Solar Tompkins meets signup goal

• 1,275 Tompkins County residents will have their property evaluated for solar power viability
• Enrolles have until Oct. 1 to make a decision on whether they want to buy a solar installation
• Solar Tompkins is offering tiered pricing depending on how many systems are sold

The Solar Tompkins Program completed a circuit of public meetings in July and met its goal to enroll 1,200 people.

By enrolling in Solar Tompkins, 1,275 Tompkins County residents will have their property evaluated for solar power viability, at no cost, Solar Tompkins Program Director Melissa Kemp said.

“We’re really excited to have exceeded our goal of enrolled families, and now our 100 percent focus is helping those families figure out if solar makes sense or not,” Kemp said.

The enrolles have until Oct. 1 to make the final decision on whether they want to buy a solar installation.

“People who have the easiest time going solar are typically able to get 80 percent, or more, of the available sunlight (at their site),” Kemp said.

The program aims to sell a total 2 megawatts of solar panels, or about 350 solar panel systems, before Oct. 1. So far the program has sold about 110 systems, Kemp said.

Solar Tompkins is offering tiered pricing depending on how many systems are sold, and if the program sells its goal amount of solar panels, prices will be about 20 percent below market rate.

“A lot of folks who have easy solar sites, those are folks who are moving forward,” Kemp said. Roofs that are south facing and have few sunlight obstructions make some of the best sites for solar panels, Kemp added.