After experiencing rapid growth over the past 18 months, the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance is able this summer to pour their resources into the development of their solar air heat panels.
RREAL is dedicated to making solar power accessible to people of all income levels, but their primary focus is working with households that qualify for the Public Heating Assistance Program. The Public Heating Assistance Program is government assistance given to lower-income households that cannot afford to heat their homes in the winter.
According to Jason Edens, founder and director of RREAL, the state spends $73 million every year on this heating assistance program. About 110,000 families benefit from this assistance each year, but there are still many more that apply that do not receive assistance.
Jason Edens says that this assistance is needed, but there is no plan to help these people get off this assistance. "It's a very expensive band-aid, and that money didn't change their problems at all," he said.
RREAL works to install free, solar thermal heating systems that provide for a quarter of a household's space heating needs during the winter months for free in Public Heating Assistance Program qualified homes.
This will hopefully allow the family to be able to pay their own heating bills and allow them to no longer need government assistance. This would also allow other households to receive heating assistance.
The funding that allows RREAL to give these systems away is provided by grants, private donations and commercially selling solar energy systems to those who can afford to have them installed.
RREAL has grown substantially since it started in Jason Edens garage. "We went from no payroll 18 months ago to five or six full staff employees," Edens said.
So far RREAL has installed about five dozen systems, but this summer they are taking a break from installing any new systems to focus their energy on the research and development of their own solar air heat panel. Edens thinks their solar heat panels will be better and cheaper than those they currently buy.
Once they receive certification, they hope to produce 100-150 panels per year to use for their Solar Assistance Program. This summer RREAL has hired a summer intern who will develop a volunteer program to help with the building and installation of their new solar panels into qualified houses.
