Update: Community Solar Array
NEW ARTICLE! Read all about the project in the national publication, Energy News Network.
SEVCA Solar Project Dedicated to the Memory of Harald Schmidtke
On October 25, SEVCA celebrated the achievement of a critical milestone in our new project, Community Solar for Community Action (CS4CA): the completion Phase 1 of the project, the ground-mounted solar array. Vermont State Representative David Deen (also a former SEVCA Executive Director), State Senators Becca Balint and Alicia Nitka, and Sheila Reed, representing U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, attended the event, which was held to dedicate the project to the memory of Harald Schmidtke, SEVCA’s Weatherization Director of 25 years. Harald’s children, Carolyn, Max, and Nicole, also attended the event, and Max spoke movingly of his father’s commitment to SEVCA and the people we serve. CS4CA will be a fitting memorial to Harald, whose dedication to improving the lives of our neighbors and the sustainability of our community was unwavering throughout his tenure at SEVCA.
The energy produced by the array, which will ultimately produce an estimated 119,500 kWh of electricity annually, will be used to reduce the high energy burdens of approximately 50 area households with low incomes, helping them to keep their homes heated and their utilities on. Complementing our home weatherization and crisis fuel programs, CS4CA will be an important new tool in our efforts to ensure that all vulnerable households can meet their energy needs now and in the future.
CS4CA was developed in partnership with the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) as part of the Solar in Your Community Challenge, a national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Catamount Solar, a Vermont-based, employee-owned solar contractor, was selected to install the array. We would like to thank all our project supporters, including the Windham Regional Commission, the Thompson Trust, VLITE, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the dozens of local contributors who have made this project possible. CLICK HERE to read about the event in the Brattleboro Reformer.