The Capitol Hill Energy Cooperative is bringing people together to exchange ideas about energy efficiency and renewable energy. We are working with the Mt Pleasant Coop, and I'm glad to report that Anya Schoolman will be joining me in running this blog. In particular, we will focus on efforts to solar energy to Washington DC -- and we hope that others will decide to form neighborhood co-ops to spread the word. Here is some basic info about the Capitol Hill Co-op....
The good news...
-- three of our 170 (and growing list) of members have completed their installations. Some pictures are posted on the bottom right area of the blog.
-- the project for my house will start in a few weeks (so I thought it might be a good time to begin blogging).
-- you can get enough government rebates to completely pay for your system.
The bad news...
-- although DC has a $2 million per year rebate program, the DC Department of Environment is not staffing the program in a way that allows it to administer the funding.
-- this could mean that DC applicants requesting rebates do not receive rebates, or if they are received, the disbursement is not timely.
We are working with the Mt Pleasant Co-op to request a meeting with the City Council and DDOE officials so we can get assurances that the project will be administered properly.
Has there been any improvement within the program to actual get solar panels installed? Are participants now receiving their Solar Rebates or Solar Energy related funding? I'm personally in the industry with SolarWorks211.Com and I've seen no real dramatic change in the market. The public does seem to be more aware, yet that's about as far as it goes. Any insight? Thanks.
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