Solar Power

Brighton's first residential pole-mounted solar -
YES IMBY!

After the traumatic experience the Town of Brighton put us through to build our house, I never anticipated having to go back to them for permission for anything again. Yes, their hostility not only made me cry at a town meeting, but we almost decided not to move to Rochester, they were being so unreasonable. But then we decided to install solar panels.

Even though the town has various green initiatives, we discovered that the Town Board’s Solar Energy Systems Local Law only pertained to rooftop panels. Because of our odd rooflines and large trees, installing solar only made sense for us if it were pole-mounted in the back yard. So back we went before the Town Board of Appeals, to apply for another variance. Luckily, this time there seemed to be more reasonable people on the Board, and Jesse Cook, President of Geotherm, Inc., who spoke on our behalf, was very calm in his explanation of the project and in dealing with some silly questions, like what percent of our power would be supplied by the array (really? How would that factor into their decision?). Reason prevailed, and our variance application was approved on May 6, to become the first residential installation of pole-mounted solar in Brighton.

Installation

Jesse anticipated completing the project by the end of June. This is Brighton, though, so of course we encountered a setback – the town required some additional drawings that he’d never had to provide to any other town. So finally, on July 11, we got our permit! It took a little over two weeks for them to complete the installation. The lack of rain worked in our favor, but our bedrock was a hindrance. Since they couldn’t drill down as far as specified in the plans, a workaround required yet another town inspection and signoff.

Day 1 and we've already sent 1 kWh back to the grid!

Finally, on July 29, the panels were linked to the meter, and started generating energy for our home. The two panels will supply approximately 10% of our annual electricity needs – not huge, but it will certainly make a dent in our RG&E bill. Because of the federal and state tax credits, the system should pay itself back in about 15 years. But did I mention that it will lower our RG&E bill? So finally, after paying all of those additional fees that support sustainability projects, we’re actually getting something back!