BRATTLEBORO-On a cold February morning, people gathered at the Tri-Park Community’s management office to celebrate the installation of one of the first “portable solar” or “plug-in solar” systems in the state.
Portable solar (also called plug-and-play solar) consists of small solar panels that can be placed on a deck, balcony, roof, or ground rack. Systems up to about 1200 watts (roughly three panels) may be allowed, depending on final state rules.
These systems can be taken with you if you rent and have to move, and can be expanded upon if a household needs additional power. Homes that already have rooftop or ground-mounted solar arrays may also benefit from adding more generation this way, as well.
These systems have built-in inverters and plug directly into an GFCI outlet in your home on a dedicated circuit. This means that the power the panel generates goes directly to your house, not the grid. It also means that there is no lengthy paperwork or permitting process needed to install these systems.
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The town of Brattleboro is working with the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation to develop the local market for this new form of solar, as it would serve parts of the community who have been left out of renewable energy opportunities in the past.
Leaders from the town of Brattleboro, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, Southeastern Vermont Community Action, Southern Vermont Solar, Brattleboro Savings & Loan, and the national nonprofit Bright Saver have been working together to pave a path for these systems to come to Brattleboro and the nation.
Currently, the Vermont Legislature is in the process of passing new legislation that would allow Vermonters to install these systems (up to 1,200 watts) without any need for permitting or paperwork with the utility. Vermont was one of the first to announce this legislation, and 27 other states have followed suit.
This nationwide push to create a path for portable solar has been led by the nonprofit, Bright Saver, which is dedicated to bringing this affordable technology to North America. It has worked with a large coalition of national and local organizations to educate policymakers, industry experts, and the broader public on the transformative benefits of this technology.
In Europe, these systems have been common for a number of years, with millions of systems installed, but the regulatory environment in the U.S. has prevented adoption until now.
Bright Saver has selected Brattleboro as the intended site for a pilot project, where they hope to distribute these systems to a number of households experiencing energy burden, as a way to demonstrate the impact of the technology.
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If you’d like to learn about this new technology or help move it forward:
•A Portable Solar and Home Energy Options Workshop will be held at Brooks Memorial Library Wednesday, April 29, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Food and child care will be available at the event. There will be a demonstration system available at this event, which will later be installed on the tool library, where it will charge the tools and e-bikes that the library lends out.
• Come see the demo system at Tri-Park Community. It is now up and running at the office at 42 Village Dr.
•If you live in Brattleboro and believe this plug-in solar technology could help your household, take the survey found at Brattleboro.gov/portablesolar.
Stephen Dotson is the sustainability coordinator for the town of Brattleboro. The Commons’ Deeper Dive column gives artists, arts organizations, and other nonprofits elbow room to write in first person and be unabashedly opinionated, passionate, and analytical about their own creative work and events.
This Town and Village column was submitted to The Commons.