First Community Solar Garden Comes To Springs
SunShare is a Colorado Springs-based company that has teamed up with Colorado Springs Utilities and Pikes Peak Community Foundation to create a solar garden at Venetucci Farm in Colorado Springs.
According to David, founder of SunShare, the solar garden will consist of 2,500 solar panels.
?In the future it?ll be solar and wind energy, and this is just the first step toward a cleaner future,? said Amster-Olszewski.
Amster-Olszewski said the panels are able to be leased by residents in the community.
?This is just a way for people to call up, say ?I want to go solar? and within 30 days the system will be up and running, generating clean energy and sending those clean energy credits onto your bill, saving you money,? said Amster-Olszewski.
The cost for a lease on a single panel will be $550, with a minimum of two panels required by those participating.
Amster-Olszewski said by leasing two panels, customers can reduce their average electric bill by 10 percent, with additional monetary incentives provided by Colorado Springs Utilities on a first come, first served basis.
?So people can sign up just by going to our website and giving us a phone call. It takes about 5-10 minutes,? said Amster-Olszewski. The SunShare website can be found at http://mysunshare.com.
Amster-Olszewski said there are only about 900 panels that remain available, adding that he believes that they will be leased out within the next few weeks.
?It allows people to become more personally connected to how we deal with energy in this country,? said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Hickenlooper attended the groundbreaking, telling KRDO Newschannel13 that he was excited to meet Amster-Olszewski and see the solar garden.
?Our next step is, once the state legislation goes through, to move up into Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver, Pueblo; move across the state and then probably to other parts of the country,? said Amster-Olszewski.
