Think Local
By Chris Hoffman
(Madison County, NY – May 2013) 
I have a friend who could be the poster boy for sustainable living. He grows his own vegetables. He heats his house with a wood stove, and when the stove is going, plans meals so that he can use it to cook as well. He washes clothes in cold water and hangs them outside to dry in warm weather and on drying racks near the wood stove in the winter. Food scraps get composted or thrown over the hill for wildlife to feast on. Paper of all kinds gets recycled, as do plastic, cans, and glass. Lights get turned out if he’s not in the room.
Last year he joined Solarize Madison’s pilot program and had solar panels installed on his garage roof. Ever since, I get daily reports on how much electricity they’ve generated. Last month’s electric bill indicated he had generated more electricity than he had used, which in turn reduces the amount he pays to NYSEG.
Solarize Madison is a grassroots community effort to develop a community solar initiative to help residents, business owners, and municipalities overcome the financial and logistical hurdles of installing solar power through high-volume group purchasing. The program merges community activism and education, simple low-cost marketing, job creation, and economies of scale to drive participation and promote sustainable energy production to stabilize current and future energy costs.
The goal of Solarize Madison is to transform interest in clean energy into action by addressing the three major market barriers: cost, a complex process, and customer commitment. Last year Solarize Madison offered CNY residents an opportunity to participate in a pilot program to install solar photovoltaic panels. This year they are expanding that program to include solar hot water heating systems.
With the participation of the Madison County Planning Department, the CNY Regional Planning and Development Board, the Renewable Energy Training Center at Morrisville State College, as well as grants from NYS Energy and Research Development Association, Solarize Madison will bring at least 15 solar photovoltaic and 20 solar hot water installations to Madison County. Residents, farmers, business owners, municipalities and institutions are eligible to participate.
By working with state and county organizations, Madison county residents, and solar energy installers, Solarize Madison County has streamlined the installation process making solar energy installations easy and affordable. Through volume purchasing, in conjunction with tax credits and incentives, installation costs are reduced by 70-80 percent. Free pre-installation site assessments and free monitoring equipment are part of the package.
Through a competitive bidding system, CNY Solar in Canastota was chosen as the installer under this year’s program. Workshops from 7 to 9 p.m. will be held on May 6 at the Canastota Public Library (102 W. Center St.), on May 7 at Quack’s (7239 U.S. Route 20 in Madison), and on May 9 at the Cazenovia Public Library (100 Albany St.). Additionally, Justin and Jill Williams (owners of CNY Solar) will host an open house on May 18 at 2998 State Route 31 in Canastota with tours and two information sessions, one from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one from 2 to 4 p.m.
Enrollment in this year’s program will close in about 50 days. This is a unique opportunity to do something good for the planet, reduce your energy costs at the same time, and take advantage of greatly reduced installation costs. As an example, with all of the incentives provided, the cost of a hot water heating system is reduced from over $7,300 to a little over $1,800, and a solar photovoltaic system goes from $11,500 to a little less than $5,200 (depending on the specifics of a particular site).
In addition to purchasing a system, leasing and financing options are also available.
More information can be found on the web at http://www.solarizemadison.com.
Chris Hoffman lives in the village of Sherburne in her 150+ year-old house where she caters to the demands of her four cats, attempts to grow heirloom tomatoes and herbs and reads voraciously. She passionately pursues various avenues with like-minded friends to preserve and protect a sustainable rural lifestyle for everyone in Central New York.