Solar Power In Shaker Heights? Event Explores Feasibility

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH - On March 23, at the Shaker Heights Main Library, residents, city officials, and local business representatives will gather to discuss the feasibility of installing solar panels on private residences and on public buildings. The conversation will be moderated by City Councilman and Sustainable Shaker Director Sean Malone.

Malone told Patch that he expects the conversation to be informal, a casual chat about whether or not solar can be done on a set budget and whether or not it's right for the unique architectural challenges that face many older Shaker homes.

"The city doesn't necessarily have the money to spend on all of the things we'd love for it to have," Malone said. "So, we want to engage residents on what they can do to become more sustainable."

From a private perspective, with prices for solar installation becoming more palatable, residents interested in becoming more sustainable will still need to navigate the bureaucratic process for installation approval. Malone says the city has been actively trying to streamline the process for approval.

"We’re going to have a representative from the city to talk about how residents could put solar panels on their residences, what they need to think about for the architectural board of review, and how they can get approval," Malone told Patch.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says the average price for solar panel installation has fallen 60 percent since 2010. The drop in prices has seen a similar, inverse increase in the number of solar panel installations throughout the US. From third quarter 2015 to third quarter 2016, prices for solar installations dropped 19 percemt, the SEIA says.

Solar power has been growing exponentially over the past decade. There are now enough solar installations throughout the US to power 6.5 million homes, the SEIA says.

There are at least a couple of homes in Shaker Heights that have installed solar panels, Malone says. He's hoping at least one of the residents will be on-hand to share a personal testimonial about their experiences with solar.

Private installations won't be the only topic at the Shaker Solar meeting. Malone says he also wants to explore the possibility of adding reasonably priced solar panels to a public building. Whether that building is a library, school, or government building makes no difference to him.

"We’ll have folks from the county and some local companies that install solar power and we’re going to brainstorm the feasibility of it," he said.

Specifically, Malone is wondering if solar panels may make sense for a possible new Shaker Heights Middle School building. He said if the district passes a new levy to fund revisions on the Middle School, solar panels may be a way of generating power over the long-term and saving the district money. But the installation would have to be cheap enough to not waste taxpayer money.

Malone says this may be the only focused-solar conversation that Sustainable Shaker hosts in 2017. The group will be hosting events focused on other topics, all of which are focused on the group's 2015 report and its recommendations to the city.

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