Jay Bassett is a solar homeowner from Snellville, Georgia. He is a veteran and former EPA employee who was an organizer in the Solarize Gwinnett Campaign.

Jay Bassett’s home solar installation does more than generate electricity. It lets him give back. Jay went solar in September of 2023 through the Solarize Gwinnett program. The former naval officer and civil servant with the Environmental Protection Agency was a lead organizer of the effort.

"Part of what we are trying to do is get people thinking about if you put solar [on your home], how does this really build better communities?"

For Jay, this meant working with Solarize Gwinnett participants to donate their Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to local nonprofits. RECs represent the “green” value of solar energy. Utilities will buy them to meet renewable energy goals. This makes them valuable.

Solarize Gwinnett worked with the Atlanta-based organization Solar Stewards. Jay’s was the first household to work through the agreement process with Solar Stewards. He did this so others would feel more comfortable donating their RECs. "It is a way of giving back to your community without taking away from the benefits you get.” The donated RECs will support affordable housing as well as lowering electric bills and improve energy efficiency for families in need.

Jay’s system offsets about 2/3rds of his electric use. He also has a battery system. This lets him “receive the benefit of every kilowatt hour I generate.” It also ensures he can keep the lights on and food fresh if the power goes out.

Thanks to the Solarize campaign 20 homes in Gwinnett county are now producing their own renewable energy. The group’s installer, Better Tomorrow Solar, said they installed a total of 120.4 kilowatts of solar across the project. Each home received a discount by participating in the program.

The finances of going solar made sense to Jay. "We are already getting a bulk buy, at 2 bucks to 2.50 a watt, which is a good price." He also said the 30% tax credit, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) helped his decision. Jay plans to make the most of the available home efficiency and electrification upgrade provisions of the IRA as well.

When it comes to growing solar energy adoption, Jay believes that "building relationships is what is going to move the needle". Since "relationships move at the speed of trust" he said the people and organizations that support solar need to engage their networks. This way, they can show the benefits of participating in a distributed energy system and how people can build equity with it.

Solar United Neighbors is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating a clean, equitable, and resilient energy system that benefits everyone.

If you’d like to learn more about going solar and how incentives can benefit you, download SUN’s Go Solar guide: https://act.solarunitedneighbors.org/a/go-solar-guide.

Or contact SUN’s Solar Help Desk, which takes the complexity out of solar so individuals can make informed decisions. https://solarunitedneighbors.org/help-desk/.