Communities Crowd-Source Clean Energy With Solar Mosaic

I’d love to invest in clean energy. I’d love to power my home with solar panels. The only problem is I don’t have much cash for investing, and I don’t own my roof.

Luckily, there are creative people out there who feel my pain, and they’ve come up with an innovative way to make it easier for any community to finance solar energy.

Solar Mosaic connects people who want to go solar with the buildings that have the ideal roofs and space to go solar. Mosaics are works of art where many pieces come together to form a whole. So with solar mosaics, many people come together to build community solar projects.

This organization uses the popular crowdfunding model that’s been so popular in the arts and technology scene to enable regular people to join together to finance a solar project in their community.

In the case of Solar Mosaics, crowdfunding starts with the “Tile.” A Tile is a $100 share of a community solar project. It’s like owning solar, except not on your roof.

When a church, school, non-profits, community center or busines has a big, open roof and wants its utility payments to support a green revolution instead of a bank or utility, Solar Mosaic helps find a community of local individuals that are willing to invest in the installation of a solar array.

The project host (aka roof owner) buys the clean electricity produced by the crowdfunded Tiles and starts saving money from day one. Those who financed the project through their purchase of Tiles get paid back through the revenue the Tile generates and earn some fun goodies.

After Tile purchasers are all paid back, additional revenue is paid forward to fund more community solar projects. Jobs are created, coal is kept in the ground, carbon pollution is avoided and money is kept in the community. As they say on the Solar Mosaics site, “that’s at a win-win-win-win-win-win-win!”

via Good

Image Credit: Flickr - dirvish

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Cathy N.

10:18PM PDT on Oct 31, 2011

~This is something I'm sure alot of people would like to have, but it's soooo cost prohibitive~

send a green star

Ruth R.

10:23PM PDT on Aug 7, 2011

Commenting again: This would be done until people have sources of solar at home too.

10:22PM PDT on Aug 7, 2011

In the case of Solar Mosaics, crowdfunding starts with the “Tile.” A Tile is a $100 share of a community solar project. It’s like owning solar, except not on your roof.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/communities-crowd-source-clean-energy-with-solar-mosaic.html#ixzz1UPaTDJCv

Commenting again: This would be done until people have sources of solar at home too.

Green Road A.

6:23PM PDT on Jul 10, 2011

This is a defining moment for humanity. Are you up to the challenge of helping to create a new energy paradigm? http://t.co/AE7DjZP

carlee t.

3:06PM PDT on Jun 12, 2011

go green

10:59PM PDT on Jun 11, 2011

Very Good start. We may need more of these groups of people all around the world.

Laurie J.

10:01AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Awesome idea!
We put solar panels up 6 years ago knowing it would take 40 years to pay them off.... With the Ontario microFit program, I connected those panels and new ones on my roof and make money. Yes, I am now a statistic owing more than I should, but supposedly they will be paid off within 6 years, then pure profit! Fingers are crossed.
Us humans HAVE to do something!!!

James E.

5:35AM PDT on May 22, 2011

Excellent idea! If the concept was coupled with some of the new state-of-the-art solar collectors, even better. They now have PV film that can be used on windows, PV roofing titles that replace conventional roofing, and other advances. Add those to the mosaic and real progress!

Masha S.

7:48AM PDT on May 19, 2011

thanks

Jon H.

11:41PM PDT on May 18, 2011

Solarize everything and shut down these Nuclear Plants and be totally green.