To address a clear growing interest in solar power among Hudson residents and business owners, Hudson’s Environmental Awareness Committee is hosting the first Hudson Solar Symposium on April 19, at 7:00 p.m., at the Hudson Library and Historical Society.
The symposium, “The Amazing Story of Solar Power, and a Crash Course,” will illuminate the subject of solar-electric power by including an examination of how solar photovoltaic technology works, the history and development of the technology, the economic landscape of solar power, and a practical how-to introduction for adopting solar power for homes and businesses, especially those in Hudson.
“We’ve seen such dramatic change in the solar landscape in just the last couple years, especially regarding costs,” says symposium presenter Jess Ennis, a veteran of the solar industry and member of Hudson’s Environmental Awareness Committee.
“A solar-electric system now costs about half of what it did just a few years ago,” says Ennis, “and the payback on a system from reduced electricity costs is the quickest it’s ever been.”
Co-sponsoring the Solar Symposium is Hudson City Councilman Casey Weinstein, who, as a member of the Leadership Hudson Class of 2015, worked with Ennis to develop Hudson’s 17.5-kilowatt solar-electric system at the Barlow Community Center, a combination rooftop and ground-mounted solar showcase that now generates about 40% of the Center’s electricity use and will be marking its first anniversary of operation on Earth Day in April.
“The Barlow Community Center solar project created a lot of interest in solar here,” says Weinstein, “and many of Council’s Hudson constituents are now expressing a keen interest in knowing how to go about adopting solar power.”
As part of the solar symposium, a panel of solar power adopters will offer their perspectives based on their experiences with their own systems.
For more information on the Hudson Solar Symposium, contact Sonya Mottram, Hudson Public Works (330-342-1750) or Jess Ennis, Hudson Environmental Awareness Committee (330-835-7704).
