Local solar installation comes to Ti

TICONDEROGA | New Leaf Solar owner and founder, Garrett Lee, moved to his wife's hometown of Ticonderoga with one professional goal in mind; to help more families transition to clean solar energy. "I believe that everyone should have the right to access free energy from the sun," said Lee. "I've made it my mission to not only help people go solar, but also to make them feel good about their decision in choosing renewable energy. The USA is the number one oil producer in the world, but now we can transition into this more long-term and more sustainable way into having a massive renewable energy industry." Lee is a member of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and is qualified to design and install solar anywhere in the world. He brings 14 years of solar experience to his profession and is eager to do his part in helping people navigate an ever-evolving world. "Climate change is happening and it's going to impact things," Lee said of what inspired him to enter the profession. "I wanted to take action, I didn't just want to talk, I wanted to do something." Solar energy is the most abundant resource on Earth. According to the United States Department of Energy, the demand for solar in the United States is at an all-time high. The amount of solar power installed in the U.S. has increased more than 23 times over the past eight years, and the U.S. is currently the third-largest solar market in the world and is positioned to become the second. Globally, China is the biggest user. "In New York State, only 4.9 percent of homes have gone solar," Lee said. "There's still a lot of room to grow." But how exactly does solar power work? "Essentially, you put solar panels in the sun and they make electricity," Lee explained. "That electricity goes directly into your existing electrical system (load panel) in your home, and on an overcast day, the solar is maybe not producing everything you need to power the home completely, so the delta (the difference) comes from the grid." For example, if a household is consuming 1000 watts of power but solar is only producing 200 watts, 800 watts comes from the grid. When the clouds disappear and there is an abundance of sunshine, now 10,000 watts of power are able to be made and the house is only consuming 1000 watts, so that 9,000 watts of the power gets sent back to the grid. "Everybody has a utility meter, and it is measuring how much power is coming in and going out at all times," Lee said. "At night, the meter counts down, and at night, you are consuming the power your store on the grid for free. You can push back to the grid during the day, and collect it at night for no charge- that is net metering. It is another incentive for going solar, being capable of using the grid as your battery." Power produced during the day and summer months can be stored to use at night and during the winter. Many other states don't allow that, such as California, who limits the amount of power users are able to push onto the grid. New Leaf Solar uses all United States-made solar panels, which, according to Lee, were an item that people couldn't even get their hands on a year or two ago. "The most important and one of the main reasons people go solar is because they want to save money," Lee revealed, noting that solar customers are no longer reliant and indebted to power companies. "It insulates that from whatever the utility prices are going to be," he said. "Today, tomorrow, next year, and the next 30 years, it doesn't matter what the price is out there because you are making your own power." Another benefit to solar is producing clean energy. "Over half of our power is coming from natural gas and some sort of combustion fossil fuel," Lee noted. "There is going to be an eventual end to that. When the fuel is gone, what are we going to do? This is the new energy dependence crisis, are we going to make the power we need or rely on someone else? What we can do now is produce clean energy and create jobs in America for energy independence, and have it be sustainable." Lee revealed that every solar panel is guaranteed to produce 85% of their rate of power from day one- even after 25 years. "At year 40, they are still making power," he said. "But when they are at the end of their life or are broken, they are 100 percent recyclable, made up of aluminum, glass, copper, and pure silicon." Lee offers financing options and likens the investment into transitioning to solar energy to a car loan. "Once you pay it off, it's gone forever, but you still have your solar system that will be creating energy for you. If you stick with a power company, you are stuck there for the rest of your life." Lee has a goal for 2024- he would like to figure out how to rally the town of Ticonderoga and gather enough people to start a solar farm. "All of these solar farms that are currently around town, nobody can participate except for the landowner. I want to make a scenario where there is a little one-acre solar farm with 50 people around town who put their money into a pot and build this thing and everybody benefits because not everyone has an ideal site for solar- there are a lot of slate roofs in Ticonderoga." For a home to be compatible with a solar system, the obvious necessity is good sun. south-facing roofs are a thing of the past, an east-west orientation is completely acceptable. People can choose to be on-grid or off-grid. "Panels can either be placed on the roof or on the ground, so you need space to place them," Lee said, adding that 30 feet of lawn space would accommodate an average-sized system. "Not all my customers produce everything they consume in a year, and that is OK. If we can't get them to 100 percent offset due to the size of their roof or the amount of sun they are getting or their budget, they offset what they can and now they are insulated 50 percent, 75 percent, from what they would be paying. People don't have to produce everything they consume in a given year, they can do what they can- it is better than doing nothing." If you would like to discover if solar energy is right for you, call Lee at 845-489-7549 or email garrett@newleafsolarny.com. New Leaf Solar may also be found on Instagram and Facebook.

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