Kurt Reinhold, 11/15/18
Last month, we updated you on five projects that were on the horizon. As the year comes to a close, we would like to introduce a few more and update you on some we’ve already introduced.
First day of construction – Roof of VFW Post 8483 in Madison
VFW #8483 Truax-Longmire (Madison). During the week of 11/5/18, Member Midwest Solar Power of Madison added panels to the VFW roof in the beginning of the month! 40 kilowatts of solar thanks to bondholders, RECIP and Solar 4 Good grants.
Oregon Ice Arena. LSC Member Full Spectrum Solar will be installing 190 kilowatts on the pitched roof facing due south just east of Highway 14 and just south of the High School in the city of Oregon. On Ice Promotions worked with the non-profit’s board and got this big project the green light after first being introduced to the ice arena 2 years ago. The project will generate about 20% of the ice arena’s electricity use and its 560 flush mounted solar panels help keep the inside of the ice arena’s roof nice and cool during the hot summer months making the solar power even more attractive.
Christ Lutheran Church in Spring Green is about to get 54 solar panels installed by Member WES Engineering on the roof covering their fellowship hall. This project should generate roughly 60% of the church’s electricity and set a great example of environmental stewardship for the community and for other congregations. A Solar for Good grant was used to help bring the cost down for the Church.
The Literacy Network of Dane County in Madison will also get 20 kilowatts of solar on its roof just off of South Park street. Thanks in part to a Solar for Good grant and a Legacy Solar Co-op loan, this end-of-the-year project we hope can be installed and commissioned before Christmas. Thanks to the hard work by Member WES Engineering.
Thank you all for your membership, your readership, and your investments in your Co-op this year. Drop us a line some time — or, better yet, come by the Goodman Center for our Annual Membership Meeting. If you are not yet a member, we can help you with that situation.
Sunny Regards,
Kurt Reinhold
Legacy Solar Co-op
Renewable Energy Summit 2019
/in Events /by Peter FialaLegacy Solar Co-op will be part of Renew Wisconsin’s 8th Annual Renewable Energy Summit on January 17, 2019 at the Monona Terrace in Madison. This year, the co-op is showing its commitment to Wisconsin’s green future by becoming a Summit Supporter. This year’s theme is ‘Scaling Up for the Job Ahead’, a clear rallying cry for Wisconsin as it continues to ramp up its commitment to renewable energy.
The opening address will be given by Governor Tony Evers, keynote by Mark Stoering, President of Xcel Energy Wisconsin and Michigan, and breakout sessions on utility scale renewables, how local governments can lead the way, battery storage and electric vehicles. A panel of experts will share its perspectives on scaling up efforts to deploy renewable energy in Wisconsin.
More information can be found at https://www.renewwisconsin.org/renewable-energy-summit/. Stay tuned to our Facebook page as we post from the event.
Sawyer County Housing Authority
/in Projects /by Peter FialaLOCATION: Hayward, Radisson, Winter & Exeland, Wisconsin
CAPACITY: 153 kW (total over 6 sites)
COMPLETION DATE: November 2018
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
Since the early 1970s, Sawyer County Housing Authority (SCHA), located in northwest Wisconsin, has had a mission of providing safe, affordable housing for families with low and moderate incomes. Their Rural Development program consists of two- and three-bedroom units in the towns of Hayward, Radisson, Winter and Exeland for families eligible for rental assistance. There is also a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program which provides rental assistance to qualifying families that rent through private landlords.
Legacy Solar Co-op partnered with Carlson Electric to install solar arrays on 6 separate buildings, including 52 families in the Hayward, WI area. Sites include:
Read more
General Beer Northwest, Inc.
/in Commercial, Projects /by Peter FialaLOCATION: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 243 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2018
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
General Beverage Companies (GB) is one of the largest wholesale distributors of wine, distilled spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverages in Wisconsin. It is the only beverage wholesaler in the state to honor their union employee contracts and fair pay, family-supporting wages and construction contracts. In Chippewa County, GB Northwest has 50 employees, and they’ve set an even higher bar, as responsible, corporate stewards of the Wisconsin environment. Read more
VFW Post 8483 (Truax Longmire)
/in Projects /by Peter FialaLOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 40 kW | COMPLETED: December 2018
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
The mission of VFW’s across the country are to provide support and a sense of community to veterans of all ages, however chapters across the country are receiving less funding to provide this support. In response, the Truax-Longmire VFW Post 8483 (one of two VFWs in Madison) organized and made plans to improve the environment and lower its operating expenses by producing most of its energy onsite. Read more
2018 Annual Meeting
/in Events /by Peter FialaDecember 13, 2018: 6:30-8:30pm
Goodman Center, Evjue Room (214 Waubesa St, Madison, WI 53704)
Agenda: Meet in the Evjue Room starting at 6:00 PM, potluck (provided) at 6:30 and business meeting at 7:00.
The purpose of the meeting was 3-fold:
Members voted unanimously to approve present and new board members as follows:
See 2018’s project recap.
