LOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 83 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2019
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
The First Unitarian Society (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.
The Story
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.
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.
Read more
LSC Sells Switch-to-Solar (S2S) RECs to Bayfield County
/in Advice/Education(This is the first of a 4-month series on climate or carbon offsets and the S2S program)
By Kurt Reinhold, President of Legacy Solar Wisconsin Cooperative, 3/19/20
This month, Bayfield County officially completed its goal of 100% Carbon Free Electricity operations by purchasing the final 50 Megawatt-hours* of solar offsets (solar RECs) from Legacy Solar Cooperative’s Switch-to-Solar REC inventory. The solar electricity that was purchased by Bayfield County was generated in Monona, Wisconsin by rooftop solar in 2018 and 2019.
*The actual number of kWhs of solar purchased is 49,500 (equal to 49.5 MWh).
For many, this announcement may be just as impressive as it is confusing to understand. At some point, everybody will have asked themselves, “what does Carbon Neutral even mean”? Is it the same as “Net Zero” emissions or even the newer term “Climate Neutral”? And, how did Bayfield County calculate their emissions as well as their achievement of neutrality?
Read more
Climate Action 3-Part Workshop – Feb. 25, March 31 & April 28, 2020
/in EventsLearn what others are doing today, locally and nationally. Get practical advice about energy efficiency, adding renewable energy sources, and available incentives. Focus on actions you can take at your home, at your business and in our community today to help reduce our impact on our environment.
Building on two climate change meetings held last year in Cross Plains, this 3-step workshop will unfold over three months on three evenings.
This series is being put on for interested residents and businesses in Cross Plains, Black Earth, Mazomanie, Mt. Horeb and neighboring townships. Read more
Going Beyond Rooftop Solar – Making the Decision
/in Advice/EducationBy Nick Hein, 2/26/20
A year after Ken and Barb installed their solar array with the help of Legacy Solar Co-op, it’s been performing even better than expected -producing more than 100% of their electric needs. That’s gotten them thinking, since their utility doesn’t pay them as much for the excess, they’d like to use it to offset (or eliminate) their natural gas usage. They wonder if replacing their current furnace, water heater and appliances with the most efficient models available, their rooftop array could produce all the energy they need to use in a year. Then they could completely disconnect the natural gas service.* So it looks like they could become 100% net-zero, and now the question is whether they should. Let’s join Ken and Barb one evening as they discuss it. Read more
Congratulations to LSC Members Honored at the 2020 Renewable Energy Summit
/in Events, NewsJackie Harrison-Jewell, 2/26/20
Congratulations to LSC Members Honored at the 2020 Renewable Energy Summit, presented by RENEW Wisconsin, is a one-day event that brings together people who work in, or are interested in the growth and success of renewable energy in Wisconsin, from policy makers to vendors, educators and concerned citizens. This year’s event was held on Thursday, January 16th and Legacy Solar Co-op was proud to be there.
We would like to congratulate several of our members who were recognized during the summit. Read more
Unique Membership Drive Helps LSC Meet 2019 Membership Goals
/in NewsBy Jackie Harrison-Jewell, 2/26/20
People join Legacy Solar Co-op for different reasons, and we’re happy to welcome everyone, from those who just want to be a member to those who join so they can buy bonds, support a particular project or actively participate in some other way. We really love it when our members are so excited about our mission here at Legacy that they come up with their own ideas about how to help.
For example, when John Stolzenberg joined LSC, right away he had an idea he wanted to try. John attends the First United Methodist Church in Madison, and every year they have an alternative gift fair each December weekend before Christmas. Read more
Happy Holidays from Legacy Solar Co-op
/in NewsLegacy Solar Co-op Team, 12/20/19
However you celebrate, we wish you well during this holiday season and year-end and we look forward to engaging with you next year!
And we also want to thank you. Whether you’ve recently become a member, purchased bonds or solar renewable energy credits (RECs) or are simply following our progress online, we thank you for your involvement! With our collective efforts, solar energy generates a green future for Wisconsin and pays back those who helped fund projects in the first place. If you’re interested in helping support the next round of projects, visit our projects update page, or contact us.
Project Updates
/in NewsLegacy Solar Co-op Team, 12/20/19
Legacy Solar Co-op’s solar bond program provides financing to help pay for up-front costs. The following projects are well on their way, but some still need your support to be completed.
A few ways to get involved:
Some of our current projects:
If I’m Getting Free Electricity from the Sun, Why isn’t my bill lower? It may be your demand peaks.
/in Advice/EducationNick Hein, 12/20/19
If you’re a commercial electric customer and you’ve just installed solar PV on your roof, you’re probably expecting to see a lower monthly electric bill. If you don’t, it’s probably due to peak demand charges and there’s something you can do about it. Electricity doesn’t always cost the same. Depending what tariff schedule (rate plan) you’re on, the electric bill may have any or all of these components: Read more
Annual Meeting 2019
/in Events, NewsThe purpose of the co-op annual meeting is 3-fold:
The meeting took 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.
Thank you to everyone who attended! It was great to see so many friendly faces and to get a chance to talk with other members.
First Unitarian Society (FUS) of Madison
/in ProjectsLOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 83 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2019
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
The First Unitarian Society (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.
The Story
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.
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.
Read more