Not everything is about profits
and the bottom line for all companies. Recently, Yes Solar Solutions and Baker
Renewable Energy teamed up with local nonprofit NC GreenPower to help get a
wounded Veteran’s solar PV system back on track.
In 2005, Army Sergeant Jon
Roberts was stationed in Iraq when he was hit head-on by an 18 wheeler on his
way from the Baghdad airport to his base and sustained severe brain injuries. After
several surgeries, months in a coma and more months recovering in a VA
hospital, Jon returned with his parents, Steve and Heidi Roberts, to Waxhaw,
North Carolina where their extended family lives. They started plans to build a
handicapped accessible home on six acres of family land. Steve applied to Homes for Our Troops, a
privately funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free,
specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans to enable them
to rebuild their lives. Jon was accepted and his new home was completed by
Homes for Our Troops volunteers in the summer of 2008.
After the house was built, Steve
felt that he needed to invest in renewable technology to stabilize their energy
costs. He hired a company to install a 3.7 kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV)
array on the roof of the home to cut back on their use of traditional
electricity. Unfortunately, the solar franchise experienced some difficulties
during the installation, and the system was installed improperly and never
fully completed. To improve his return on investment, Steve also signed up as
an NC
GreenPower generator, receiving a small incentive for every
kilowatt-hour of green energy their solar PV system sent to the electric grid.
Sadly, the system didn’t produce
as much energy as it should, and Steve’s investment struggled to perform
properly. Earlier this summer, NC GreenPower’s Vice President, Vicky McCann,
contacted Steve about possibly finding a qualified contractor to donate their
services to fix the system. Vicky decided to reach out to a couple of NC
GreenPower solar companies who are currently a part of the program’s Solar
Schools pilot. “It has always bothered me that the system
did not produce the way it was supposed to, likely because of a poor
installation.”
Both Yes Solar Solutions and Baker Renewable Energy responded
enthusiastically about being a part of this pro bono project and started work
right away on correcting the solar PV installation, getting permits,
interconnection requests and utility filings together on behalf of the Roberts
family. The system was repaired by the team and is online now, producing more
than 5,000 kilowatt hours of power annually, or about a third of what the
average home in North Carolina uses over a year.
Stew Miller, Co-Founder and
President of Yes Solar Solutions said, “The Roberts’ story is truly
amazing. This is great example of the NC solar industry working together
for the benefit of a military family in need.” Jason Epstein, Executive Vice
President of Baker Renewable Energy echoed Stew’s thoughts, “We wish it was done
right the first time, but we were absolutely thrilled to be a part of the
solutions team.”
NC GreenPower will be following the solar PV system’s performance, comparing historical data to the next 12 months of energy production and sharing it with the team. The Roberts family had more good news this summer when Homes for Our Troops contacted them about another grant opportunity. The organization recently received funds to go back to homes they constructed and add a backup generator with a propane tank. Jon continues to improve in his recovery from his injuries and is able to communicate through the use of an iPad. He now also has the ability to drive an electric wheelchair and enjoys therapeutic horseback riding.
Now that his system is fixed, we
expect that it will soon begin performing the way it should have been – thanks
to this group – and Steve’s intent to reduce Jon’s energy costs will come to
fruition... a small payback to a
worthy Vet.
About NC GreenPower
With the mission of
improving the quality of the environment in North Carolina, the nonprofit NC
GreenPower was founded in 2003 by Advanced
Energy as a statewide program. NC GreenPower helps to
connect consumers with renewable energy and carbon offset providers to create
positive environmental and economic impacts for our state. All projects
supported by the program are located in North Carolina.
In 2015, NC GreenPower launched Solar Schools, a
matching grant program to support solar PV installations at North Carolina K-12
schools. Recently, Duke Energy and NC GreenPower announced a new partnership –
“Schools Going Solar.” Duke Energy will invest $300,000 to pay for 100% of the
installation costs for rooftop or pole-mounted solar PV systems for up to 10
schools in the state. Contributions to NC GreenPower are
tax-deductible. For more information, visit: www.ncgreenpower.org.
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