TOMORROW IS THE DAY!

The 2019 DFW Solar Tour is a free, one-day event taking place this year on Saturday, October 5, 2019, from 10 am to 4 pm. The general public is invited to visit select innovative homes and buildings throughout the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex.

Over the past ten years, thousands of visitors have toured homes, schools, libraries and other energy efficient sustainable buildings across the Metroplex, from Allen to Weatherford, Denton to Cedar Hill, and all the way out to a rural off-grid home near Azle. Tour visitors from as far away as Houston, El Paso and Hot Springs Arkansas come to see what forward-thinking people in North Texas are doing to build a self-sufficient, renewable sustainable future.

 

The DFW Solar Tour enables people to learn how their neighbors – homeowners and businesses alike – are using solar energy, wind energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies to save money and reduce consumption of natural resources. The strategies and techniques on display during this year’s tour range from things as simple and easy as changing to LED light bulbs and selecting more efficient appliances, to cutting-edge, ultra-efficient eco-homes and businesses that are generating as much or more energy than they consume!

The DFW Solar Tour is organized by the non-profit 501(c)(3), all volunteer-based North Texas Renewable Energy Group, Inc in cooperation with the Texas Solar Energy Society and the American Solar Energy Society National Solar Tour.

Home Solar Scams and Red Flags

Home Solar Scams and Red Flags
Check out this recent article. "Scammers, fraudsters, and jerks peddling misleading information are everywhere. Unfortunately, they are also in the solar industry. We'll make sure you can see the red flags, and empower you to make smart decisions about solar for your home."

Solar United Neighbors of Texas

Wow – It’s hard to believe that it has been over 5 years since we did our Solarize Plano Projects! And now we would like to let you know that “group” purchase programs can happen again in Plano with Solar UnitedNeighbors of Texas.

When organizing our “solarize” group purchase projects back in 2013 and 2014, our volunteers reached out to other volunteer groups across the country to get ideas and learn from their experiences. One of those groups at the time was called Community Power Network. We spoke with their founders and learned a lot about their experiences – what worked well and potential problem areas. Since that time, that volunteer group has expanded into a national non-profit called Solar United Neighbors, spreading solar ownership opportunity through hundreds of group purchase projects across many states. We called our group purchase projects “solarize” projects, they call their group purchase projects “solar co-ops”. They are the same!

We would like to encourage residents interested in participating in a group project to purchase installed solar to reach out to this organization to request a solar co-op project here in Plano. To do this, send an email with the subject “Please start a solar co-op in Plano” and include your name and contact information in the email to info@solarunitedneighbors.org 

To learn more about Solar United Neighbors, check out this recent Freeing Energy podcast titled, Episode #117 Anya Schoolman: Can wechange the future of energy one neighborhood at a time?

Reference Material for Educational Groups

Below are links to production monitoring websites for three of four of Plano's city installed systems.

• Fire Logistics Warehouse (10.34KWdc) - Power production and energy for City of Plano Fire Logistics Warehouse
• Oak Point Rec Center (9.4 KWdc) - Power production and energy for City of Plano Oak Point Rec Center
• Tom Muehlenbeck Center (9.635KWdc) - Power production and energy for City of Plano Tom Muehlenbeck Center

Check out the Solar Schools Campaign Toolkit for a step-by-step guide to help your school go solar!

Check out the Solar Market Insight Report 2018 Year in Review to learn about the solar industry in the US.

Also, here is link to a brief overview of Solar Energy provided by Plano Solar Advocates - 2019-03 Plano Solar Advocates