On May 2, the Pennsylvania Solar Center honored five Western PA organizations and individuals with their prestigious Lodestar Award and Lifetime Achievement Award while celebrating their five-year anniversary at their third annual Solar Soiree at the Energy Innovation Center. The Lodestar Award is a distinction given to Pennsylvania entities who are leading the way investing in clean and renewable solar energy.   The awardees included:

ACTION Housing [Pittsburgh]

“ACTION-Housing is honored to receive this award and thankful for support from the PA Solar Center during this process,” said Sarah Ralich, Senior Energy and Construction Manager at ACTION-Housing. “Center Avenue Housing, which is a single room occupancy project serving 74 low-income men, will now have 12% of its energy usage offset. This greatly helps us continue to provide affordable housing for years to come.”

Berner International (Berner Air Curtains) [New Castle, Lawrence County]    Read how Berner went solar.

Construction Junction [Pittsburgh]

“Construction Junction has been pursuing a pathway to solar for more than a decade with no success; our partnership with PA Solar Center got us to our destination through expert navigation, including critical funding support to power building material reuse with the sun,” said Mike Gable, Executive Director of Construction Junction.

Wesley Family Services [Westmoreland County]

“Our primary focus as a non-profit organization is providing the very best Quality Whole Person Care®,” said Wesley Family Services CEO Doug Muetzel.  “Going solar at our New Kensington location was an easy decision because it is a natural extension of that service philosophy, and allows us to empower and serve children, adults and families more sustainably.”

Hal Saville of EIS Solar (Lifetime Achievement Award)

“EIS Solar is feeling very appreciative of the work of the PA Solar Center in helping bring so many commercial projects to fruition over the past couple years. We are gratified to have played a part in helping these awardees realize their solar aspirations,” said Hal Saville, Director of Commercial Projects for EIS Solar. “I am also personally honored to be recognized for my efforts to help grow the solar industry here in the Pittsburgh region. Much of my success is due to the support PA Solar Center has persistently provided over the last few years.”

In addition, County Executive Sara Innamorato was in attendance, along with approximately 150 other guests.

The awards event featured remarks from the PA Solar Center’s executive director, Sharon Pillar, as well as showcased the solar arrays and accomplishments of the Lodestar and Lifetime Achievement Awardees.

All of this year’s Lodestar awardees are graduates of the PA Solar Center’s G.E.T. Solar Program, which provides savvy technical assistance and financial guidance to businesses and organizations looking to go solar.

The luminous evening was also filled with fantastic food from Black Radish Catering, local beer and wine, and a raffle auction, featuring solar-powered items like a $500 gift card from Levin Furniture and tickets for the Pittsburgh Pirates, National Aviary, Pittsburgh City Theater, and OAR.

All were welcome at the soiree; guests were asked to join others in wearing the beautiful colors of the sun and/or sun-themed accessories.

“The PA Solar Center is excited to host our third annual Solar Soiree, and we’re thrilled to honor these truly remarkable organizations and individuals,” said Sharon Pillar, Founder and Executive Director of the PA Solar Center. “They are all true solar success stories, who have learned first-hand that going solar can better help them achieve their missions, by freeing up resources to allow them to hire more workers, reinvest in their operations, and do even more to serve their communities.”

More and more Pennsylvania businesses, schools, and organizations are choosing to go solar, and not just for sustainability reasons.

Investments in renewable energy sources like solar and wind are also extremely cost-effective, paying for themselves relatively quickly and then achieving impressive cost savings down the road.

Entities that go solar wisely recognize that an investment in renewable energy is also an investment in their local communities.

Pennsylvania renewable energy projects have created almost 10,000 jobs spanning the entire supply chain since 2004, from technicians and engineers to salespeople, construction workers, and manufacturers.

And according to the Finding Pennsylvania Solar Future Project, increasing the solar portion of the state’s electricity mix from the current 0.5 percent goal to 10 percent by 2030 would create upwards of 100,000 jobs and result in a net economic benefit of $1.6 billion annually.

The current 0.5 percent goal flat-lined on May 31st of 2021, but if the state’s General Assembly would increase it, they would diversify our energy mix that will help to stabilize rising electricity costs that we have seen in the past couple of years.

For photos, video, and to learn more about the Solar Soiree, be sure to check out PA Solar Center’s Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pasolarcenter/?hl=en.

Sponsors of the event included-- Petawatt, CEP Renewables, Terawatt, BAI Group, BOW Renewables, EIS Solar, Formation Energy, Limaye Foundation, and the PA Solar & Storage Industries Association.

The Pennsylvania Solar Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit effort to raise the awareness of the benefits of solar energy in Pennsylvania. Click Here to sign up for regular updates.

(Photo: Berner International (Berner Air Curtains.)

Related Articles This Week - Clean Energy:

-- PA Solar Center Honors 5 Western PA Organizations Who Have Gone Solar  [PaEN]

-- Clean Energy Funding Guide Now Available For Renters, Homeowners, Landlords, Nonprofits, Local Governments, Workforce Development  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light, Jewish Earth Alliance Host May 29 Webinar On Understanding Gov. Shapiro's New Energy/Climate Plans  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Pennsylvania Gets $156 Million To Boost Solar Projects In Low Income, Polluted Communities

-- Inquirer - Frank Kummer: Philadelphia Begins Powering City Hall, Airport With Solar Energy Facility 100 Miles Away

-- WHYY: Adams Solar Energy Facility Powers A Quarter Of Philly’s City Buildings

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: York Pilot Program Prepares Students For Green Energy Jobs

-- Sustainable Pittsburgh Convened Revitalized Sustainability Practitioners Network

-- LancasterOnline: Sierra Club - Lancaster Announces 2024 Green Project Grant Recipients

-- White House Finalizes Reforms To Modernize Environmental Review, Accelerate Clean Energy Future

[Posted: May 2, 2024]

5/6/2024