海角大神

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, has a lot to offer American history buffs. The town is the site of militant abolitionist John Brown鈥檚 1859 raid on the national Armory, and the historic downtown buildings and brick streets have been lovingly restored.But Harpers Ferry isn鈥檛 just about the past. It鈥檚 also home to an affordable new approach to crowd-funding solar power projects.

West Virginia might not be the first place that comes to mind when innovations in solar power are discussed. This is coal country, and more than 95 percent of the state鈥檚 energy came from coal-fired power plants in 2014.

However, after decades of dealing with environmental consequences of coal and a declining number of mining jobs, many West Virginians are interested in solar鈥檚 promise. The cost of solar panels has declined dramatically in recent years, but installations remain financially out-of-reach for many communities in central Appalachia, where poverty rates in some counties are about

But financing the 12 solar panels that currently grace the local library鈥檚 roof鈥攁 $15,000 project鈥攚as not a problem because the cost to the library was only $1. That鈥檚 thanks to a partnership with Solar Holler, a social venture firm that invests in solar for nonprofits in West Virginia.

Solar Holler uses crowd-funding to finance solar energy systems. Instead of making cash contributions, supporters donate the rebates they earn from installing an energy-saving control device on their water heaters.

While the cost can鈥檛 really be beat, the campaign in Harpers Ferry did take a couple of months. The library worked with a Sierra Club-supported local environmental group, Sustainable Bolivar-Harpers Ferry. Members of that group, like local shop-owner Martha Ehlman, went through the two towns explaining the system and asking residents to install the devices and pledge their rebates to the library.

鈥淐oal has helped us in the past,鈥� Ehlman says. 鈥淏oth my grandfathers were coal miners. But that day has come and gone.鈥�

The group hosted a meeting in early September to answer questions like whether the control devices damage water heaters or whether they leave residents with cold showers. Thankfully, Ehlman says, the answer to both questions was no.

By November, the group had 55 supporters. Solar Holler paid for the panels and installation with a bank loan, and the fully functional array was dedicated in a ceremony in early April.Dan Conant, the founder of Solar Holler, points out that the process was less intensive than a conventional fundraiser. More importantly, it didn鈥檛 rely on supporters to pony up any cash.

鈥淲e could have done a [traditional fundraising] campaign,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut how would that help churches or schools or nonprofits in less well-off areas, where they don鈥檛 have the money laying around?鈥�

Conant is originally from Jefferson County, West Virginia. He left the state to work in solar energy and helped to finance different solar installations in Washington, D.C., and Vermont.

But he always felt the pull to return home and tackle the challenge of bringing renewable energy to the state where 鈥淏ig Coal鈥� reigns and residents enjoy some of .

He talks passionately about the economic climate in West Virginia and the 鈥渂rain drain鈥� the state is experiencing, a phenomenon where talented residents leave the state to find better jobs elsewhere. It鈥檚 clear from the urgency in his voice that this is personal for him.

鈥淗ow do we transition our state so that we can continue providing energy and being an economic force in America, over the coming century?鈥� Conant asks. 鈥淗ow do we create these new jobs that will actually keep native West Virginians like me at home?鈥�

At the center of Conant鈥檚 model is a partnership with Mosaic Power, the company that invented, manufactures, and installs the heater-control devices. This is the first time Mosaic Power has participated in a project that supports solar energy.

Laurie Vaudreuil, an electrical engineer and a co-founder of Mosaic Power, points out that the partnership makes sense because her company鈥檚 devices not only make heaters more energy efficient, but make the power grid better suited for renewable energy as well.

Mosaic Power鈥檚 technology helps to address a key problem in building up renewable energy. Unlike energy from fossil fuels, the capacity of solar and wind tends to fluctuate over the day, like when a cloud covers the sun or the wind suddenly stops. That means a grid that鈥檚 dependent on renewables might have trouble providing enough energy during peak hours. In a worst-case scenario, the problem could cause brownouts.

One way to solve that problem is to cut down on the amount of energy needed during those peaks. So Mosaic Power鈥檚 device uses an Internet connection to access information from the grid about energy supply and demand, and coordinate the use of hundreds of water heaters at once. When there is too much demand, it shuts off the water heaters for a period that ranges from 30 seconds to 15 minutes. And when there is excess energy, it turns the water heaters on.

The real algorithm is a bit more complex, but that鈥檚 the general idea. And while controlling just a few water heaters at a time wouldn鈥檛 make a difference, Mosaic Power has installed about 350 of the devices across Maryland and West Virginia, making the impact significant.

Being able to control a lot of energy demand almost instantaneously is an innovation that the local electricity companies will pay for. , which sells wholesale electricity and manages an electricity grid in 13 states, including West Virginia, pays Mosaic Power a fee for this service. Mosaic Power then offers a $100 yearly rebate to the households that have the controls installed.

In a Solar Holler project, those rebates are key. The supporters of a church or library sign up for Mosaic Power鈥檚 program, but opt to donate their $100 rebates to pay for solar panels.

Conant estimates that, for a typical project, it will take between three and five years to pay off the solar systems. Once the loans are paid off, the money that keeps flowing in from rebates will go into a revolving loan fund for future projects.

Gretchen Frye, the director of the Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Library, acknowledges that the model takes some time to explain.

鈥淚t almost sounds to good to be true,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he library board just had to initially understand how it worked. And the community too.鈥�

It also helped that library supporters could look to a successful example nearby. Solar Holler鈥檚 first project was a 60-panel system for the Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church, just north of Harpers Ferry. About 100 church supporters had water heater controls installed to finance the $55,000 project.

The panels on the Shepherdstown church are projected to produce between 19,000 and 20,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or about 45 percent of the church鈥檚 electricity needs. For the library in Harpers Ferry, the electricity from solar will cover about 5 percent.

That may not sound like much. But Danny Chiotos, an organizer for Sustainable Bolivar-Harpers Ferry, sees it as a concrete example of how to transition to renewable energy for both towns.

鈥淏efore, it was largely talk about how great solar would be,鈥� Chiotos says. 鈥淓ven though the power is piddly compared to a coal-fired power plant, they are real projects that are first steps to really grow solar power in West Virginia.鈥�

And growing it is. Conant says he鈥檚 received calls from every corner of the state to partner with Solar Holler. For him, the project is the first step toward a larger transition. And the fact that it鈥檚 based in one of the most fossil-fuel dependent states in the country just means that the work will only get easier from here.

鈥淚f you can [make solar energy viable] in West Virginia,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou can do it anyplace else in the country.鈥�

鈥� Mary Hansen wrote this article for听, where she is a regular contributor.听

鈥� originally appeared at , a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. 听听