Ron Strom, the landlord of the Root Cellar, a small coffee shop in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, recently took the initiative to install a rooftop solar system on his business as a way to combat climate change. He discussed his reasons for the decision and hope for its impact on the local community.

United Solar Initiative: When did the idea to install solar panels first come to mind? Was there a certain instance that sparked the idea creation?

Ron Strom: One of my 24-year-old twin daughters, Samantha, an environmental studies major at Middlebury, had been nudging me for quite some time to get a solar quote for our home; it turned out to be too shaded for solar. We then opted for a 60kw rooftop installation on a small retail center in Chapel Hill, NC that our family owns. This has been a way for our family to make a true, impact investment, for our community.

 

USI: How long did the installation process take?

Strom: The installation took only a couple of weeks. The approval from Duke Power took a few months.

 

USI: What would you say to other home-owners/business leaders thinking about installing solar on their rooftops?

Strom: Listen to our children; they are far more sensitized and called to action to combat climate change. And they and their children will be experiencing the consequences of our decisions for far longer than we.

 

USI: Why do you think solar energy is important?

Strom: Our small rooftop system, consisting of 233 solar panels, is the renewable energy equivalent of removing over 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 100,000 vehicle miles from the road or planting 1,200 trees to help sequester carbon. 2015 will be ‘yet another’ hottest year on record for the planet. Each of us must do what we can to support renewables. We are at a tipping point for our planet.

Article: Meredith Ratledge

Photo: Jack Molloy