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Over the past two years, the Bend-area Habitat For Humanity has built eight houses featuring solar electric panels.

This year, they will build their first in Prineville.

Habitat For Humanity has been providing low-cost housing to low-income families for more than 30 years. Thanks to a partnership started in 2007 with Bend-based Sunlight Solar, Habitat in Bend has begun installing solar panels on their homes.

Read the full article…

Marc Chambers joined Sunlight Solar as the firm’s first Supervising Electrician in mid-October 2009. He has served as Supervising Electrician for Redmond Electric in Redmond, Owner of Rimrock Electric in Terrebonne, and as an Electrical Inspector for the City of Bend. Marc is a certified Oregon General Supervising Electrician, Oregon Electrical Inspector, Oregon 1 & 2 Family Electrical Inspector, ICC Residential Structural Inspector, ICC Residential Plumbing Inspector, ICC Residential Mechanical Inspector, and an Oregon OIC Inspector. 

Rob Doughtie joined Sunlight Solar as Residential System Designer in October 2009 from 3 Degrees, Inc, where he worked in Community Outreach for Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program. Rob fills the former position of Chance Currington who is now System Designer and Project Manager for Sunlight Solar’s Portland office. In the past, Rob has worked as manager & server at Bend Brewing Company, and as a real estate broker and property manager. He recently completed the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Entry Level Course through Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and passed the NABCEP Entry Level exam in early December. 

 Jason Offutt joined Sunlight Solar as Construction Coordinator in September 2009 with extensive experience in residential design. He is the owner and operator of The Shelter Studio, a high-end residential design company based in Bend. Jason is a LEED Accredited Professional and Certified Sustainable Building Advisor, and he is currently enrolled in the Architectural Registration Examination. Jason recently completed the NABCEP Entry Level Course through Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and will take the Entry Level exam in January 2010. 

 About Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.: Sunlight Solar Energy (www.sunlightsolar.com) was founded in 1988 and has been serving Central Oregon since 1997. Sunlight Solar provides system design and turn-key installation of grid-tied solar electric, solar domestic hot water, radiant floor, and pool heating systems for homes and businesses throughout Oregon. Sunlight Solar is the proud recipient of COBA’s Green Building Sub Contractor of the Year award for 2008 and the SunPower Intelegant Award for Excellence in design.

John Dorr Nature Laboratory - Washington, CT

The installation was made possible by a grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) which subsidized about half of the cost of the system for the school.

Glenn Sherratt, Director of the Horace Mann School’s Nature Laboratory, said that students at the Lab will be introduced to the solar electric system as early as the fourth grade and all the way through high school. “The students will be shown the inverters and monitoring display while being educated about the system. They will be instructed on how to record the production of the system and compare that to the usage of the building.”

Glenn also noted that, “in the near future we also hope to connect a monitor to our school in New York so that our teachers can use this system remotely to educate their students about solar, as well.”

Paul Israel, President of Sunlight Solar Energy, said “John Dorr Nature Center teaches our children to help our world evolve into a better place. I have always advocated that solar energy can positively effect change in the world. John Dorr Nature Center embodies why I got into the solar industry: to educate people on renewable energy and hence move our social agenda forward. I’m thrilled that these students can look at the array and see a symbol of positive energy, both in reality and metaphor.”

About Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.: Sunlight Solar Energy (www.sunlightsolar.com) is a solar electric and solar hot water installation contractor committed to providing the highest quality solar installations for homes and businesses We have offices in Bend & Portland OR, Milford CT, Newton MA, and Hastings on Hudson NY.

About the John Dorr Nature Laboratory: The John Dorr Nature Laboratory is one of the four campuses of the Horace Mann School, an independent day school located in New York City. Students from second grade through twelfth grade participate in environmental and outdoor education programs that last from one to eight days. The Dorr Lab, which is composed of 265 acres, is located in Washington and Bethlehem, Connecticut.

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First, many customers requested solar thermal installations along with their existing photovoltaic arrays.  The company is proud to announce that it can now offer both types of solar technology to help CT residents make their homes more eco-friendly and sustainable. 

