Hillsborough County Launches Neighbors Solar Cooperative

HILLBOROUGH COUNTY, FL —Nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) announced the launch of the Hillsborough County Solar Co-op to help area residents go solar.

The announcement came via a series of videos posted to SUN’s Florida Facebook Group throughout the day. Each video features a local leader or solar homeowner expressing support for the solar co-op and touting the benefits of going solar. The videos can be viewed on SUN’s YouTube channel.

The co-op is free to join and open to homeowners and business owners in Hillsborough County. Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to ensure competitive pricing and quality solar installations.

“The co-op will enable Hillsborough County homeowners and business owners to join the growing community of people saving money by harnessing solar power,” said Julia Herbst, Gulf Coast program coordinator for Solar United Neighbors. “Together, we’re building a movement to transform our electricity system into one that is cleaner, fairer and shares its benefits more broadly.”

After a competitive bidding process facilitated by SUN, co-op members will select a single solar company to complete the installations. Joining the co-op does not obligate members to purchase solar. Instead, members will have the option to individually purchase panels and electric vehicle chargers based on the installer’s group rate.

Partnering on the co-op are: Hillsborough County, League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Tampa Bay Sierra Club, Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF), and Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

“Forty years from now, the sea level here (in Tampa Bay) will be 40 inches higher than it is now, and that is the moderate projection,” said Kent Bailey, chair of the Sierra Club. “There’s something you can do about that. SUN is showing homeowners how to install affordable, residential rooftop solar that pays for itself in just a few years.”

SUN has hosted 55 solar co-ops in Florida since 2015. According to the group’s estimates, the 1,717 homes and businesses that now have solar panels because of co-ops represent 16 thousand kW of solar power, $36.8 million in local solar spending and more than 551 million lbs. of lifetime carbon offsets.

SUN will host a webinar to launch the solar co-op and provide free information to members of the public. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21, at 6 p.m. It is open to anyone who is curious about going solar with the co-op. Register for the webinar here.

Individuals interested in going solar can learn more and sign up free for the co-op here.

In the coming weeks, SUN will host several additional webinars to educate community members about solar energy and the co-op.