City of Columbia installs Solar panels on home: Video
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COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The City of Columbia introduced a roof top solar installation Tuesday for the launch of Solarize Columbia. Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, Vision Solar, a local solar homeowner, and the Solarize Columbia Team took part. On Tuesday morning, crews worked in the South Carolina sunshine to install solar panels on the White home in Columbia. “It’s like Christmas,” said Zach White. White and his wife made the decision to go green using solar energy in an effort to cut down on their utility bill and help create a more sustainable environment. “It feels like back to the future is one of the things they may have gotten right this year, we‘re actually going to have clean energy on our house, that’s really cool,” said White. The roof top solar installation at the White home is part of an overall effort by the city of Columbia to improve the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by solarizing the community. “This is about making a huge investment in the future of our city,” said Mayor Steve Benjamin. For homeowners like the White family, officials said the incentives are worth it, including state and federal tax credits adding up to 55% as well as saving on their utility bill. “We ask the question when will you pay off your utility bill? Never it‘s like paying rent, you‘re always sending that check, we need the energy. But we could be using solar energy and that can take up to 80 to 100 percent of your energy bill.” said Solarize SC Community Outreach Manager, Sara Hummel Rajca. Mayor Benjamin and City Council issued a proclamation on Sept. 1 making the City the most recent South Carolina community to embrace the Solarize South Carolina Campaign. The city is the first municipality in the Midlands to officially participate the new, statewide, residential solar power initiative. The organization’s goal is to outfit 2,000 homes across the state with solar over the next 18 months.
