At our General Meeting on July 19,2014 , BNC heard a presentation from Spencer Veale regarding a non-profit group, East Bay Community Solar Project, that he is putting together. The purpose of this project is to promote conversion to solar by helping people navigate the conversion process and by offering a bulk discount when several households get together to do it at the same time. We promised you in July that we would get back to you regarding this subject. Since then, Mr. Veale has sent us the following letter:
Dear Neighbors,
If you are someone who has thought of going solar, but never gotten around to it, because you are busy and it seems like a lot of work, this project is for you. I encourage you to visit the website (ebcsolarproject.com) to learn more and sign up for a proposal.
I’ve already spoken to many of you about the project, which is non-profit, that I’ve been putting together the past several months. We have now finalized our agreement with the selected contractor and announced the bulk-discounted rates the project will be able to provide to participants. The idea is to help residents and businesses throughout the East Bay move forward with making the transition to solar, something I hope you agree is important.
To do this we are using a model that has worked across the country. The model allows participants to not only get a bulk discount, but also spare themselves the time and hassle of selecting a contractor, and it allows them to do this in a responsible manner. The project has administered a competitive bidding process, in which our contractor selection committee, made up of people in the community hoping to go solar themselves, have performed a rigorous review of each of the companies and their bids. If you visit the project website (ebcsolarproject.com) you can meet the committee members and contact them to ask about the selection process.
If you would like to see the project succeed, I encourage you to help get the word out. Things like forwarding this message to your neighborhood association or earthquake preparedness group can make a big difference. I hope you think of the project when you talk to friends. The deadline for sign-ups is October 31.
Note: BNC encourages conversion to solar in general. We do not, however, recommend either the use of any specific process or group to assist in the decision to convert, or any company to perform the work. Those decisions are entirely up to the individuals involved.
BNC invites letters from eNEWS readers. Letters and photos should be sent to
newsletter@berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com. Letters should be about issues of neighborhood interest and no longer than 500 words, although at times we will publish letters that exceed that length.