SunCommon

The Bridge – SunCommon One-year Anniversary

Duane Peterson — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:39:10 +0000

SunCommon of Waterbury celebrated its one-year anniversary at the home of Liberty Street resident Johannes Otter (left) Monday. Speakers included (left to right) SunCommon copresident Duane Peterson, Central Vermont Economic Development chairman Peter Hood, Governor Peter Shumlin, Peck Electric president Jeff Peck and South Burlington homeowner Joanne Heidkamp. SunCommon installed 248 residential solar systems its first year, has a goal of installing 500 its second year and intends to expand its program to farms. The firm employs 53, uses components from local vendors and is a benefit corporation, meaning it has a “triple bottom line” (people, planet, profit).

Peterson attributed the firm’s growth to its attractive financing model, which requires no initial installation expense to homeowners. Otter lived in Germany during Chernobyl and his wife was then pregnant. Heidkamp’s system delivered half her needs in midwinter, all she needed in March, and her meter now runs backward. The event publicized the state’s Clean Energy Fund, currently expected to run out of money this summer.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

Waterbury Record – Local Solar Company Celebrates First Year

Duane Peterson — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:58:17 +0000

Elected officials, economic development representatives and staff of SunCommon gathered at the Otter home in Montpelier to celebrate the Waterbury-based solar company’s first birthday. In its first year, SunCommon installed 248 residential solar systems, making it the largest residential solar installer in the state, according to a press release. SunCommon currently has 53 employees and contractors.

Gov. Peter Shumlin attended the event along with Peter Hood, chairman of the Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation; Jeff Peck, president of Peck Electric; and two solar homeowners, including Johannes Otter. “In our first year, SunCommon was responsible for half of all solar installations in Vermont,” said SunCommon co-president Duane Peterson. “This year, we plan to double our impact, installing over 500 solar systems for Vermont homes and businesses.”

State policymakers are currently debating the future of Vermont’s solar programs. “Our industry is on the cusp of making solar truly common in the state,” Peterson said. “To withdraw support now is to take the legs out from under this growing industry.”

READ THE ENTIRE STORY.

Burlington Free Press – Solar company touts success, fears future

Duane Peterson — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:30:05 +0000

A state rebate program to encourage residents to go solar has helped to install 775 small-scale solar electricity systems since 2006, but the state’s largest residential solar company fears a reduction in funding could curtail that growth by making the investment costlier for homeowners.

SunCommon, which has installed 248 residential solar systems in Vermont in the last year, and Gov. Peter Shumlin urged the Legislature Monday to continue to fund the program.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

WCAX-TV – Solar company celebrates first year (video)

Duane Peterson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:17:57 +0000

“It’s our goal to bolt this stuff on your roof at no up front cost, essentially installing for free, and then the monthly cost — you essentially shift your payment from your electricity from the utility to a financing agency that has provided these panels,” said Duane Peterson with SunCommon. Homeowners who sign up will always have the same cost. What you pay today for electricity, would be the same amount you would pay to rent solar panels from SunCommon.

WATCH THE ENTIRE TV NEWS STORY

Montpelier Times Argus – SunCommon Celebrates 1st Anniversary

Duane Peterson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:15:51 +0000

SunCommon, which has installed 248 residential solar systems in Vermont in the last year, and Gov. Peter Shumlin urged the Legislature on Monday to continue to fund the program. “This is not time to pull back on an extraordinary success,” Shumlin said at an event celebrating SunCommon’s anniversary. The company, which employs 53 people, hopes to install 500 more systems on homes and businesses this year. Its model is to make solar power accessible by installing small-scale systems with no upfront costs to the homeowners. read the entire article

Associated Press (AP) – Vermont home solar company touts accomplishments

Duane Peterson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:22:09 +0000

The company, which employs 53 people, hopes to install 500 more systems on homes and businesses this year. Its model is to make solar power accessible by installing small-scale systems with no upfront costs to the homeowners.

A homeowner pays a monthly fee, essentially shifting his or her payment from a utility to a financing agency that pays for the solar panels. SunCommon has a number of financial arrangements, including lease and loan options. The lease option suited Joanne Heidkamp and her family in South Burlington, after they had taken steps to save energy through energy efficient programs and installing compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Read the entire article, including 3 great AP photos.

