Shenandoah residents form Solar Co-op to go solar together, get a discount

Neighbors in Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, and Rockingham Counties have formed the Mountain and Valley Solar Co-op to save money and make going solar easier, while building a network of solar supporters. The Rockbridge Area Conservation Council, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, Virginia Clean Cities, James Madison University’s Center for Wind Energy and VA SUN are the co-op sponsors. The group is seeking members and will host three information meetings on March 6 (in Lexington), March 7 (in Verona), and March 8 (in Harrisonburg) to educate the community about solar and the co-op process.

Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, and Rockingham County residents interested in joining the co-op can sign up at www.vasun.org/mountain-and-valley. Joining the co-op is not a commitment to purchase panels. Once the group is large enough, VA SUN will help the co-op solicit competitive bids from area solar installers.

Co-op members will select a single company to complete all of the installations. They will then have the option to purchase panels individually based on the installer’s group rate. By going solar as a group and choosing a single installer, participants can save up to 20% off the cost of their system.