Fall 2018 Project Update – Continued!
/in News /by Peter FialaKurt Reinhold, 11/15/18
Last month, we updated you on five projects that were on the horizon. As the year comes to a close, we would like to introduce a few more and update you on some we’ve already introduced.
First day of construction – Roof of VFW Post 8483 in Madison
VFW #8483 Truax-Longmire (Madison). During the week of 11/5/18, Member Midwest Solar Power of Madison added panels to the VFW roof in the beginning of the month! 40 kilowatts of solar thanks to bondholders, RECIP and Solar 4 Good grants.
Oregon Ice Arena. LSC Member Full Spectrum Solar will be installing 190 kilowatts on the pitched roof facing due south just east of Highway 14 and just south of the High School in the city of Oregon. On Ice Promotions worked with the non-profit’s board and got this big project the green light after first being introduced to the ice arena 2 years ago. The project will generate about 20% of the ice arena’s electricity use and its 560 flush mounted solar panels help keep the inside of the ice arena’s roof nice and cool during the hot summer months making the solar power even more attractive.
Christ Lutheran Church in Spring Green is about to get 54 solar panels installed by Member WES Engineering on the roof covering their fellowship hall. This project should generate roughly 60% of the church’s electricity and set a great example of environmental stewardship for the community and for other congregations. A Solar for Good grant was used to help bring the cost down for the Church.
The Literacy Network of Dane County in Madison will also get 20 kilowatts of solar on its roof just off of South Park street. Thanks in part to a Solar for Good grant and a Legacy Solar Co-op loan, this end-of-the-year project we hope can be installed and commissioned before Christmas. Thanks to the hard work by Member WES Engineering.
Thank you all for your membership, your readership, and your investments in your Co-op this year. Drop us a line some time — or, better yet, come by the Goodman Center for our Annual Membership Meeting. If you are not yet a member, we can help you with that situation.
Sunny Regards,
Kurt Reinhold
Legacy Solar Co-op
How Do We Know that Sustainability is better?
/in Advice/Education /by Peter FialaNick Hein, 10/29/18
Do you have questions about solar? Know someone who does? Things are changing quickly for solar and some of the answers out there don’t apply anymore. Here’s what’s really up with solar right now. In last month’s article we introduced the “Sustainability Stairclimb” to get us thinking about how we “do” sustainability. This month we’ll start the climb with the simple question “Why?” Why can’t we just keep doing things the way we have been, and how do we know that sustainability is better?
Chances are that if you’re a regular reader of this newsletter or Legacy customer, you already have your own answers. But along your climb people may ask you why you’re doing it. Many of these questions were actually asked recently, and they show that not everybody knows about the latest developments in sustainable technologies or the changing climate. In addition, out of date information lingers and some of the changes threaten fossil fuel industries, so there’s sometimes an incentive to spread inaccuracies and distortions. Read more
City of Beaver Dam
/in Projects /by Peter FialaLOCATION: Beaver Dam, Wisconsin | CAPACITY: 106.3 kW | COMPLETION DATE: October 2018
SOLAR CONTRACTOR:
The City of Beaver Dam hired Legacy Solar Co-op to work with (member) North Wind Renewable Energy Cooperative and (member) E3 Lighting to construct a sizable solar array on the city hall and perform over $31,000 in LED lighting retrofits for the City this fall. The city had announced their hope in a July 27, 2018 article.
The system consists of Teir one Hawha QCells 345 watt modules, totaling 106.3 kW, and are expected to save the city more than $4,000/year in energy costs. This project was planned as part of the city’s plan to generate 25% of its energy renewably by 2025 along with its partnership with the Office of Energy Innovation as an “Energy Independent Community”.
How was this project possible? Read about our consulting services.
Gallery
Slice of Sun Solar Bonds
Legacy Solar Co-op sells Slice-of-Sun Solar Bonds to any member who would like to support a Solar Legacy project like this one, and earn up to 6% interest on their bonds purchased through the co-op. Ready to get involved?
SaveSave
Fall 2018 Project Updates
/in News /by Peter FialaKurt 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.
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
Dane Buy Local Lunch n Learn
/in Events /by Peter FialaOctober 16, 2018: 11:30am-1:00pm
Dane County Credit Union
709 Struck St, Madison, WI 53711
LSC President Kurt Reinhold will take us on a tour of what is involved with putting together a community solar project from beginning to middle to end using a case study from the VFW Post #8483 on County CV, just north of the Dane County Regional Airport. Learn how to invest in a solar project even if you live in the shade! Or, start your own community solar project – – we will help you get it done!
Dane Buy Local says: “It is our mission to educate the public about the benefits of thinking local first, to promote our members and their products and services to the community, and to collaborate with other like-minded organizations to achieve our vision.” Their Lunch n’ Learn series showcases local businesses. LSC is proud to partner with them for this event.
See Facebook event page
Tony Hartmann, Nick Hein and a Dane Buy Local member analyze the energy savings by installing solar on her home.