The Clean Energy for Boone effort spearheaded by locally based nonprofit Climate Voices US successfully installed 315 kilowatts of solar energy in the High Country area in 2015, resulting in hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide being diverted from the atmosphere each year.
Climate Voices US was founded by Harvard Ayers, a retired Appalachian State University professor and environmental advocate, to reduce global climate change through advocacy, education and community action. The nonprofit launched the Clean Energy for Boone effort one year ago with a mission to install as many solar energy systems as possible before Dec. 31, 2015 — when North Carolina’s 35 percent renewable energy tax credit expired.
Climate Voices partnered with Boone Collaborative Solar LLC and secured grants to offer discounted pricing, financing, free energy audits and subsidies to make it easy and affordable for families and others to go solar and invest in energy efficiency.
Other businesses involved included Spring Green Building & Design Group, reNew Home Inc., Sun Volt Electric Inc. and IcRus LLC.
Landon Pennington, founder and president of Collaborative Solar, said he has been friends with Ayers for a decade, and the two have worked together on environmental projects in the Arctic.
To learn more, please read the full article, Boone Solar Energy Effort Completes 39 Projects (PDF)