4H
HOME IN THE COUNTRY
SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT
MAY, 2014
Homeowner John Burrow's (below) house on Hollow Road, Glen Spey, across the road from Homestead School was open for touring. It was recently fitted with roof-mount solar panels. He will realize significant savings on his energy bills.
‘Going solar’ is getting easier Story and Photos by Anya Tikka
T
he Homestead School hosted a solar power workshop May 3 to give information to residents and businesses about how they can save power costs, and also reduce their carbon footprint. It’s now comparatively easy to either lease or own solar panels that feed the grid when the panels generate enough power, and vice versa. The workshop was presented by Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development (SASD) in conjunction with Homestead School. School Director Peter Comstock and SASD Co-Executive Director Carol Roig gave introductions, followed by a short PowerPoint presentation given by Todd
Okeson, solar installer with Unified Infrastructure East Coast Alternative Energy, and Jonathan Hartley, from Roof Diagnostics Solar. Stephen Stuart, technical specialist with SASD, along with Atlantech Solar Lead System Designer and Project Manager Rick Contrata, gave presentations about different aspects of solar installations, followed by a Q&A session. Afterwards, the participants could either tour a home on Hollow Road owned by John Burrow across the road from the school that has recently been fitted with solar panels, or the large commercial scale installation on a field next to the school. New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) programs currently allow tax credit and rebate incentives for solar installations;
SASD CoExecutive Director Carol Roig talks at the Solar Workshop.