On an overcast day in January at 4pm, one month beyond the winter solstice, Chesapeake Climate Action Network supporter and Charlottesville resident Bob McAdams’ solar system has already generated 8.6kw of energy. His solar panels are newly installed and he’s excited to talk to me about why he installed them, and why he’s actively working to make it easier for others in Virginia to join him.
Join Bob and his neighbors for our Solar Call-In Day this Thursday, January 29th, from 6-8 pm. Our legislators need to hear from us – we want them to support solar! E-mail me at lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org for all of the details.
McAdams installed a solar home energy system at the beginning of January, and he tracks his savings on a spreadsheet, comparing his home energy usage and costs year-to-year. He calculated that on average, over the past three years he has used 26kw of energy per day.
“At this rate, during peak sunlight in the year I’ll be able to get over half of my daily usage from solar”, McAdams said.
The savings this represents are appealing to McAdams, but even more appealing are the impacts on Virginia’s climate. McAdams cares deeply about protecting the state’s environment and cutting carbon emissions.
“These are the things you don’t get with solar: no fuel. No pipeline. No long lines of coal cars. No coal ash heaps. No high level radioactive waste. No fracking. No mountaintop removal. And no carbon emissions.”
He first learned about the option to install solar from a program called Solarize Charlottesville (http://solarizecville.org/). He said that the installation process was easy and fast- it took 3 days.
“The system is simplicity itself,” he said.
I asked if any of his family or neighbors had installed solar yet, and he said that his brother is looking into installation for his house in Philadelphia. McAdams’ next door neighbor came by to ask for the Local Energy Alliance’s contact information to look into installation for her own home.
McAdams hopes to see his family, his neighbors and his fellow Virginians join him in reducing carbon emissions by switching to solar, and – even more importantly – by advocating for solar in the political process. He recently testified about the benefits of solar at a Richmond committee hearing in mid-January.
“If you don’t participate in the political process, you don’t get a government that serves you,” said McAdams.
As part of an ongoing campaign to take down the barriers to solar power in Virginia, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched an effort to pass a bill this session that would support solar in Virginia by raising the net metering cap on non-residential solar power projects from 500 kW to a more competitive 2 MW. McAdams and his neighbors know this bill needs to pass if Virginia is going to play catch-up to neighboring states.
Join Bob and his neighbors for our Solar Call-In Day this Thursday, January 29th, from 6-8 pm. Our legislators need to hear from us – we want them to support solar! E-mail me at lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org to join the call-in day!