It was pleasant to see a story on Highland Craftsmen of Spruce Pine included in the DOE’s weekly newsletter from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), however it wasn’t too much of a surprise. Their efforts towards sustainability have been comprehensive, and reaching zero energy for electrical use in their operations certainly warrants recognition. Indeed, theirs is a great success story, made possible largely in part because of support from the NC State Energy Office and ARRA funding.
It is extremely gratifying to work with people such as Marty and Chris McCurry in empowering them with the tools to realize such achievements, and greater still to see their commitment to clean energy be celebrated and stand as a model for others.
The solar electric system that Sundance Power Systems installed for Highland Craftsmen was just one of many projects that were funded through ARRA that we worked on over the past couple of years. While the process was sometimes very cumbersome, this program was very significant to our company and to a multitude of other businesses who directly were involved with projects. ARRA did serve its purpose of stimulating the economy; more specifically a more efficient and clean economy. To my knowledge, there are no current plans to continue this program, and that is disappointing. I suppose we’ll have to get on the other side of November’s elections to see what leadership and support to expect from the Federal and State Government. Meanwhile, we express our Thanks to ARRA and Kudos to Chris and Marty, and look for the best!
