9/15/2023
Deadline Approaches to Enroll for No-Cost Evaluation of Your Property
The regionwide group-buying program Solarize the Triangle is nearing its final tier of lower prices as more property owners in the Triangle choose to install new renewable energy systems.
The deadline to enroll free is Sept. 30 but property owners will have additional time to receive an evaluation of their property and make a decision whether to purchase.
This week, the community-based campaign reached Tier 7 of 8 progressively lower-priced tier levels. The time-limited program enables residents and businesses to save on the ordinary cost of solar energy and battery power through combined buying with others within 12 communities in the Triangle. Federal income tax credits of 30 percent make this form of clean energy even more affordable.
Acting to enroll for free and without obligation prior to Sept. 30 ensures access to the lowest-price tier achieved. Rebates provide everyone the same final price regardless of when a contract is completed before the final deadline later this year.
The Triangle Sustainability Partnership, a local government partnership of 12 communities that forged the program, continues to offer local educational and informational opportunities for those in the region seeking to know more about purchasing solar energy and battery storage for their home, business or non-profit organization.
To provide the public with information about the program, representatives of Solarize the Triangle ’23 will be at the Southern Ideal Home Show (Booth 432) from Friday-Sunday, Sept. 15-17 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
Full program details are also readily available online at SolarizetheTriangle.com. This includes a recording of a new Net Energy Metering webinar that helps explain upcoming deadlines affecting utility metering for solar energy.
Via the Solarize concept, the more residents and business owners who contract for solar installations through the program, the more savings accrue for all participants. The 7th price tier in Solarize the Triangle ’23 ($2.75/watt) was reached through initial contracts totaling 617.5 total kWs so far. The program also involves battery storage of which 256.5 kWh has been purchased thus far.
All homeowners who purchase during the campaign, regardless of when, will be provided with the lowest-price ($2.65/watt) if Tier 8 is reached. Already 581 property owners have enrolled to receive a free, no-obligation evaluation.
All residential solar and battery contracts must be completed by Dec. 31, 2023. A separate deadline for commercial/non-profit contract completions is Feb. 28, 2024.
The 2023 regional program focuses on:
- Making solar energy more affordable: lower the cost of solar energy through the power of group-purchasing and reduced acquisition costs. Savings are passed to residents of the Triangle region;
- Making solar energy more accessible: contractor(s), materials and pricing highly vetted for best practices using a competitive bid process;
- Education and community engagement: widespread community engagement, education and outreach activities through town hall meetings, workshops, solar “open house” gatherings, and outreach through local community groups and events;
- Promoting solar-positive policies: encourage local governments to adopt streamlined solar energy permitting policies and fair utility distributed generation policies; and
- Giving back: Solarize the Triangle and selected contractors will use a portion of campaign proceeds to donate a solar energy system to a deserving local nonprofit organization and/or help to underwrite solar-energy systems for qualified low- and moderate-income families with high energy burdens.
Helping to facilitate the program on behalf of the members is The Triangle J Council of Governments and Solar CrowdSource. For the program’s second year, the installer selected through a rigorous vetting process remains Yes Solar Solutions, a Cary-based, fully-licensed NC general contractor with more than 1,600 projects installed.
About Solarize the Triangle: Solarize the Triangle is a campaign developed via the Triangle J Council of Governments. Communities involved include: Chatham County, City of Raleigh, Durham County, City of Durham, Town of Cary, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Hillsborough, Town of Carrboro, Town of Apex, Town of Morrisville, Orange County and the Town of Holly Springs. Lowering the cost of solar-energy and battery-storage installations through the power of bulk purchasing, reducing contractor acquisition costs, and transferring those savings to residential and commercial residents is the objective of the 2023 campaign, which resumed this spring.