1. Alachua County residents may install roof-top solar power now, at much lower rates and with the assistance of professional staff, by joining the Alachua County Solar Cooperative (www.flsun.org/alachua).
2. This Cooperative is being hosted by the League of Women Voters, Alachua County (LWVAC). The Cooperative is organized and administered by Florida Solar United Neighborhoods (FL SUN), a partnership of the Florida League of Women Voters and the non-profit, 501(c)(3) Community Power Network.
3. Cooperative members benefit from lower prices (up to 20 percent discount) obtained through group negotiation and purchasing. They also benefit from FL SUN staff being available to answer questions and provide guidance.
4. Joining the Co-Op is quick, easy, and free. Any Alachua County resident may do so at www.flsun.org/alachua. Each applicant’s home site is reviewed by FL SUN staff for suitability. If a site looks possibly or likely suitable for roof-top solar, that member’s name and contact information is forwarded on to the Cooperative’s independent contractor, Gainesville-based Power Production Management (PPM).
5. PPM will then schedule an on-site evaluation with each individual member. Upon evaluation, PPM will present a contract offer to the member, who may, but is not obligated to, sign that contract and install solar. That contract will include the terms and prices that the Solar Cooperative has negotiated with PPM.
6. Applications for Cooperative membership are being accepted through July 28, 2017. Any Alachua County resident may apply to be a member on the Cooperative’s website: www.flsun.org/alachua. The Cooperative will be closed and no more applications accepted after that date.
7. We are holding two more public information sessions if you have more questions. The first will be held on July 11 at the Bob Graham Center on the UF campus. The second session will be held on July 19 at the Millhopper Library.
8. LWVAC is hosting this cooperative as part of a state-wide effort being led by the Florida League of Women Voters. We are being assisted in public outreach by a local steering committee and local partners; have had the professional guidance of FL SUN staff in holding public meetings and organizing a solar contract review committee to choose our contractor; and will be working with that contractor, PPM, to make Gainesville’s rooftop solar #1 in Florida, the “Sunshine State.”