A free Middle Peninsula Solar Co-op (MPSC) information session will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, January 11, at the Lancaster Community Library, 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock.
This solar co-op established by Virginia Solar United Neighborhoods (VASUN) is also open to residents of Lancaster and surrounding counties, according to Maureen Fairbrother.
Questions about solar technology, costs of going solar and benefits of doing so through the co-op, will be addressed by VASUN director Aaron Sutch.
The co-op has over 50 members and Bernie Stanley of Shockoe Solar is the co-op’s chosen installer. Co-op members get a 15 to 20% bulk purchase discount as well as a 30% federal tax credit, said Fairbrother. There is no financial commitment until members sign a customized contract and they have the support of consumer advocate VASUN throughout the process.
Some owners like a battery back-up option, but most go with “net-metering” whereby any extra electricity generated by their panels goes onto the grid and the meter “runs backward,” said Fairbrother.
Homeowners also may join the co-op at vasun.org.