Farmer’s Markets, CSA Farms & Solar in Wisconsin
Do you shop at the Farmer’s Market? Or maybe you’re part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm this season. If so, you are a locavore, someone who buys fresh, local food grown and prepared by your favorite farm or small business.
When someone commits to buying local, they usually like knowing where their food comes from, how far it traveled, and how it was produced. It creates a relationship between the customer and the farmer and can even build community. The same is true when you support solar in Wisconsin.
The movement towards solar is based on similar motivations. Wisconsin’s energy profile is still in large part dependent on coal (1). However, just like with food, more and more people are becoming aware of where their energy comes from and how their energy use impacts the environment.
As a form of distributed generation, solar energy is more reliable and helps reduce strain on our energy grid, helping to preserve and maintain current levels of transmission lines (2). The majority of solar arrays feed energy to the grid and displace energy produced by non-renewable, fossil fuels and can reliably last 30, 40 or more years.
Solar energy also brings people together. Just like in a local food economy, individuals, communities and organizations depend on one another to build a renewable energy infrastructure.
We are all solar champions, whether we are installing a solar array on our own house or for an organization, business or farm.
Doing something concrete, like converting to solar energy, can help us all feel part of a larger goal: fighting climate change and protecting the earth.
You can join the solar movement in Wisconsin with Legacy Solar Co-op:
- Become a member – Your membership supports our mission to build a sustainable legacy that helps protect the earth through the growth of solar energy.
- Take part in one of our solar group buys (currently we are offering the Dane County Solar Group Buy and the Northwoods Solar Group Buy
- Purchase solar renewable energy credits through our Switch 2 Solar Program
- Purchase solar bonds, which support solar projects in Wisconsin
- Find out how your organization or municipality can get a solar project off the ground through project consulting.
Sources:
(1) Wisconsin Energy Statistics 2020 (PDF)
(2) Renewables Rescue Stability as the Grid Loses Spin
