One-stop assistance for solar power shopping

Thursday, July 31, 2008


From an article by Kristin Czubkowski in The Capital Times:

Thinking of outfitting your house with solar power?

Certified solar agent Larry Walker is at your service -- for free!

Walker was recently hired by the city as a consultant to advise residents and businesses gratis on everything from how solar power works to its costs, including the availability of state and federal tax rebates.

It's all part of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's MadiSUN initative, announced in early June, that uses the $200,000 Solar America Cities federal grant along with money from the city, the state's Focus on Energy program and Madison Gas & Electric to promote solar power to city residents.

"I've been doing the homework for the last year or so, so I've got my presentation that explains how solar works," Walker said in an interview. "I've got examples of what it would cost for a typical system. I can do the assessment and tell them what rebate they're going to get from Focus on Energy, and just sort of be a one-stop shopping for somebody."

After residents or businesses leave a message for Walker by phone or email, he calls them to discuss the site's potential for solar power. After that, Walker usually visits the location within three to four weeks and then mails a written report within a week. After that he solicits quotes for parts and installation from local vendors.
Contact Walker at (608) 243-0586 or solar@cityofmadison.com.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

He doesn't mail the report within a week like he promises. It's been over a month and I have yet to receive mine. His excuse: "I'm swamped with site assessments." He shouldn't be taking on so many assessments until he gets the reports done. My hunch is he gets paid once the assessment is complete so then he is not in a hurry to complete the report. Seems like another case where the city awards a contract and the winner abuses it.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Webmaster:

I just wanted to clarify the situation with the MadiSUN program and delays in getting reports back. As you suggested, we have reduced the number of new assessments being scheduled and are working on clearing up the backlog of reports.

The grant program which funds this work has a limited budget, and we are trying to stretch it to serve as many people as possible. We'll continue to fine-tune the process...

Larry

Ed Blume said...

The deleted comment was an accidental duplicate of the first one.

Ed Blume