Yesterday afternoon folks gathered at the Farmers Market in Carrboro’s Town Commons to celebrate their new community solar energy system. Among them was James Ward, our Solar Energy Consultant working in the Triangle region. “It was comforting to see a community come together on a solar project for the town farmer’s market. Everyone involved from the town put forth hard work on their first solar installation which will transpire into many more to come. They should all be proud of a job well done,” he said of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Indeed, every solar system that comes into operation is worthy of celebration, but this project is especially noteworthy as an innovative community investment project through a cooperative endeavor with the Town, the Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy (AIRE) and Carrboro Community Solar (CCS) which was formed by a group of local citizens committed to bringing solar to their community.
Their website carrborosolar.com tells the story behind the initiative and shines their enthusiasm for bringing “a clean power source for Carrboro for years to come.” While they humbly refer to the installation as a “small but significant step towards local self-reliance” it stands to demonstrate to all what is possible. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
See the full press release here.
