This month, we are continuing the Solar Spotlight series featuring a SharePower subscriber. This series features individuals who are making a difference in their community through community solar.
John Evans, is a SharePower subscriber who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland. Because of John — and other local SharePower subscribers — Community Solar at Paddington Square is expected to prevent about 235 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions this year alone. That is the emissions equivalent of 583,056 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle!
Here is what he had to say about community solar with SharePower by Groundswell:
Groundswell: What got you interested in community solar?
Evans: It was actually a bunch of urbanist YouTube videos. I’m very interested in making sure I’m not contributing to climate change - as much as possible - and there weren’t a ton of options in my area for changing my electricity usage to more sustainable sources. I stumbled upon this recent community solar project, and it sounded very enticing, so I went for it.
Groundswell: What does community mean to you?
Evans: Part of what I really like about this project is that it helps support lower-income people in the area - in Montgomery County, Maryland in particular. I’m all for that. I think that people who have the means should subsidize their neighbors as much as they can. I’m happy to do that. I work with a student group trying to get bike lanes built on campus and improve transportation infrastructure and do all these other things because I really want everyone to have equitable access to all the different facilities in the area - whether it be on campus or the shops in the neighborhood. This project, the way that it is structured feeds into that.
Groundswell: What does resiliency mean to you?
Evans: My grandmother was born in Ireland and came over here looking for a better life. … Those thoughts of “OK, where is every dollar going? Is this thing going to last? Am I going to have to replace this thing in a couple of years?” - for things like that, my grandmother taught that to my mom, and my mom passed that down to me. So, every time I make a purchase or make a financial decision or make a life choice, I always think ahead. “OK, how is this going to play out? What are the best-case scenarios? What are the worst-case scenarios?” I think that state of mind gave them a lot of stability in an unstable world. That helped me try to focus my efforts where I think I can do the most good.
Would you like to share your experience in an upcoming SharePower Newsletter? Let us know at customerservice@groundswell.org or at (202) 505-3051.