OKLAHOMA CITY–The Solarize OKC coalition and EightTwenty invite the public to a celebration of the nation’s third largest “Solarize” community-based group-purchasing campaign with a workday and community benefit project showcase on Saturday, Oct. 14 at RestoreOKC,2222 NE 27th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73111.
Saturday’s celebration will begin with a workday at RestoreOKC, from 8:30 a.m. to noon where volunteers sign-up to perform basic home repairs, local garden work, landscaping maintenance, senior support, or to participate in a LitterBlitz neighborhood cleanup. Attendees will be treated to lunch at noon with a presentation of the Solarize OKC campaign highlights and results beginning at 12:30pm. An “open yard” tour of a residential solar installation will follow the presentation. To volunteer for the workday, sign-up for a shift at https://volunteer.restoreokc.org/need/detail/?need_id=597728 .
“The coalition and our campaign partners could not be more pleased with the community’s response to the Solarize OKC effort,” said T.O. Bowman, Program Planner with the City of Oklahoma City’s Office of Sustainability. “What started as a means to use trusted community pillars to equip neighbors with the proper information for making long-term investments in solar soon became a major success story in the power of group purchases and further underscored Oklahoma’s ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to energy production.”
The campaign celebration will highlight the community benefit project aspect of the campaign where the selected solar installer, EightTwenty, donates solar to a coalition-selected nonprofit organization serving the local community.
"EightTwenty's participation in Solarize OKC is a testament to our commitment to our community and our desire to make solar energy more accessible for all," said Tony Capucille, CEO of EightTwenty. "We love giving back to the community and have been partners with Restore OKC since the inception of our business. It only makes sense that we would cap off this initiative by partnering yet again to give back and meet the needs of local residents."
The Solarize OKC coalition selected RestoreOKC, community-driven redevelopment organization based in northeast Oklahoma City, as the recipient of the community benefit project and EightTwenty installed solar energy systems at three RestoreOKC homes used for their workforce development program, Restore Jobs. Resident rents are capped at no more than 30% of their monthly income to ensure truly affordable housing and the addition of solar panels will dramatically reduce their monthly electric costs.
"RestoreOKC is thrilled to be the selected recipient for the community benefit project,” said Josh Dodson, Director of Restore Homes. “With utility bills rising and more extreme weather events likely in the future, these solar systems will provide an incredible opportunity for some of our neighbors to reduce their utility costs for years to come."
About Solarize OKC
Solarize OKC is a public-private coalition of local residents, non-profits, businesses and governmental entities that partnered in 2022 to lead a solar education and group-purchasing campaign that facilitated a discount on solar energy systems and battery storage technology for Oklahoma City homes and businesses.
The coalition includes the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council, Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, and the City of Oklahoma City’s Office of Sustainability, Oklahoma Solar Association, Oklahoma Sustainability Network, Oklahoma Compost and Sustainability Association, Fertile Ground Cooperative, OKC Beautiful, RestoreOKC, Solar Crowdsource, among other community leaders. Through a competitive process, Eight Twenty was selected by the coalition as the solar installer for the initiative.
Costs to install rooftop solar through Solarize OKC were set on a tiered basis which provided participants more cost savings as more contracts were confirmed. Participants in the Solarize OKC achieved the highest discount available (Tier 8) which represented a 40 percent discount off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $3.75 per watt. Commercial and non-profit participants also achieved the highest discount available (Tier 9).
SolarizeOKC by the numbers:
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152 contracts signed
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1,472 kW of new clean energy capacity
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2,280,280 kWh (2.28 megaWatts) produced per year
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$250,800 in utility bill savings
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$4.1 million in new clean energy development
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2.75 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide avoided per year
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Equivalent to nearly 1.4 million pounds of coal burned (source: EPA)
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At the end of the campaign, Solarize OKC was recognized as the third most successful campaign in the nation in terms of kilowatt-hours under contract. Solarize campaigns in The Triangle, a collection of cities surrounding Raleigh and Durham, NC and Asheville, NC were first and second in the nation, respectively, for contracted kilowatt-hours.
