Hello friends!
As summer comes to a close, the fight for energy democracy is still heating up! We’ve seen policies passed at the federal level that pull money out of our communities and make it harder to build renewable energy. These policies are lobbied by fossil fuel interests to protect their profits at the expense of our people and our planet.
And people in Northeast Ohio refusing to accept last century’s status quo as our future! We’ve seen record numbers of people making their voices heard and movement lawyers fighting day and night for every inch in the courts.
Our cooperative has been in this fight too, deepening community knowledge about community-owned solar development and moving forward with host sites for Ohio’s first community-owned solar array.
Which brings me to the big announcement that Cleveland Solar Cooperative and Lakeside Bible Church have signed a Power Purchase Agreement! This contract is a huge milestone for CSC! With this in place we can start hiring an engineering firm to do the final designs and start raising funds (I can see everyone pulling out their wallets but we’re not quite ready to take investments!)
CSC board members, Lakeside board members (many of which are also CSC member-owners!), one of our amazing lawyers, & Craig
📸 Taken by another one of our amazing lawyers!
We want to celebrate this milestone with you all. Lakeside Bible Church is having people over to learn more about this project and what the next steps are on the evening of Wednesday 9/24 from 6-7:30pm.
RSVP here and check out the other events going on below!
When: Wednesday, September 24th 6-7:30pm
Where: Lakeside Bible Church, 12600 Euclid Ave East Cleveland, OH 44112
Co-op-A-Cue TOMORROW!
Cleveland Owns’ Summer Co-op-a-cue is TOMORROW! It’s going to be a ton of fun and I hope everyone reading this can join us! I wanted to highlight our keynote speaker, Flequer Vera. Flequer is one of the co-founders of both Sustainergy, a unionized worker-cooperative that does energy efficiency and solar installation, and of Co-op Cincy, a co-op incubator in Cincinnati. I can't wait to hear what he has to say and I see his work as exemplifying what we need to be doing now: fighting for the safety of our neighbors and the rights of immigrants, constructing and invigorating working class organizations, and creating an economy that puts the needs of people and the planet together.
When: Saturday, August 30th 12-6pm, programming starts at 1pm
Where: Michael Zone Rec Center (6301 Lorain Ave) -- right across the street from the W 65th Red Line stop and parking is also available!
More info and RSVP if you haven't already at https://www.clevelandowns.coop/events/cleveland-owns-summer-co-op-a-cue
Another Chance to see "Dark Money Game"
It was great to see everyone in Lakewood on August 6th for a packed screening of the HBO documentary "The Dark Money Game: Ohio Confidential". It was not surprising either, as CSC board member and Lakewood resident Tim Dewald, spoke about how we are still feeling the effects of the HB 6 scandal. Tim spoke about fairness - that we live in a system that rewards bad actors like FirstEnergy and the Haslam’s with public money while elected officials time and time again fail to invest in our communities. The money that FirstEnergy spent to bribe Ohio politicians were funds they were not investing into our grid. That disinvestment has been acutely felt this year as Westsiders have been coping with frequent black- and brown-outs since last August’s tornadoes.
We know that grid instability is more than a minor inconvenience, it is devastating to working families who have to throw out a week's groceries and life-threatening for those who rely on oxygen or other medical devices. Those who attended left ready to fight for a better energy system!
If you weren’t able to join us we have another showing coming up. We’ve partnered with University Heights Dems, Common Cause Ohio, Move to Amend, Indivisible NEO and more to host another showing of this important documentary.
RSVP here!
When: Tuesday, September 16th 6-8pm
Where: 2345 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
Go Solar on Your Home!
While the tax credits our cooperative is leveraging will continue for a few years, the tax credits for homeowners to go solar are expiring at the end of this year! If you are interested in putting solar panels on your home, and want to take advantage of a 30% tax credit for doing so, the time to act is now! Below are two of many great options to get solar on your home.
Switch Together
Solar United Neighbors (SUN), have a solar buying program called Switch Together. This program was recently featured in the New York Times. Shout-out to our friends at Solar United Neighbors for their amazing work bringing solar to hundreds of Ohioans!
Friend of the Co-op and SUN Ohio Program Director Mryia Williams as seen in The New York Times
To participate, they’ll need to receive & accept your solar offer by Wednesday, September 3. You can sign up here - Registration is free and no-obligation.
Sustainergy and Ayat
Solar School co-facilitator and member-owner, Ayat Amin, is working to bring Sustainergy to Cleveland! As stated briefly above, Sustainergy is based in Cincinnati and known for high-quality solar installs using American-made panels, supporting union labor, and promoting sustainability.
To launch here, we need a first group of homeowners signed up by October 31. Now is the ideal time: the federal solar tax credit (ITC), which cuts costs by 30%, is expected to end in 2026 under a potential Trump presidency—making solar significantly more expensive.
If you or someone you know is interested in residential solar, please fill out this interest form or email Ayat at photay.amin@gmail.com.
Solidarity,
– Craig, your Energy Democracy Organizer
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