Photovoltaics, or solar cells, within the solar panels use special materials, commonly silicon, to absorb a portion of the sunlight to allow for the creation of a flowing current of freed electrons to be converted into usable energy. News and Tribune File Photo
CLARKSVILLE — The Town of Clarksville is holding a Solarize Louisville workshop for local residents to learn more about using solar for their own personal property.
The event is 6 p.m., Aug. 4 in the Clarksville Town Council chambers at 2000 Broadway Street. It’s for homeowners and small property owners like businesses, nonprofits, places of worship in Jefferson, Oldham, Spencer, Shelby and Bullitt counties in Kentucky, and Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties in Indiana.
Associate Planner Kaylie Malloy said the town has been working its SolSmart designation, which they earned a few weeks ago.
Malloy said this designation is for them to make solar more accessible for residents, and for them to be able to work with a third party to look at their processes to ensure it’s efficient.
She said a technical assistant from SolSmart advised them for two years on the different barriers that might be within a system that may make it more difficult for people who live in the community to incorporate solar energy.
Miami University student Anna Sekula was an intern this past summer in the town’s planning department and would come in to work once a week.
Malloy and Sekula attended a few different meetings and workshops regarding these solar initiatives as well.
Malloy said she talked with someone from the Louisville mayor’s office about their solar programs, and they found out about the program Solarize Louisville, which offers a discounted price for solar panels and a group-buy program, which applies to residents in Clark and Floyd counties.
She said the goal of the workshop in Clarksville is to let people know about these programs and to walk people through the process of installing solar panels and getting permits.
“It really should be onestop- shop for any resident in Southern Indiana to just learn about solar and have all the tools necessary if they want to install themselves,” Malloy said.
Malloy said that the town already has a bronze level SolSmart designation, and that the workshop is not required for their designation.
The town is also in the process potentially of adopting a solar ordinance, which was tabled at the Clarksville Town Council meeting on Aug. 5.
Malloy said the point of the ordinance is to make it more clear for residents on what they can or can’t do in regard to installing solar panels.
“Those laws and regulations really shape a town or a city, and they really can change so much,” Sekula said.
Sekula said one of the town’s goals is to have a more sustainable place so that it can also contribute to the economy and local environment.
“It’s important to not only stay on top of those changes but I think it’s also really important to stay ahead and not get left behind,” Sekula said about the technology.
Sekula said that along with the solar designation and ordinance, this could open up more grand funding for future projects.
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