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Seward is seeing a surging curiosity in sustainable infrastructure, with the primary automobile charging stations being put in on the town and a brand new marketing campaign to solarize town underway.
Laura Schneider of Exit Marine and 60 Levels Journey Charters put in the primary electrical automobile charging stations in Seward earlier this yr after recognizing an area want.
“We put the preliminary one in as a result of our enterprise companions had gotten a Tesla,” Schneider mentioned. “We thought that we should always put a station in in order that they may cost once they come go to.”
Whereas putting in the primary station, Schneider and her husband and co-owner Kenneth Cardwell realized they have been the one station in Seward.
“We realized there have been no different choices,” she mentioned. “And we realized we should always set up some group chargers to see the way it goes.”
And since set up, it has been going properly, with a wide range of electrical autos displaying as much as recharge.
“Surprisingly, there was somebody parked there on a regular basis,” Schneider mentioned. “Now we have an adapter for non-Teslas, too, in order that any electrical automobile can pull in and plug in.”
Schneider mentioned she anticipates seeing extra charging stations popping up all through Seward, together with in her own residence.
“I’m positively open to speaking with different companies about doing it and increasing alternatives to different locations on the town. I’d like to share our expertise,” she mentioned. “We’re constructing our home at present and placing charging stations in there though we don’t have an electrical automobile. It’s the long run.”
Along with electrical charging stations, the Seward group is taking steps towards putting in photo voltaic on properties within the space through the second yr of the Solarize the Kenai venture, a volunteer-led marketing campaign of group members and organizations working to supply entry to inexpensive photo voltaic throughout the Kenai Peninsula.
“Solarize is a win, win, win,” Kaitlin Vadla, regional director at Cook dinner Inletkeeper’s Neighborhood Motion Studio in Soldotna, the place the Solarize the Kenai marketing campaign originated, mentioned in a press launch. “It will increase native power safety, creates good jobs in a brand new business, and makes clear power extra inexpensive.”
Based on the discharge, the Solarize the Kenai program returned for a second yr after a profitable 2020 marketing campaign the place greater than $1.5 million was invested in clear power and almost half a megawatt of energy was put in at lowered charges.
This system gathers these fascinated about photo voltaic all through a area and invitations photo voltaic installers to bid for the job to serve all of them. Based on Solarize Kenai, the elevated curiosity in photo voltaic is affecting insurance policies at electrical utilities.
“Within the fall of 2020, the Seward Electrical Utility adopted the follow of web metering, which credit the proprietor when their renewable power system generates extra electrical energy than they use in a single month,” in line with Solarize the Kenai.
Along with power financial savings, a photo voltaic set up would additionally let dwelling and enterprise homeowners reap the benefits of a federal funding tax credit score value 26% of the set up price.
Greater than 300 folks throughout the Kenai Peninsula, together with in Seward, expressed curiosity in solarizing. Ultimate costs and quotes will likely be launched in early April, in line with the web site.
Kat Sorensen is a contract journalist who at present serves because the advertising and marketing and communications director for the Seward Chamber of Commerce.
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