Northwest Harvest's new solar energy system will allow the food bank to spend electricity savings on direct services. Northwest Harvest has a network of 375 food banks, meal programs and high-need schools across Washington. The network provides two million meals every month. A&R Solar installed the 75.3 kW system on the distribution center in Kent. The funds to pay for the system...
As a B Corporation and a Social Purpose Corporation, A&R Solar has giving back ingrained in its DNA. Recently a group of our employees spent a Saturday cleaning up and helping to restore a popular Washington State hiking trail. The group lugged buckets of rocks and dirt up the Barclay Lake trail to fill in turnpikes (raised trail sections). They also worked on a bridge and...
Despite the news that President Trump has imposed tariffs on imported solar panels, home and business owners in Washington and Oregon who want to go solar won’t see much, if any, of increased prices in 2018. Several manufacturers are either exempt from the tariffs or have been planning to minimize their impact since news broke of the possibility last summer....
We certainly were busy in 2017! Here are some of our favorite residential solar projects across Washington and Oregon. ...
We’ve received a number of inquiries from solar customers expressing confusion about the new state production incentive program that the Legislature passed this summer. We don’t have all of the details yet, but we've compiled what we do know. We will update this post as we learn more, so bookmark this page. The situation: The state Department of Revenue is transitioning management...
The Washington State Legislature has approved a new solar production incentive, enabling thousands more homeowners and businesses to go solar during the program’s eight-year timeline. Homeowners Here are the program's highlights: From now until June 2021, homeowners who install a grid-connected solar photovoltaic system can receive up to $5,000 per year for eight years. Your eight years start as soon as your...
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the regional wholesaler of federal hydropower, announced that it expects rates to increase 5.5 percent over the next two years. The BPA’s customers —there are more than 120 — primarily are electric utilities in the Northwest, which in turn sell the power to their customers. For example, Seattle City Light purchases about 40 percent of its...
We feel you. Ever since Elon Musk announced that Tesla would unveil a new solar roof, we’ve been all a-tingle. After all, who doesn’t love a big advancement in the solar industry? But, like you, we’re still waiting on the details, including how much these shingles will cost and when they will be available in Washington and Oregon (heck, we’re still...
Ten years ago, two guys (Andy and Reeves, hence the A&R) founded a company that was based on the crazy notion that people would want to install solar on their homes and businesses in the Pacific Northwest. It turns out that solar works really well here, just ask any of our 1,000+ customers. Like any emerging industry, solar has been through a lot of...
Washington's largest solar project is now complete. The 1.27 megawatt project sits atop the new IKEA store in Renton, which opened Wednesday. Here is the project by the numbers: 1.27 MW 3,250 solar panels 4,770 ballast trays (they hold the panels) 22 inverters 16-25 crew members, including electricians, roof techs, and general laborers 244,000-square-feet Will produce 1,261,000 kWh of electricity, the equivalent...