SAVING GREEN: Community solar could provide solutions for financial and climate struggles

I know there hasn’t been a lot of good news lately.

Prices are up, the economy and our pocketbooks feel like they’re teetering, and division is everywhere.

One bit of good news is that energy from the sun is still a good idea.

The city of Moscow has a unique opportunity to set an example for Idaho and develop a community solar project for its residents. With improvements to the technology, the price of solar panels has dropped significantly in the last decade, and solar and wind power are the cheapest way to generate electricity in the U.S. With ever-increasing demand for electricity, free energy from the sun can help to keep lower energy prices in our community.

Moscow is currently building its new shop with a large roof that totals 18,800 square feet with a new materials shed of 4,400 square feet. There is room for solar panels up there that could generate free energy from the sun and cut down on energy costs.

Solar continues to gain interest around the country. About 12% of children now attend a school that has solar panels on its roof, according to Education Week, and over the past year, solar generation surpassed natural gas to become California’s leading source of electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Locally, the Pullman School District in recent months has been considering a power purchase agreement in which a Spokane company will put solar panels on top of school district roofs and charge very low energy costs to the district. The money from the project will be returned to serve people in the community.