Alden Cleanthes has a degree in Environmental Management from Old Dominion University. She also lives in Norfolk where you don’t need a degree to see that climate change and sea level rise are real.
“We have sunny day flooding in Norfolk, which is catastrophic level sea level rise, so we want to make a difference immediately, because we see the immediate need,” Cleanthes explains.
She and two friends formed a non-profit called Norfolk Solar Solutions – raising money thru donations and grants to put solar panels on the homes of low-income urban and rural residents. Co-founder Ruth Amundsen told Radio IQ they were on their way to see the latest project in Lee County.
“It’s an opioid addiction recovery center started by Barbara Kingsolver out in Pennington Gap," Amundsen says. "It’s saving money for the Higher Ground Women’s Recovery Center, and it’s allowing them to take those savings and expand their program.”
And they’re putting panels with a battery on the Oakwood Arts Center in Richmond’s East End.
“By giving them a battery, we’ve made it so they are a complete resilience hub for the neighborhood. If there’s a power outage, they will have that battery and have power, wifi and refrigerated food for community residents,” Amundsen adds.
In addition to helping recipients, co-founder Ivy Main hopes these projects inspire people who may not have considered solar before.
“One of our goals is to let people see solar working in their community and hope that we can change some minds that way.”
Norfolk Solar Solutions also takes advantage of tax laws that no longer benefit individuals but still provide a 30% tax credit for businesses and non-profits.
