LOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 83 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2019
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
FUS of Madison is a community of spiritual and ethical seekers that inhabits a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. FUS is one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States, totaling over 1,400 members.
Over the years, FUS staff and board, the Sustainability Ministry Team, with the support of the FUS community, have developed a sustainable, carbon neutral vision, which now includes a 83kW solar panel system that was added to its campus in October of 2019. The new array was placed on the flat-roofed portions of FUS and outside the green roof on the Atrium addition and has the capacity to generate about 90,000 kW-hours of electricity annually – more than a quarter of the electricity it consumes, or about nine average-sized U.S. homes worth of energy. The system, designed by Full Spectrum Solar, maximizes the energy the building can generate with the roof space available.
“FUS, which has a substantial geothermal-electric HVAC system and with it larger-than-average electric bills, had discussed going solar for a number of years. Recently the congregation dedicated some funds from capital campaign to move forward. However, with financing from the co-op we were able to move faster — without waiting for all the pledged capital funds to arrive — and to build a bigger system than we could have afforded on our own. Another benefit of the arrangement is that many of our members are participating in growing solar on our campus and around the state, through tax sponsorship and co-op bond purchases.”
– Eric Sundquist, Sustainability Ministry Team member
Prior to the installation, preparations needed to be made to replace the aging roofs the system would rest upon. FUS also made energy-efficiency upgrades to the HVAC system in the 2008 Atrium addition, allowing the church to cut MG&E power consumption by half or more. Visitors to the congregation will be able to track energy production in real time.
The system was financed in part by a $20,000 grant awarded by RENEW Wisconsin and donations from members and friends of FUS. Legacy Solar Co-op helped facilitate the partnership with a tax sponsor and bond sales to FUS members as well as the general public.
The solar project is a major step toward the ministry team’s sustainability goals. Together with the solar project, the efficiency improvements will save money and get FUS toward the team’s goal of carbon net neutrality or better. FUS hopes its efforts will inspire its members to be more sustainable themselves.
For more information on this project, see the FUS’s solar page.
Gallery
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Ground view of Atrium Roof
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Atrium Roof
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Atrium Roof
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Drone view of Atrium Roof
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Drone view of Atrium Roof
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First Unitarian Society of Madison solar array bond holders
Solar Legacy Projects
/in Projects /by DandelionSolar Legacy Projects are solar energy installations built on community institutions like schools, libraries, or churches. They have been designed and built by local stakeholders. We call them “legacy” projects because solar generates pollution-free electricity for the community and future generations long after it’s installed –– often 30 years or more.
You too can help support these projects through our Slice of Sun Solar Bonds program. Any member can earn up to 6% interest on their bonds purchased through the co-op. Your contribution by purchasing solar bonds allows us to help finance these community projects. You can choose to keep your interest or donate it to a non-profit of your choosing, or event donate the entire bond to a non-profit. Or, you can include your bond in your estate planning. Lots of ways to go green, to earn green, and to help community organizations!
So even if you live in the shade you can actively help grow solar energy in Wisconsin! Learn more about the Slice of Sun Solar Bonds program.
2019 Annual Meeting
/in Events /by Peter FialaJoin current and prospective members of Legacy Solar Co-op for the 2019 Annual Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is 3-fold:
The meeting will take place at Madison Brassworks in the Bea Christensen Room (214 Waubesa Street, Madison) starting at 6:00 PM, food at 6:30 and business meeting at 7:00.
LSC will provide a variety of Glass Nickel Pizzas and other items from board members. Others need not bring anything! Beverages available at a self-serve cash bar. The Co-op will provide 1 case of beer and up to 4 bottles of wine. Members can purchase other beers for $5, or other wine for $17/bottle. Also water and pop.
RSVP to Kurt at Kurt@LegacySolarCoop.org with any questions or food preferences or restrictions. Thanks!
First Unitarian Society (FUS) of Madison
/in Projects /by Peter FialaLOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 83 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2019
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
FUS of Madison is a community of spiritual and ethical seekers that inhabits a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. FUS is one of the largest Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States, totaling over 1,400 members.
Over the years, FUS staff and board, the Sustainability Ministry Team, with the support of the FUS community, have developed a sustainable, carbon neutral vision, which now includes a 83kW solar panel system that was added to its campus in October of 2019. The new array was placed on the flat-roofed portions of FUS and outside the green roof on the Atrium addition and has the capacity to generate about 90,000 kW-hours of electricity annually – more than a quarter of the electricity it consumes, or about nine average-sized U.S. homes worth of energy. The system, designed by Full Spectrum Solar, maximizes the energy the building can generate with the roof space available.
Prior to the installation, preparations needed to be made to replace the aging roofs the system would rest upon. FUS also made energy-efficiency upgrades to the HVAC system in the 2008 Atrium addition, allowing the church to cut MG&E power consumption by half or more. Visitors to the congregation will be able to track energy production in real time.
The system was financed in part by a $20,000 grant awarded by RENEW Wisconsin and donations from members and friends of FUS. Legacy Solar Co-op helped facilitate the partnership with a tax sponsor and bond sales to FUS members as well as the general public.
The solar project is a major step toward the ministry team’s sustainability goals. Together with the solar project, the efficiency improvements will save money and get FUS toward the team’s goal of carbon net neutrality or better. FUS hopes its efforts will inspire its members to be more sustainable themselves.
For more information on this project, see the FUS’s solar page.
Gallery
Road Tripping in a Rented EV: How we spent our Summer vacation while taking climate action.
