About Solar Over Louisville:

2 Million Watt Challenge

The Solar Over Louisville: 2 Million Watt Challenge (SOL) is a campaign created by the Green Economy Action Team (GrEAT) of the Louisville Sustainability Council (LSC). The effort grew out of the desire by a small group of GrEAT and community members who wanted to take action to help Louisville become a leading city in solar. After many months of planning and a presentation made to the LSC Board, SOL was officially adopted as an LSC program.

At the February 2, 2015 GrEAT meeting, LSC Interim Executive Director Emily Chandler encouraged the team to consider a concentrated and focused effort to outreach to various stakeholders in Louisville. This suggestion was inspired by a presentation by Tim Darst, Executive Director of KY Interfaith Power and Light, and the conversation that followed. As a result of Emily's suggestion, and at the the following month's GrEAT meeting on March 2, 2015, the SOL campaign was approved as an official initiative of the GrEAT and a subteam was formed.

By July 2015, the effort was officially named "Solar Over Louisville" and was overseen by the ever expanding "Renewable Energy Subcommittee (RE)". The RE included a team of solar advocates, enthusiasts, NGOs, utility representatives and installation representatives, working together to developed the type of campaign that was designed to educate the public about the benefits of solar, increase the number of installations in Louisville, and encourage favorable policy for solar energy at the local and state levels. The ultimate goal of the SOL campaign to educate the community about the benefits of solar energy in order to increase the solar capacity in Louisville.

After many months of planning and our presentation to the LSC Board on June 24, 2015, SOL was officially adopted as an LSC program in July 2015 and our 2 Million Watt Challenge "officially" started August 1, 2015. We intend on raising funds and hiring staff in order to promote this program officially and start to collectively "count" the number of watts being installed that will count toward our goal.

Our Goal:

The goal of the Solar Over Louisville campaign is to install 2 million watts of solar in Louisville before the 30% federal solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) expires on December 31, 2016 and to:

Implement a schedule of solar education events, tours and trainings
Develop one or more solar community farms
Develop one or more large demonstration-education model installations at public facilities
Increase the electric vehicle (EV) charging station network in Louisville
Develop at least one pilot neighborhood solar cooperative network
Promote the available 30% federal solar tax credit and $500 residential, $1,000 commercial KY solar tax credit (set to expire at the end of 2016 and 2015 respectively) to help homeowners and businesses make use of this opportunity to save money before it ends
Promote the greater affordability of solar and how this increased access will help achieve the Clean Air Act requirements for carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases
Improve Louisville's 50th out of 50 cities raking in Solar Value to Customers on the NCSU Solar Center study
Promote the value of solar statewide, especially to energy intensive users and including the combined efforts of the Kentucky Division of Energy Development and Independence (DEDI) and the Kentucky Public Service Commission, who published a non-binding opinion in January 2015 noting that utilities may develop special rate structures for large users interested in renewable energy

Our Vision:

The Vision of Solar Over Louisville is to expand public awareness and solar capacity in Louisville through a variety of programs. Objectives to accomplish this that may include some or all of the following:

Far-reaching education and media outreach
Scheduling and providing workshops, classes, trainings, and tours
Achieving the goals established for one or more Community Solar Farms and solar demonstration/education model projects at public facilities, Solar Coops, and solar EV charging station network
Increasing the solar industry in our community to increase job creation and boost the local economy
Heling achieve the goals of the Office of Sustainability's Sustain Louisville plan, which include reducing pollution and carbon emmissions, and improving air quality, water quality, and public health
Promoting solar to help make Louisville more attractive to new businesses and residents and provide opportunities for Louisville to increase our rating with Star Commiunities
Improving Louisville's economic resiliency by diversifying our energy supply
Linking homeowners and commercial building owners to financing that makes solar immediately financially beneficial

Our Collaborators:

The Solar Over Louisville campaign is now a collaborative effort between the:

Louisville Sustainability Council (LSC)
Metro Office of Sustainability,
Kentucky Solar Energy Society
Sierra Club
350 Louisville
Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light (KIPL)