The 'SUN' will be out in Eugene on the fall equinox
The ‘SUN’ will be out in Eugene on the fall equinox
What is Agrivoltaics? OSU associate professor Chad Higgins explains
Oregon State University associate professor Chad Higgins explains agrivoltaics and its role in improving efficiency for both crops and solar power.
Local climate activists are inviting Eugene-area residents to visit their SUN Day event this fall equinox, which will showcase local solar resources and projects alongside music and family-friendly activities.
What is SUN Day?
Organizers describe SUN Day as “a national day of action to celebrate the power of clean energy.”
On Sept. 21, people across the country, including in Eugene, will showcase solar installations, electric homes and businesses, and vehicles running on clean power.
Locally, the climate activist groups Third Act of Oregon/Eugene and 350 Eugene have planned an event that will include interactive displays and tabling, children’s activities, music and dance, and a “demonstration highlighting the link between protecting democracy and advancing a clean energy future.”
The event also will include “teach-ins” or seminars roughly 15 minutes long, with the topics: The ABCs of Solar; Solar Installation-Nuts and Bolts; The Present and Future of Clean Energy in Oregon; Citizen Activism Amps Up Local Projects; Democracy and the Climate.
Patty Hine, an organizer with 350 Eugene, said the event would be “a crucial opportunity to really realize a new way of looking at our energy future together,” a future she sees as using solar power.
“We are moving toward these cleaner energy solutions because oil and gas and coal are not economic anymore,” Hine said. “We have to get off of them in order to have a survivable future. … We think these kinds of changes can happen locally at the community and state level. That’s where we’re focusing. And that’s why all these different SUN Day events are taking place to focus on what people can really do.”
When and where is Eugene’s SUN Day?
The event will be Sept. 21 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Campbell Community Center at 155 High St., Eugene.
Who will present at the event?
Hines said presenters will include:
- A Waldorf teacher who will talk about the school’s Fossil Free Fridays program.
- The Yonder Mountain String Band, playing bluegrass music.
- Rabbi Ruhi Sophia Motzkin Rubenstein with Temple Beth Israel.
- Five technicians who work in solar energy, installation, policy and energy policy.
- Edith Bayer, energy policy team lead for the Oregon Department of Energy.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached byemail at atorres@registerguard.com, on X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.