Sackville group pushes bulk purchase of solar panels

A group in Sackvilleis inviting people from across the province to get together to contribute to saving the environmentand save some money through a bulk purchase of solar panels.

Amanda Marlin isthe executive director ofEOS Eco-Energy,a not-for-profit environmental group based in Sackvillethatpromotes renewable energy.

"There seem to be two main barriers to people who are interested in solar, they need more information, they need more knowledge and understanding about how the technology works and also price is a barrier,"said Marlin.

"It's a big up-front cost even though you'll save over the long term, so to do the bulk purchase we'll be able to save people a little bit of money."

WoodyThompson enteredthe renewable energy business 12years ago when he startedFundy Solar.

"Prices have come downexponentially, like this panel that I'll sell now for $250 to $280, when I started the business would have been easily over $1,000," he said.

He's offering a discount of 12 per cent of the purchase of a solar panel if the group can get enough people to commit to buying 15 kilowatts worth of panels.

"If we can do this in large numbers then you have an economy of scale that comes in and then I don't have to spend as much time going to people's houses explaining to people how the system works, basically selling the system and then I can give them a break on the cost of the system," said Thompson.

Panels must be ordered before Aug. 18and installed before the end of the yearto qualified for the group rate.