Mayor Supports Bright Future for Solar Panels in Elm Heights and Bryan Park Neighborhoods

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 24, 2016

For more information, please contact: Mary Catherine Carmichael, Communications Director, 812-349-2489, carmichm@bloomington.in.gov

Mayor Supports Bright Future for Solar Panels in Elm Heights and Bryan Park Neighborhoods

Bloomington, Ind - Two Bloomington neighborhoods, with the support of two local groups and Mayor John Hamilton, are joining forces to expand the number of homes taking advantage of solar power. The "Solar Neighborhood" project hopes to find at least 20 neighbors in Elms Heights and Bryan Park to install solar arrays at roughly the same time. This will double the current number of solar homes in the area and make solar energy more affordable for participating households, as well as more visible to others considering making the change to solar energy.

The two groups joining to implement the Solar Neighborhood project are the Interfaith Community of Environmentalist Youth (ICEY) and the Solar Indiana Renewable Energy Network (SIREN). SIREN works to inform the public about the benefits of solar energy, encourage solar array installations and share information about cost, contractors and available loans and discounts for homeowners. ICEY is committed to doing everything in their power to prevent climate change, and their vision is to see the Elm Heights/Bryan Park area become a model solar neighborhood for the city and state. They will continue to hand-paint yard signs for solar households and will also lead tours for to show others how easy it is for a neighborhood to go solar.

The groups will host two forums for residents to learn more about the benefits of solar array installation. Thanks to great interest, the first forum set for Sunday is full. Anyone interested in learning more is welcome to attend the second forum on Tuesday, July 12 at 6:00 p.m. If you would like to attend, you are asked to RSVP to: sirensolar.org/rsvp/.

"My family is going solar and I hope many others will join us. Climate change is the most important issue facing this generation. Employing readily available solar energy is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint. Prices to install it have dropped dramatically, and with the solar loans and group discounts this combined effort is able to offer, it will make sense for even more homeowners in our area to install solar arrays. Ideally, I would like to see Bloomington as a leader in solar energy efforts in the Midwest," said Mayor Hamilton.

More information about ICEY Bloomington can be found at: iceybloomington.org

More information about SIREN can be found at: sirensolar.org

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