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Chicago, IL
In District 21’s Flatbush Brooklyn neighborhood, NY State Senator Keven Parker has established himself as a NY State energy planning leader, and among many accomplishments having drafted NY’s community solar legislation with the aim of helping the state become the second most important state for solar (ceding number 1 to California).
Senator Parker has been a visionary supporter of the SolarNation methodology as a way to bring the fruits of his legislative labor directly to his district. He is a founding partner with SolarNation in its DOE’s “Solar In Your Community Challenge” project, a grant program designed to accelerate the growth of community solar business models nationwide, especially for underserved communities. With Senator Parker, SolarNation is an applicant for the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office grant program.
Senator Parker is now boldly endorsing a plan to commit NY Senate District 21 to become the first Zero Net Energy District in NYC. He is unleashing the resources of his office to create a credible plan to an accelerated time frame to support this goal.
Brooklyn, NY
In Chicago’s 25th Ward, Alderman Danny Solis has served for 30+ years and is currently zoning commissioner and President Pro Tempore of the City of Chicago. At the end of his life of public service, Alderman Solis is embracing a vision for the 25th Ward to lead Chicago in furthering its efforts to become a global force in combating catastrophic climate change by becoming the first Zero Net Energy Ward while demonstrating a replicable and scalable model for ultra-rapid energy transformation in high energy density communities that can be adopted anywhere.
SolarNation is currently developing a comprehensive multi-year strategy for the Ward to become zero net energy, involving any and all technologies available including solar, energy efficiency, geothermal, electrification, and energy storage.
Bloomfield, NJ
In Bloomfield NJ, a simple inquiry from the local Presbyterian Church as to the feasibility of installing solar panels led to deeper conversation about whether God might be calling the church to do something more impactful. What began as an attempt to save money on utility bills has now grown into a rich vision for a new ministry called “Green Church, Green World.” With support from SolarNation, the church seeks to engage neighbors, the surrounding businesses, educators, students and local government leaders to collaborate in providing a just and sustainable energy future for Bloomfield. To that end they have been awarded a Mission Action Grant from the Presbytery of Newark and are currently applying for a larger two-year Innovation Grant from the Synod of the Northeast. They propose to install a 1 MW community solar project in Bloomfield, and then assist three additional churches to do the same over the next two years. Concurrently they will develop faith-based, church-specific components of the SolarNation model, which will include opportunities for soulful community building, prayer, worship, learning and theological reflection. “Green Church, Green World” will serve as a demonstration project to show how a church can lead a community to overcome climate change denial and take hopeful action.