Burlington Free Press — Pop-up galleries: A growing trend in Burlington’s arts scene

Duane Peterson — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:31:06 +0000

…An art show that used the Cherry Street pop-up gallery was organized last summer by SunCommon, a Waterbury-based organization that helps people convert their homes to solar energy. Since its founding a year ago, SunCommon has helped facilitate solar installations for more than 300 families, according to solar community organizer/outreach worker Dan Conant. A pop-up gallery with artwork inspired by the sun was a useful and appealing event for SunCommon for several reasons, Conant said. It was a “fantastic way” to reach the community, to get the word out about SunCommon’s efforts and interests, Conant said. “It was a great way to partner with artists, and reach out to a whole new group of people who wouldn’t necessarily hear about us,” he said. “Between artists who were exhibiting their work and people passing by every day — getting them excited about solar and starting to envision it in their homes and in our state — it was an inspirational thing.” Read the entire story

Featured Solar Homeowners: Shannon and Melissa Haggett

Clary Franko — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:43:29 +0000

In the Spring of 2012, Shannon and Melissa Haggett saw the story of SunCommon launching on WCAX and were intrigued by the idea of going solar with no upfront cost. Shannon hopped onto his computer, went to our website, and clicked on the get started tab that night. This was before SunCommon was in Addison County but by signing up he helped bring us there first and now his system is up and running! Shannon, Melissa, and their two children live in Vergennes and Shannon is chair of the local Planning Commission. We’re happy that Shannon and Melissa were one of the first families we helped go solar in Addison County, and here’s what they have to say about it.

What had kept you from going solar before?

For me, it was really the cost and the lack of personal expertise that kept me from going solar before. I had casually looked into going solar, but I wasn’t sure what to do – how big a system would I need? Would I need to “be off the grid” and just use what I produced? Would I need to warehouse a bunch of batteries to store the energy? How do I hook up an inverter? Things like that…. SunCommon not only resolved the barrier of initial cost of the system through their lease arrangement, they walked me through how the process would work and made it really easy.

What are you looking forward to about having solar?

We’re looking forward to not only reducing and possibly eliminating our electricity bill permanently, we’re excited that we’re doing it in a way that is environmentally friendly. Additionally, having the system here means that we’re less reliant on energy that is generated elsewhere – be it hydro-electric power from Canada or from fossil fuels that came from another part of the world. That idea of self-sufficiency resonates with us and just seems sensible.

How has going solar changed your living habits?

I don’t know if it’s really changed our living habits, but we’re certainly much more aware of the amount of energy we consume and generate! In the past, we’d get the electric bill and we’d just pay it. We didn’t really pay attention to our usage levels and patterns – now we know. Now, I can tell you how much we’re generating on a daily basis. Sunpower, the manufacturer of the panels we have on our home has a website that can monitor our production and even a Smartphone app where I can see what’s happening with the system from pretty much anywhere! It’s really neat to see. We were even generating low levels of power during some snow storms in February and March!

What is the most important power device that your panel will be charging?

That’s a good question. I think more than anything its charging our excitement that this can be done on a very small level by just about everyone. I recognize that me going solar is just a drop in the bucket in terms of the environment, power usage, reliance on foreign energy, but if enough people join in with their small steps too – then we can say that we’ve made a difference!

We’re big fans of SunCommon and how they’ve made going solar so easy for us. We look forward to many years of working together!

Waterbury Record — LEAPing to the top: Towns recognized for doubling solar capacity

Duane Peterson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:34:55 +0000

Rev. Peter Plagge and Erin Mooney opened up their Winooski Street home for a sort of party Monday morning. Gov. Peter Shumlin, several state representatives and a scrum of local and state media all attended, as did the figurative guests of honor: more than 100 photographs of solar panel arrays on or beside homes and businesses in Waterbury and Duxbury, many installed over the last 11 months.

The event celebrated the doubling of residential solar capacity in both towns over the past year, a goal set by Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership) last April. There are now 103 solar installations between the two towns, 34 in Duxbury and 69 in Waterbury. The success has been largely a result of making solar more affordable for families such as Plagge’s and Mooney’s, said Jamie Ervin, a Waterbury LEAP board member. Duxbury, for example, is 89th in the state in per capita income, but second in the state now in terms of watts per capita of solar capacity.

“It shows solar is for everyone, regardless of income,” Ervin said. Read the entire article.

WPTZ-TV: Waterbury and Duxbury double home solar panels in a year

Duane Peterson — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:40:36 +0000

Peter Plagge recently installed solar panels on his family’s Waterbury home. ”I like to go on my computer and look at the little graph readout of the electricity that we produce,” said Plagge. He says the company Suncommon offered the solar project for the same monthly rate as his electric bill. ”I’m a pastor and my wife’s a teacher. You know, we don’t make an awful lot of money — I’m paid well, but it’s possible because it didn’t cost me a dime,” said Plagge. Suncommon says it is striving to make solar more affordable for a broader group of customers. Watch the original story.