David on Galiano Island who cleans windows has expanded into cleaning solar panels on all the Southern Gulf Island (islandsolarclean.com & islandsolarclean@gmail.com) and has all the special equipment necessary to do so.
17
03, 2023
28
10, 2022
New on the SSREC website: Live Feed of a Solar System Monitoring Dashboard
Curious about what a grid-tie solar installation with SSREC is all about? Get an instant glimpse into how it works by viewing the actual live data of a solar system currently running on Galiano Island.
15
02, 2022
Canada Greener Homes Grant Assessments
Many of you may have applied for the Canada Greener Homes Grant, which provides up to $5,000 for energy efficient retrofits to your homes. These highly recommended grants include the ability to install solar energy systems ($1,000 per kW, to a maximum of 5 kW). However, these applications require an assessment by a certified EnerGuide evaluator and this has been a bottleneck in people accessing these funds.
SSREC has now arranged for a certified evaluator to come to Galiano, which is the first step in accessing these grants. If you have applied for the program and are interested in our evaluator coming to your home on Galiano please send an email to SSRECcghg@gmail.com. Please indicate clearly if you are interested in installing solar as part or all of your retrofit. Note that the cost of evaluation is around $1,300 (ouch!), but the federal government will provide a $600 reimbursement on top of the grant (eventually). If you haven’t applied yet, there is still time to do so. It saves you money and is definitely good for the environment. Let us know and we’ll send you information on our assessor that is needed to complete the application.
Contact: SSRECcghg@gmail.com
15
02, 2022
Solar Bulk Buy in 2022
We are delighted to announce that SSREC is organizing a bulk buy of solar this year, although our approach has changed somewhat. Our volunteers were a little overwhelmed by the size and scope of our last bulk buy in 2020/2021 which was complicated by following strict Covid-19 protocols, those tedious supply chain issues and logistics challenges from having to juggle demand from half a dozen islands. Yes, it was frustrating, but in the end, solar is ‘up’ and doing its magic, supplying electricity from the sun quietly, reliably and inexpensively. This year, there will be less waiting for the installation since we plan to hit the virtual ‘order and install’ button as soon as we have commitments from 3 to 5 solar enthusiasts in one area. Regrettably, the smaller bulk means that ‘bulk’ discount will be smaller than in previous years, but still worth it.
If you are interested in going solar, please send an email to SSRECinfo@gmail.com and we’ll do an initial free assessment of solar feasibility and start a conversation on what solar can do for you and answer any questions you may have about solar. If everything checks out and solar looks promising, we usually proceed to an on-site assessment to confirm measurements & status of roof, examine compatibility with your electrical system and perform an in-depth shading analysis – for a small fee. Only when you are completely happy with the information received, do we ask our installers for a binding quote for your solar system, including installation, registration with the utility and permitting – the works. When contacting us, please provide a street address and if google maps can’t find you or puts the marker into the middle of the shrubbery – as it often does around the islands – we will also need Latitude-Longitude coordinates. You can find those on your cell-phone. Or ask us for instructions on how to find the coordinates.
Contact: SSRECinfo@gmail.com
14
02, 2022
Update on Solar Installations
We’re very happy to report that SSREC has now installed more than 100 solar systems around the Salish Sea, with over 2500 solar panels (>800 kW) generating about 800,000 kWh of electricity a year. Most importantly, the combined annual savings in carbon emissions approach 200 metric tonnes of CO2e over electricity from hydropower.
Tom Mommsen & Risa Smith, SSREC
23
07, 2019
2019 Bulk Purchase/Installation of Solar Systems
The Salish Sea Renewable Energy Cooperative (SSREC) is a local cooperative of dedicated volunteers who are enthusiastic about solar energy and strive to decrease our carbon footprint and save some money along the way.
We are currently organizing another bulk purchase/installation of solar systems around the Salish Sea for our members
– to add to the 55 systems we helped install already
This is a great opportunity to join the solar revolution at a very competitive price. We’re here to help, provide information and do the preliminary work with you. We will be doing complimentary remote assessments during July and early August.
If you are interested please email SSRECinfo@gmail.com. If you would like to have a remote assessment, email us your street address or latitude and longitude coordinates and contact phone number to get things rolling.
Deadline for our 2019 bulk buy is September 30
Check out additional information at SSREC.org, where you can also find an application form to join the coop. Joining the coop is not essential for the remote assessment, but only members can participate in the bulk-purchase and there is a cost, yet to be determined, for the final on-site assessments.
30
05, 2019
21
06, 2018
Successful Presentation to Islands Trust Council, June 20th
Slides from the Islands Trust Council presentation, June 20th, 2018
19
06, 2018
1
06, 2018
SSREC to Present at Islands Trust Council on Saturna Island June 20th at 2:00 pm
The subject of SSREC’s presentation is “Southern Gulf Islands Are Becoming a Solar Energy Powerhouse”.
The presenters will be SSREC Directors Tom Mommsen and Risa Smith.
Tom and Risa will talk about the large bulk-purchase of solar energy systems currently occurring on the Gulf Islands and the importance of this initiative to helping the Islands Trust meet its climate change goals.