Saanich Resident Organizes Solar Hot Water Buying Group

Patrick and his wife Niki Standford

One forward-thinking Saanichite recently hosted a community meeting, on Oct. 20 with the objective of creating a solar hot water buying group.

“I’ve been made aware that this is the first community buying group in B.C.,” says Patrick Chénier, meeting organizer. “So we’re forging new territory!”

As a citizen of Saanich, Chénier decided to take on and promote the idea of the buying group. The basic concept is to create a substantial list of customers for solar hot water installs and present the list to a registered SolarBC contractor for the purpose of receiving a discount on the service, based on the volume of systems being purchased. So far, Chénier has a list of 60 interested community members, with the ultimate goal of 100.

“It’s taking off,” says Chénier, of the interest he’s received so far. “The response has been pretty positive.”

Guest speaker Nitya Harris, executive director of SolarBC, spoke to the 20 or so attendees at the community meeting, helping them to understand and gain awareness of the incentives offered through federal and provincial rebates.

“The meeting was a great opportunity to create more awareness about the potential of solar energy,” said Chénier, who continues to amass interest through word of mouth and profiles of the event from local newspapers.

With some members being very keen to get going and others looking to install within the next year, the next step is to establish a timeline for the first buying group to move ahead with purchase and installation.

SolarBC applauds the initiative and goal of this community to make a difference in its ever present carbon footprint.

READ FEBRUARY 09 UPDATE HERE

For more information on how you can get in on the bulk buy, contact Patrick at: patrick.chenier@telus.net