Stephanie Stewart, Landuse Chair for the Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association and initiator of the Solarize Portland project, received a certificate of appreciation last week from Mayor Adams for her efforts.  The award was presented by Mayor Adams' Planning and Sustainability Policy Coordinator, Megan Ponder, at the Janurary 26th Sustainability Network meeting held at SE Uplift.

Megan offered a message of appreciation to Stephanie from the Mayor. It was a great to see Stephanie recognized by the Mayor and her peers for her vision and great work.

In May of 2009, Stephanie approached SE Uplift for help organizing a community-purchasing project for residential solar electricity.  Once the Energy Trust of Oregon was added to the partnership the project was off and running.  A competitive bidding process was conducted to select a contractor for the installations that would give a discount to the entire group.  Imagine Energy, a local contractor, was selected for the project. 

Over the next couple of months, volunteers from neighborhood associations did outreach to their communities in the southeast coalition area.  To educate neighbors about this solar initiative, a series of eight workshops was offered for free to homeowners who were interested in the project.

Installations are happening now.  Over 350 homes have signed up for an assessment of their home to determine the suitability of their site for solar.  Of those homes, up to 150 will follow through with an installation, with an impressive discount of 20%.

Southeast Uplift congratulates Stephanie on initiating a great project for her community. Her dedication and efforts have already had a positive impact by bringing the community together to reach a shared goal. Stephanie is a wonderful example of how a single idea can come to fruition through outreach, conversation and connecting with neighbors.

For more information about Solarize Portland, visit www.solarizeportland.org.