COVINGTON — The U.S. market for solar energy has matured rapidly over the past few years and now advocates are competing with conventional energy sources more than ever.

Solar CrowdSource, a solar energy campaign, petition and crowdfunding company, is making its way to Newton and Morgan counties (Solarize Newton-Morgan) the beginning of September.

Solarize Newton-Morgan is a community-based solar photovoltaic/panel campaign whose main goal is to offer affordable and accessible solar energy to residents and local businesses.

According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the average cost of solar PV panels has dropped more than 60 percent since 2010 and the cost of a solar electric system has dropped by about 50 percent.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration website also said:

• Energy consumption is broken down into five sectors: transportation, residential, commercial, industrial and electrical power.
• Only 11 percent of U.S. total energy source consumption in 2017 was by renewable energy.
• Total renewable energy production and consumption both reached record highs of about 11 quadrillion Btu in 2017.
• Hydroelectric power production in 2017 was about 2 percent lower than the 50-year average.
• Increases in energy production from wind and solar helped to increase the overall energy production from renewable sources.

Solarize campaign organizers are looking for reasonable bids from the community to ensure quality materials can be installed by qualified professionals at a fair price.

Other successful Solarize campaigns include Athens, with 701 program participants, Decatur-DeKalb, with 850 program participants and Dunwoody, with 279 program participants.

The public is invited to come out to the Solarize Newton- Morgan launch party Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Georgia Wildlife Federation from 7-9 p.m.

Guests will meet the Solarize Newton-Morgan team and learn more about the benefits of solar, how the Solarize program works, pricing, solar equipment, solar incentives, financing options and more.

Campaign partners include Sustainable Newton, Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, The Madison-Morgan Conservancy, Oxford College Farm, Solar CrowdSource, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Environment Georgia.

Solarize was founded by Donald Moreland in 2011. Moreland also serves as chair of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, a member of the Georgia Solar Energy Industries Association and a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

You can contact Solarize Newton-Morgan at admin@solarizenewton.com, 770-288-0440.

The Solarize website also offers preregistration at solarcrowdsource.com/campaign/newton/

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WFMY) — North Carolina has long been racing country and Wyatt Bailey is no stranger to cars and how they work.

Bailey, a junior at Appalachian State University (ASU) and Burlington native, would tinker with his truck when he was younger, delve into small projects here and there.

In college, Bailey linked his interest in sustainability with his knowledge about cars to create something exciting. Bailey joined ‘Team Sunergy,’ at ASU, helping build ROSE.

ROSE, Racing on Solar Energy, Appalachian State’s solar-powered car.

ROSE, short for Racing on Solar Energy, is the school’s rock-star race car that’s traveled the country in its infancy. It’s run in the Formula Sun Grand Prix and American Solar Challenge. Sunergy has about 40 members.

Bailey was one of the designers for the chassis and the roll cage. He also worked to build the suspension.

Bailey praised the group’s dedication to the project, noting they were determined to get the car ready for the summer’s races. The group had hard deadlines to meet in order to have the car prepared for the road. Bailey said it usually takes around two years to build a solar car.

‘Team Sunergy’ shows off ROSE, the solar car they built. Courtesy appstatesvt Instagram.

“We would spend 15,16, sometimes even 20 hours a day trying to build this car,” he said. “We were working pretty much everyday between classes.”

The group started in the fall and didn’t put the finishing touches on until the start of the Grand Prix last month. The team reached Nebraska several days early for the race and spent that time testing components.

ROSE sports a futuristic look with a long front, two seats inside and a good trunk for its size.

ROSE qualified for the American Solar Challenge in July. The team drove along the Oregon Trail, starting in Omaha, NE and ending in Bend, Ore. After finishing in around 63 hours, the team tied for second in its class.

The Challenge involved a lot of strategies, with teams balancing their need for speed while constantly monitoring the battery level. Bailey said the car got roughly 280 miles out of a single charge going between 40 and 50 mph and with one person in the car. All rules of the road, including posted speed limits, had to be obeyed.

“I would say the car exceeded our expectations as far as how well we would do,” he said.

You can learn more about Team Sunergy and ROSE on their website.

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Dougherty County residents will have to wait at least one more week before commissioners make their decision on a possible solar panel farm. 

The farm has been the source of controversy among residents and commissioners the past few weeks. 

Dougherty County commissioners were going to vote on whether or not to approve the construction of the farm at the corner of Moultrie and Spring Flats Road at Monday’s meeting.

But, with residents still upset about the panels and with some commissioners who still have questions, they decided to hold off on the vote until next week. Then, they will bring in a third-party specialist to explain the pros and cons of a solar panel facility in the county.  

“I think we can also get information from UGA showing what the statistics are. I mean I can’t promise you the suit I’m wearing ain’t going to cause any cancer later on,” said Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas. 

Some county commissioners are still hesitant when it comes to approving the construction of the farm. NextEra Energy is the company working to build the solar panels at the corner of Moultrie and Spring Flats Road. Stephen Land, the project manager, told commissioners on Monday that the panels will bring a substantial tax investment to the county.

“Over the 30-year life of this project, this will add $10 million to tax revenues in this county,” said Land. 

Land also told commissioners the farm would create 300 construction jobs. 

“Seventy-percent of those will be sourced locally. You know, obviously, retail sales will pick up. They’ll have to stay at local hotels, they’ll have to eat. So local business will pick up as well,” Land said.

Still, residents aren’t convinced the solar panels are right for the county. Residents told commissioners they’re worried it will be an eyesore, bringing down their property values. They said they’re also worried about the effects it will have on the surrounding farms and environments.

“Based on that, I am opposed,” said one concerned resident. 

But Tracy Bridges, the landowner, said research hasn’t shown solar panels to have any negative environmental effects. He said this is especially true when compared to negative effects farming can have on the land. 

“What we do have in Dougherty County is land that can be used in a large solar project, transitioning our land from an energy consumer to an energy producer,” said Bridges.  

Commissioners said they will vote whether or not to approve the solar panel farm at next Monday’s meeting.

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