/in Advice/Education /by Peter FialaNick Hein, 10/6/19
1. The Call to Action
A good friend of ours spends her summers in the Adirondacks at a family-owned wilderness camp north of Utica, NY and invited us to come and visit. As the summer was nearing an end, my fiance’ and I realized that we hadn’t taken a vacation and decided to go a few weeks after Labor Day when most of the vacation travel had settled down. However, this was also the week of the climate strike Day of Action and we wanted our travel to align with it even if we would be far away. We began considering our options for low-impact travel. Read more
Oregon Ice Arena Ribbon Cutting Celebrates a Project Completed
/in Events, Projects /by Peter FialaOn June 20, Legacy Solar Co-op, member installer Full Spectrum Solar and Renew Wisconsin helped Oregon Ice Arena celebrate the completion of its rooftop solar array. For over a month, the arena has been generating about 25% of its energy from its rooftop solar array. The irony of it is that energy from the sun powers the heat pumps in the building, which help keep the ice as close to freezing as possible. The mere existence of the 560 panels means less sun exposure and helps the arena save dramatically on cooling costs during peak demand.
Turn Sunshine into Money with Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs)
/in Advice/Education /by Peter FialaJackie Harrison-Jewell, 8/1/19
Solar electricity is worth more than just clean power. It has externalized benefits that are worth money, so the concept of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) was created to credit producers for those benefits. Every time 1,000 kWh of electricity is generated, it is recorded as an (SREC). The SREC is sold separately from the electricity and represents the “solar” aspect of the electricity that was produced. Why bother doing this? Several states have a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for solar – a mandated percentage of total energy that must be generated by solar energy. In states that have this mandate, the value of an SREC is determined by the market subject to supply and demand constraints. SRECs can be sold to electricity suppliers needing to meet their solar RPS requirement. Read more
Free Community Film Screening – Paris to Pittsburgh
/in Events /by Peter FialaWhen: August 15, 2019 @ 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Sequoya Branch Library (4340 Tokay Blvd, Madison, Wisconsin 53711)
Legacy Solar Co-op joins the Mount Horeb Area Citizens’ Climate and other energy-minded folks to view Paris to Pittsburgh, a film that celebrates how Americans are demanding and developing real solutions in the face of climate change. As the weather grows more deadly and destructive, they aren’t waiting on Washington to act. Learn more about the film here.
* 6:30 pm – Community Organizations Introductions and Info Sharing
* 6:45 pm – Paris to Pittsburgh Film
* 8:00 pm – Discussion and Action Opportunities
RSVP Here.
Solar Ribbon Cutting – Sawyer County Housing Authority
/in Events /by Peter FialaWhen: August 2, 2019 @ 1:00pm
Where: 15784 Illinois Ave, Hayward, WI 54843-5102
Renew Wisconsin, along with Legacy Solar Co-op, member installed Carlson Electric and Focus on Energy, are hosting a ribbon cutting for the Sawyer County Housing Authority to celebrate their series of newly-constructed solar arrays.
RSVP Here.
Vista Village in Hayward, part of Sawyer County Housing Authority
VFW Post 8483 – Solar Ribbon-Cutting
/in Events /by Peter FialaOn Saturday, May 25th, 2019, the VFW Truax Longmire Post 8483 will host a ribbon-cutting event for their newly-constructed solar array. Partners RENEW Wisconsin, Midwest Solar Power LLC, and Legacy Solar Co-op will share in the celebration. The VFW was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Solar for Good program to help with the installation of the array.
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/2318011535153183/
VFW Post 8483 (courtesy of Renew Wisconsin)
The Sustainability StairClimb: Strategy
/in Advice/Education /by Peter FialaNick Hein, 4/25/19
1. Introduction: Why have a strategy?
Earlier articles in this series have discussed sustainability in terms of the simple, low-risk, short-payback tactics with obvious benefits. However, when it comes to the bigger and more expensive opportunities you need a strategy that will guide you to the most effective ones first and help you plan how to pay for them. Currently the most common strategy is the payback calculation. This is a strictly monetary metric that says if you get your money back in a reasonable amount of time, and continue to save after that, then the project is worth it. The problem with this approach is that it may miss synergies that can come about by combining projects, and can’t adapt to changing conditions. In this article we’ll also talk about Fossil Energy (FE) reduction, and a 100% Renewable Energy (RE%) target strategy. The new metrics have the benefit that they are absolute, meaning that they don’t depend on a baseline that might change over time. As such they mark progress toward an absolute goal instead of a relative one. Here we’ll also track the traditional metrics like energy cost and payback time.
Read more
Spring is a Time for Action
/in News /by Peter FialaBy 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!
Green initiatives and concern for the climate are in the news a lot these days. It’s easy to feel like the problem is so big, there’s nothing we can really do. But there is…today. Right now we have several projects that need LSC’s financing to make their solar projects happen.
For example, if we had $200,000 in bonds, we could make at least 4 more deserving community projects happen this year. And if we had 5 more people willing to invest as project tax sponsors, we could help two school districts, two faith organizations and one nonprofit helping disconnected youth – go green and save money beginning this year!
Solar Project at Memorial United Church of Christ (UCC), Fitchburg
What can you do?
It’s Spring. Time to celebrate the return of the sun, warmth and the beautiful eco-system that makes Wisconsin so special. Please consider taking a few moments to help us make more of our to-do list happen. Your involvement today means that we are helping to ensure many more beautiful Spring days in the future.
Plus, we promise it will take less time than cleaning out the gutters!