Photo by Richard Hurd
Seven More Wisconsin Nonprofits to be Powered by Renewable Energy through RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good Program
RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good program has awarded over $190,000 in cash grants and materials to Wisconsin nonprofits for installing on-site solar energy systems. Seventeen organizations will install 719 kilowatts of clean, renewable electricity leading to nearly $1.4 million in renewable energy investments in Wisconsin.
The following organizations have been offered Fall 2020 Solar for Good grants to install new solar electric systems:
All Saints Lutheran Church, house of worship, Fitchburg.
Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, after-school youth programming, Madison.
Community Clothes Closet, free clothing provider, Menasha.
Couleecap Inc, poverty alleviation, Westby.
Ezekiel Lutheran Church, house of worship, River Falls.
Friends of Sauk County Fairgrounds, historic preservation, Baraboo.
Grace Evangelical Free Church, house of worship, Viroqua.
Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, affordable housing provider, Madison.
Habitat for Humanity Restore, affordable housing support, Beaver Dam.
Just One More Ministry, food pantry, Glendale.
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity Restore, affordable housing support, Greenfield.
Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, house of worship, Madison.
The BRICK Ministries, poverty alleviation and food pantry, Ashland.
Walnut Way Conservation Corps, community conservation organization, Milwaukee.
Yerkes Future Foundation, education and historic preservation, Williams Bay.
Two organizations have asked to remain anonymous at this time.
This round of Solar for Good grants features a diverse group of organizations from across Wisconsin. The Boys and Girls Club of Dane County will install over 250 panels at their Madison-based facility and plan to demonstrate the benefits of solar energy to the young people they serve. An 11-kilowatt array will be installed at the BRICK Ministries in Ashland with the help of donated solar panels from One Energy Renewables, a large-scale solar developer. And a 60-kilowatt array is planned at the famous Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, home of the world’s largest refracting telescope used for astronomical research.
“The grant and the installation of solar panels underscores the ongoing value of Yerkes Observatory as a place for scientific discovery and education,” stated Dianna Colman of Yerkes Future Foundation. “Students and visitors will experience firsthand the impact of solar power…even on a building dating back to 1897.”
In addition to the Couillard Solar Foundation, Solar for Good’s founding funder, this cycle of grants also received backing from the Array it Forward initiative at First Unitarian Society in Madison. The First Unitarian Society won a Solar for Good grant in 2018 and wanted to share the benefits they received from their solar array with other nonprofits across Wisconsin. Array it Forward is made possible through donations solicited from their congregation and the community.
“Solar for Good shares our values and priorities for stabilizing our climate and speeding our transition to renewable energy,” said Carol Phelps, a contributing donor to Array it Forward. “This will make life better for the children of the world…when people unite to tackle climate change, there is great hope for the future.”
The 17 nonprofit organizations are a part of Solar for Good’s 7th round of funding. Since its inception in 2017, Solar for Good has offered solar grants to 96 Wisconsin-based nonprofits.
When each of the solar projects are energized, these nonprofits will have added over 4 megawatts of clean, renewable energy to Wisconsin’s electric mix, enough to power approximately 900 homes. Solar for Good projects will represent a total of $9.2 million of private investments in Wisconsin renewable energy over the past three years.
About Solar for Good RENEW Wisconsin’s Solar for Good initiative fosters the expansion of solar power among mission-based nonprofits and houses of worship in Wisconsin. Through a generous partnership with Couillard Solar Foundation and Array it Forward, RENEW Wisconsin awards grants and solar panels to nonprofit organizations, helping them switch to clean, renewable, solar energy.
About RENEW Wisconsin RENEW Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization which promotes renewable energy in Wisconsin. We work on policies and programs that support solar power, wind power, biogas, local hydropower, geothermal energy, and electric vehicles. More information on RENEW’s website: www.renewwisconsin.org.