Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy
Pioneering community-owned renewable energy
It’s “…our garden. I’m just the maintenance man, I just keep it up,” insists DeWayne Barton, the humble visionary behind the Burton Street Community Peace Gardens in West Asheville. The first wave of solar at the peace gardens went up back in August. Two hundred donors came together to fund the project. AIRE developed, coordinated
Burton Street Community Solar Project Support– Phase 2 Burton St Phase 2 UPDATE– WE’RE ALMOST THERE! THANKS TO ASHEVILLE’S GREEN BUILT ALLIANCE AND THEIR APPALACHIAN OFFSETS. THEY’VE MADE A VERY SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION! WON’T YOU HELP GET THIS IMPORTANT SOLAR PROJECT OVER THE TOP? Gardeners need seeds. The Burton Street Community Peace Gardens is spreading seeds
The solar installation was completed on Monday, August 10th. Now we await only Duke Energy to connect the system to the grid. The advocacy community uses the term “slow walking” to describe how long that may take. Only Duke knows, but hopefully soon. The garden is producing healthy food, ideas, healing vibes, and is ready
• We now have all of the system components on hand (e.g. solar panels, inverters, racking, etc.). • Required filings have been completed at North Carolina Utilities Commission. • System interconnection request has been filed with Duke Energy Progress. • Installation is scheduled to be July 27th, maybe sooner. Looking back at the crowdfunding campaign
Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Cass Herrington, interviewed Burton Street’s DeWayne Barton for a piece aired on June 30th. Always quotable, the following excerpt from the interview illustrates why Barton is such an inspiring leader and visionary, and why nearly 300 unique individuals came together to crowdfund the solar project that will be installed in the
WILLIAM “SHORTY” IRBY and a monument meant to endure… Because the crowdfund campaign for the solar project has been so successful, it’s allowing the gardens to leap right into its Phase 2 solar vision, which is equipping the garden’s hands-on lab with equipment to train for solar. This is very significant and here’s the story.
We’re about to launch a crowdfunding campaign for maybe the most important solar project ever. It won’t be the biggest by any stretch but there’s no doubt its impact will amplify the power of this special place. The Burton Street Community Peace Gardens has been a place for absorbing trauma and for healing for a
UPDATE OCTOBER 29, 2020….. Phase 2 Solar begins! UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2020…… Solar installation completed. UPDATE JULY 15, 2020…… Solar installation date will be Monday, July 27th. UPDATE: JUNE 18, 2020….. we’ve made several updates since this date stamp and will make a major update after the July 4th holiday. **We’ve surpassed our fundraising goal,
Number of Supporters 0 Funds Needed $30,000 Funds Raised $0 Monthly donors needed to raise this money in 1 year 500 at$5/month 250 at$10/month 166 at$15/month 125 at$20/month The Burton St Center’s Solar Project by the Numbers Development phase: seeking funders Size: 36 kilowatts/kW Yearly electricity produced: enough for 6 energy efficient homes Solar system
Bountiful Cities’ Pearson Garden in Asheville is an inspiring and living example of making a way out of no way.[1] Just revealed in a new study, the billionaires in America increased their already staggering wealth by another $2.1 TRILLION (yes, trillion dollars) just during the 19 months of pandemic [2]. The report reminds readers that