions who are hoping to get solar projects funded by the end of the year.  That means we need to grow our membership and our bondholders along with it.

So far in 2018, our Co-op has helped organize and develop nearly $1 million of solar in Wisconsin.  We want to stay on this trajectory and develop (and help finance) another $1 million of solar projects in our fine state before year’s end.

Please join our Co-op today and consider our Slice-of-Sun program for your next community solar purchase.  Stay tuned for updates on our many potential projects for the 2nd half of this year!