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Terry Nelson is a founding member of the Skagit Valley Clean Energy Co-op. The La Conner resident has advocated and worked to advance solar installations in the region for decades. His efforts are making great progress this year.
The Solar Jam at Maple Hall Saturday could not have been timed better.
The hottest day of the year, with bright sunshine drawing crowds of tourists to the town's boardwalk and other attractions, coincided with a program and concert promoting the advantages of solar energy attended by some 25 people.
The La Conner-based Skagit Valley Clean Energy Co-Operative organized the afternoon, keynoted by Mason Rolph, Olympia Community Solar founder and president. It is a leader in solar installation development in the south Puget Sound.
Rolph, a devoted climate and clean energy activist, said informing the public on solar energy and helping people navigate the process of finding a contractor and securing proposals for panel installations are key challenges his organization faces.
Yet his non-profit has been successful in facilitating solar installations for single-family residences and multi-family buildings and a middle school in Olympia as well.
A 2017 graduate of The Evergreen State College, Rolph predicted that there will be a major shift to solar energy in the next two decades between emerging market trends and state environmental policies.
La Conner's Terry Nelson, an SVCEC co-founder, has already made his long-term commitment to renewable energy.
Nelson opened Solar Jam with brief remarks citing his embrace of the solar energy option, dating to the Carter Administration, when he was managing the family's lumber yard and hardware store business here.
Carter created, as is the case again now, favorable federal tax credit incentives for persons and businesses making the move to solar energy, Nelson said.
"The looming climate crisis" Nelson has long anticipated would inspire a significant transformation to clean energy.
That time might soon be approaching.
Town Councilmember Mary Wohleb, also a SVCEC co-founder, noted that the local co-op was formed here –a town without fuel pumps but with several electric vehicle charging stations –and has make inroads in its first year.
SVCEC has partnered with Olympia Community Solar to meet its mission of simplifying and reducing the costs of transitioning to solar. Residential installation was Saturday's theme.
The 2023 Solarize Skagit campaign, designed to increase the availability of solar installation, is an important tool when it comes to acting locally to "help make the planet a safer place" Wohleb said.
Signups for Solarize Skagit run through July 4, with installations scheduled through the rest of the year.
Nelson praised Greg Whiting of Raven's Cup Coffee and Art Gallery on First Street, SVCEC's technical advisor, for getting the word out on clean energy through his regular columns in the Weekly News.
"Greg has been a fantastic addition," Nelson said. "He's an expert on solar energy, a very sharp guy who's been very helpful to our co-op."
Rolph, who launched Olympia Community Solar in 2019, cited several specific reasons for going solar, among them long-term cost savings, energy independence and environmental protection.
He was impressed to learn that Nelson has been a solar advocate since his promotion of SolaRoll heating systems at Nelson Lumber & Hardware more than 40 years ago.
"Wow!" Rolph chuckled, "that's a long time before I was born."
Or, in keeping with the topic, it was more than a few sunrises and sunsets ago.
After the program came music from Nick Vigarino the A-Town Big Band.
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