Second, Gov. Rell announced on October 14^th, 2009 that the state of Connecticut had designated $4 million of federal stimulus money to help fund solar thermal projects in Connecticut.  The funds will be administrated through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), which estimates that money will be able to subsidize 600 residential and 120 non-residential solar heating projects.  Sunlight Solar Energy has experienced a spike in customer interest in the program, particularly after the announcement of the rebate program.

The CT Solar Thermal Division at Sunlight Solar will be headed by current employee Joey Dorwart.  Joey is a native of Colorado, and earned his experience in solar thermal while working there. Joey said, “I am very excited about the new thermal rebate program. It will give CT residents one more way not only to reduce their monthly bills, but to do something good for the planet; and Sunlight Solar is very happy to provide that.”

Paul Israel, President of Sunlight Solar Energy, said, “Using the sun’s heat for warmth or to make hot water is the original form of solar energy and still the most cost effective.  It is a wonderful lifestyle decision to shower with water heated from the sun.  Solar thermal during the 1970’s was a huge job creator and so it shall be again.  We are excited about its return.”

Mr. Israel, also the founder of Sunlight Solar, noted that the company was started over 20 years ago with solar thermal products, which, at the time, was the only commercially available solar product on the market.   “We have recently seen the revival of our solar thermal branch in Oregon after so many years of just doing solar electric. It’s exciting to see that other states are catching on and adding thermal rebate programs, too.  We expect the CT thermal program to bring a rise in local green jobs and more sustainable homes.”

Sunlight Solar is a fully approved Solar Thermal Installer through the CCEF.  All domestic hot water projects, residential and non-residential installed by Sunlight Solar, are eligible for the CCEF, which amounts to about 45% of the total cost of the project. The company expects to see this use of stimulus money to increase local green-collar jobs in CT while providing more eco-friendly heating systems for CT residents.

 About Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc.: Sunlight Solar Energy (SSE) (www.sunlightsolar.com) designs and installs grid-tied solar electric and solar hot water systems for homes and businesses throughout Connecticut. Sunlight Solar is an Authorized Premier Dealer of SunPower products and has installed over 2.5 MW of solar electricity throughout the state.

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John Dorr Nature Center - 32 kw Washington, CT

Outdoor education center reinforces student awareness of natural world by embracing solar energy alternative

Rocky Hill, Conn., November 6, 2009 — The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) today announced that the solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the Horace Mann School’s John Dorr Nature Laboratory in Washington, Conn., is completed and successfully operating. This installation was made possible, in part, by a $136,200 grant from CCEF’s On-Site Renewable Distributed Generation Program, which defrayed approximately half of the total project cost.

The 35-kilowatt solar PV installation at the nature lab consists of 105 solar panels mounted on the roof of the lodge, the education center’s main building, comprising office space, classrooms and a kitchen. Installed by Sunlight Solar of Milford, Conn., the panels are supplying approximately 24 percent of the electricity required by the facility. The solar array is among several steps that the education center has taken to improve its energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. Other green initiatives on site include a geothermal heating and cooling system and a solar thermal system for heating water.

“Adding the solar photovoltaic system to our facility helps us to reduce our carbon footprint, and it provides us an opportunity to expand our students’ awareness of sustainability and its importance,” said Glenn Sherratt, director of the Horace Mann School’s John Dorr Nature Laboratory. He added, “The data and information we will be collecting will be integrated into the math, science, and physics curricula in our lower, middle, and upper schools and will be accessible to students  in real time through the Internet.”

Lise Dondy, president of CCEF, said, “Schools across the state are enthusiastically adopting solar energy technology to help control their energy costs, proactively address climate change and integrate on-site solar into the science curriculum,” said Lise Dondy. “Horace Mann’s solar array – one of over 20 solar photovoltaic installations at schools in the state – is a great reminder of the power of solar.”

See the CCEF’s complete press release on this Sunlight Solar Energy installation here.