West Linn Sustainability Lecture Series to Feature Solar Basics & Community Solar Information

WEST LINN - The final lecture in the West Linn Sustainability Advisory Board's Sustainability Lecture Series is titled 'Solar Basics & Community Solar.' This free event on May 12, 2011 will be held at the West Linn Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Ms. Claire Carlson, the Executive Director of Solar Oregon, will be the featured speaker. This talk will focus of the basics of solar in the Portland metro area. Does it work here, how does a home owner find a good installer and what are the incentives to installing solar? These questions and more will be addressed during this talk. Community solar will also be discussed. This is also known as the Solarize campaign: a grassroots effort to help residents overcome the financial and logistical hurdles of installing solar power. Over two years and multiple campaigns, Oregon residents installed more than 650 solar electric photovoltaic (PV) systems. This took a concerted effort by many partners —neighborhood volunteers, neighborhood coalitions, Solar Oregon, Energy Trust of Oregon, the City of Portland, the City of Pendleton and solar contractors— to convert customer interest into action. Claire Carlson, the Executive Director of Solar Oregon, will present this last lecture of the Sustainability Lecture Series. In the last year she has helped both urban and rural Oregonians overcome the technical and logistical hurdles of going solar by guiding them through the process of community solar purchasing programs. A native Oregonian and Oregon City High School graduate, Claire graduated from Portland State with a BA in Political Science and spent several years working for Lindsey Hart Neil & Weigler LLP as a Litigation Assistant. Claire has worked for Solar Oregon since 2009 connecting individuals and business across the state with the information they need to make informed decisions about solar energy. Founded in 1979, Solar Oregon is the Oregon chapter of the American Solar Energy Society, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit membership organization providing public education and community outreach to encourage Oregonians to choose solar energy. Solar Oregon works to connect all aspects of the solar community including individuals, utilities, solar contractors, schools, volunteers and homeowners. ###