On March 1, the City of Lancaster and nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) announced the launch of the Lancaster County Solar and EV Charger Co-op.

The group will help Lancaster County residents, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations go solar. This is the first solar co-op in Lancaster County.

“We hear all the time from residents and businesses who want to improve their environmental impact,” said Jess King, Chief of Staff for the City of Lancaster. “The Lancaster Solar Co-op is directly in line with the City’s Climate Action Plan, and we think the co-op will help City and County residents consider solar for their own homes and businesses, and to learn more about renewable energy alternatives as a community.”

For the first time, SUN will also offer technology that can help residents reduce energy demand and improve energy reliability as part of the co-op programming.

“Reducing energy consumption and cost is a win-win,” said Monica Carey, Pennsylvania Program Director for Solar United Neighbors. “In addition, this solar co-op will help people get a better deal on an installation, unbiased expert guidance, and ensure the right system for their home.”

The co-op is free to join and open to all homeowners, small business owners, and nonprofits in Lancaster County. Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase top quality individual solar systems at a competitive price.

After a competitive bidding process facilitated by SUN, which remains vendor-neutral, co-op members will select a single solar company to complete the installations.

Joining does not require members to purchase solar. Instead, members will have the option to individually purchase panels, battery storage, and/or electric vehicle chargers based on the installer’s group rate.

The Co-op closes to new members on July 31, 2023.

SUN is partnering with the City of Lancaster, RegenAll, Lancaster Science Factory, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Lancaster, Lancaster Association of the United Church of Christ, Lancaster Sierra Club, Clean Air Council, and Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light to host the solar co-op opportunity.

“The co-op model creates an informed community focused on sustainable energy,” said Emily Landis, Executive Director of the Lancaster Science Factory. “The co-op model builds on our mission of fostering an inclusive environment for STEM exploration.”

Solar United Neighbors of Pennsylvania has completed 14 solar co-ops across Pennsylvania. Their most recent co-op, in Indiana County, will close in March.

According to the group’s estimates, 163 homes and businesses across the Commonwealth now have solar panels because of solar co-ops, representing 1.5 Megawatts of solar power, $4.2 million invested in the regional economy, and more than 29 million lbs. of lifetime carbon offsets.

Solar 101 Info Sessions

SUN will host several free Solar 101 sessions to educate community members about solar energy and the co-op. Individuals interested in going solar can sign up for the co-op or one of the upcoming Solar 101 sessions on the Lancaster County Solar and EV Charger Co-op webpage.

The in-person and onlin Solar 101 sessions are scheduled for:

-- Wednesday, March 8 at 6:30 pm at the Manheim Township Public Library in Morgan Program Center B, 595 Granite Run Drive Lancaster, PA 17601, and online session (registration link)

-- Sunday, March 19 at 2:00 pm at the Lancaster Science Factory in the Maker Space, 454 New Holland Avenue Lancaster, PA 17602, and online session (registration link)

-- Friday, April 28 at 12:00 online session (registration link)

-- Wednesday, July 26 at 6:30 pm at Quarryville Public Library Friday, 357 Buck Road Quarryville, PA 17566, and online session (registration link)

For more information visit the Lancaster County Solar and EV Charger Co-op webpage.

Visit the Solar United Neighbors of Pennsylvania webpage for more information on solar energy in the Commonwealth.

PA DEP Public Notice Dashboards:

-- Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 25 to March 3; More Well Plugging Sites Inspected [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - March 4 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posts 63 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 4 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

PA Oil & Gas Compliance Reports

-- Feature: 60 Years Of Fracking, 20 Years Of Shale Gas: Pennsylvania’s Oil & Gas Industrial Infrastructure Is Hiding In Plain Sight [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Failed To File Annual Production/Waste Generation Reports For 61,655 Wells; Attorney General Continues Investigation Of Road Dumping Wastewater  [PaEN]

-- DEP Issued 754 Notices Of Violation For Defective Oil & Gas Well Casing, Cementing, The Fundamental Protection Needed To Prevent Gas Migration, Groundwater & Air Contamination, Explosions  [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’  [PaEN]

-- DEP 2021 Oil & Gas Program Annual Report Shows Conventional Oil & Gas Operators Received A Record 610 Notices Of Violation For Abandoning Wells Without Plugging Them  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- Bay Journal: PA Conventional Gas Wells Routinely Abandoned, Left Unplugged - By Ad Crable, Chesapeake Bay Journal  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: It’s Time To Hear Bold Leadership On Oil & Gas In Gov. Shapiro’s Budget Address - By Melissa Ostroff, EarthWorks, Member Shapiro Transition Team   [PaEN]

-- Better Path Coalition, FracTracker Alliance Release Pennsylvania Is Worth Protecting, A Visual Reminder Of The People, Places & Natural Resources Worth Protecting From Environmental Devastation, Climate Change  [PaEN]

-- Senate Committee Meets March 6 On Bill Prohibiting Elected Officials In Local Governments From Moving To Cleaner Energy Sources To Combat Climate Change  [PaEN]

-- Senate Committee Meets March 8 To Consider Bill Allowing General Assembly To Kill Regulations By Doing Nothing [PaEN]

-- Senate Hearing On Electric Grid Reliability: Natural Gas Continues To Have Reliability Problems; Renewables Aren’t Coming Online Fast Enough; Energy Office To Be Proposed  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw Proposes Independent Energy Office To Promote Development Of PA’s Diverse Energy Portfolio - Natural Gas, Nuclear Power, Coal [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Smoke Stacks From Closed Hatfield’s Ferry Coal-Fired Power Plant Demolished, Closing Chapter In PA Industrial History In Greene County: ‘I’m Ecstatic. It Was The Dirtiest, Dirtiest Place Ever.  It Put A Blight On Our Community’

-- PJM Interconnection Study Shows Renewable Energy Sources Not Coming Online Fast Enough To Replace Fossil Fuel Plants; Critical Path Analysis Started To Avoid Grid Reliability Risks  [PaEN]

-- Latest PJM Interconnection Electricity Capacity Auction Shows Price Decrease, But Mixed Results In PA [PaEN]

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 4th Quarter 2022 Natural Gas Production Decreased 1.6%; Average Price Increased By 82.5% Compared To Last Year [PaEN]

-- Senate Republicans, 4 Democrats Pass Resolution Urging Restart Of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Abandoned By Company [BTW Not In PA]   [PaEN]

-- Republicans On Senate Committee Report Out Bills On Decommissioning Solar Energy Facilities, Limiting 1 Use Of PFAS Chemicals, Resolution Calling For Restart Of Keystone XL Pipeline  [PaEN]

-- Solar United Neighbors Helping Lancaster Residents Harvest Sunshine With New Solar Co-Op  [PaEN]

-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: Natural Gas Pipelines Can Secure Our Energy And Economic Future - By Republican Sen. Bartolotta  [DEP hasn’t denied any pipeline permits in PA, But they are the most heavily penalized for violations of any industry in PA history]

-- Washington & Jefferson College Hosts March 8 Webinar On Renewable Natural Gas  [PaEN]

[Posted: March 2, 2023]

3/6/2023