By Ben Delman, Communications Director, Solar United Neighbors
Neighbors across the Greater Houston area are working together to have solar panels installed on their homes. Non-profit Solar United Neighbors is working with groups in The Woodlands and in Central Houston to form solar co-ops. These bulk purchasing groups make it easy to save on having solar power installed on your home. Participants are working with Solar United Neighbors’ support to learn about solar technology and the process of going solar.
The solar co-ops are free to join and joining is not a commitment to purchase panels. The solar co-ops have solicited bids from area installers and will soon choose installers to serve the groups. The selected installers will provide participants with a personalized proposal that makes the most sense for their neighborhood. Participants can then decide if going solar is right for them. Solar United Neighbors works with co-op participants and the chosen staller throughout the installation process to ensure it goes smoothly.
Solar United Neighbors began its work a decade ago with a simple question: “Mom, can we go solar?” This was asked of our Executive Director, Anya Schoolman by her then-teenaged son Walter. He and his friend Diego had just seen “An Inconvenient Truth” and wanted to take action. Anya looked into going solar, but at the time it was expensive and complicated. She quickly realized that if she were going to take her home solar, she might as well do it for the whole neighborhood. Walter and Diego canvassed their block to get neighbors on board. This is how the first solar co-op was born. That first group helped 45 homes go solar.
Today, Solar United Neighbors helps thousands of homeowners across the country go solar each year. The solar co-ops in The Woodlands and Central Houston are the first two in Texas. Solar United Neighbors will soon launch groups in North Texas and across the state.
Join us in person May 11 at 6pm at the Rainbow Roller Rink in Conroe, click here to RSVP. You can also connect with us by sending us an email at: txteam@solarunitedneighbors.org.