Nancy Teach at home. Photo courtesy Granite State Solar.

George Harvey

As Green Energy Times goes to press, Granite State Solar (GSS) is finishing the last installations of the Solarize Kearsarge Campaign, in the area of Kearsarge, New Hampshire. This is timely, as it means customers are able to take advantage of higher federal tax incentives that will be reduced with the new year.

GSS, which is based in Bow, N.H., started the campaign in April of this year. This was covered by a post on the GET website, “Solarize Kearsarge Kicks Off April 13.” (http://bit.ly/GET-Kearsarge) Solarize Kearsarge was a cooperative effort of Kearsarge Climate Action and Vital Communities to help residents in Andover, Newbury, New London, Sutton, Warner, and Wilmot get solar photovoltaic systems installed at their homes. GSS was chosen as the preferred installer by Solarize Kearsarge from among several in the area.

The campaign got quite a lot of attention. In the end, 189 people contacted GSS, 130 of these scheduled site visits, and these led to 41 contracts being signed. Installations came to a little over 358 kilowatts (kW) and a total of 1047 solar panels.

GSS did not take a cookie-cutter approach to individual installations, with the idea that some were roof mounts, some ground mounts, and everything else the same. In truth, every system was designed based on its own needs. There were roof mounted systems and ground mounted systems, but the latter were divided into those that were stationary and those with AllEarth trackers. Solar panels for systems ranged not only in size, but in type, with some made by Panasonic and most Hanwa Q-Cells.

For anyone who would like to know what it is like to participate in a Solarize campaign, we could describe the experience of Nancy Teach, a homeowner from Andover, N.H. She was one of those people who had studied the situation thoroughly. She already appreciated the benefits of solar power, having had her own system at an earlier residence. She was still undecided about installers when she heard about the Solarize Kearsarge Campaign.

“To me, solar is the responsible thing to do,” Teach said. “I had solar in my previous home, and I knew I really wanted to do it again. When I heard about Solarize Kearsarge, I decided it was time.”

“I contacted a total of five solar installers even though Granite State Solar was the preferred Solarize Kearsage vendor,” Teach said. “I wanted to be part of the process. The other companies I met with were comparable, but Granite State Solar was different. I was impressed with Eric, a solar advisor with GSS, who came to my home and did a free site evaluation. His knowledge and overall thoughtfulness was impressive.”

Teach’s solar system is expected to produce 7,420 kWh of electricity in a good year. It has nineteen Q-Cell 325 watt panels, each with its own Enphase IQ7 inverter. The total system size is 6.175 kW.

“Installation went very quickly,” Teach said. “The entire Granite State Solar install team that came to my home was very dog friendly, which is very important to me. I trusted them here when I wasn’t in. After installation was completed, Jaimie in the Granite State Solar office was excellent and kept me informed about the entire approval process with the town. She even helped with paperwork for the state rebate, and I’ve already received my check from the PUC.”

Because Teach’s system was done in 2019, it is eligible for the 30% Federal Tax Credit. That tax credit drops to 26% in 2020, which is still a respectable incentive. There is also a rebate available from the State of New Hampshire.

Granite State Solar’s web site is www.granitestatesolar.com.