In an effort to encourage home and business owners to begin installing solar arrays, the city of Ridgefield in Connecticut has established the Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment or (R.A.C.E). On June 15, 2017, the committee commenced its launch of the program, which will assist residents in learning the benefits of solar and provide a means that they can install their own power system. The program utilizes their top qualified installers to teach classes and provide a no obligation assessment of solar on individual structures.

This program comes as an added incentive to the current State and Federal incentives that take away the initial financial burden taken on by consumers. The program will further use these R.A.C.E qualified installers to offer a heavily discounted rate on solar power installations and will run until the end of September this year. The program comes as a welcome surprise to Connecticut residents and is expected to be a huge success among the states environmentally and monetarily concerned residents. The group can be reached via phone at 1-844-368-2879 or can visit the Ross Solar Group website to apply.

The program further offers a new means to get people interested in solar and is likely to serve as a blueprint for other states and counties to start similar programs to bring installers and residents together. Although many homeowners have taken to DIY solar projects, there are many who would prefer to have an installer do the job but they lack the financial means to take on both the cost of goods and installation. There are numerous other states that could heavily benefit from such programs, and we hope to see the trend pick up across state borders as the program could have the same effect on residential installs as net metering has in the past.

Net metering is provided by the home owners utility company and either pays the homeowner for excess energy generated by the system or offers a credit towards their future energy consumption. Net metering has come under fire in many states, however the strong opposition to discontinuing the program has largely kept the programs in place or brought them back, such as the case with Nevada. Community centered programs such as these serve as some of the strongest incentives for homeowners to start looking to solar for their home energy consumption needs. Along with the decreasing costs of solar, such programs can offer a much lower ROI period and initial costs in investment.

While the United States has just started to show its true energy potential, with renewable energy accounting for 10 percent of the total energy used in March, such programs serve as a strong incentive for solar energy to really start picking up their pace and exceed 2020 goals of reaching 15 percent renewable energy dependence. Furthermore, solar has proven to be a leader in job growth particularly over the last two years, which comes as a welcome relief to many displaced workers across the United States. Additional community programs such as these can offer incentives for new installers to enter the market and provide homeowners with peace of mind regarding their qualifications. Although the qualifications to participate in the R.A.C.E program have not been disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that their installers need to be NABCEP certified and have some experience in the field. For those looking for a reasonable cost in terms of installation programs such as these could provide a great opportunity to many consumers.