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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe green economy is right now, and it\u2019s right here on this roof.\u201d Those were the words of Mayor Steve Noble of Kingston, New York at the home of Bob and Jeanne Riggins on July 7, a beautiful sunny day–perfect for the installation of a brand new rooftop solar system.<\/p>\n
Bob, a retired truck driver, grew up in this home. He supports his family on a fixed income, and in recent years, the entire Riggins family has been impacted by rising electricity costs. However, their new 4.4 kW solar system is expected to save them more than $30,000 over the system\u2019s lifetime.<\/p>\n
The Riggins\u2019 system is the first of 10 demonstration projects which will showcase the value of residential solar in the City of Kingston. The projects are part of a partnership between GRID Alternatives Tri-State, the Mayor\u2019s Office of Community Development and RUPCO, with funding from NeighborWorks America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of utilities has always been an exacerbating factor in terms of housing costs,\u201d said Kevin O\u2019Connor, Chief Executive Officer of RUPCO. “In addition to lowering costs and using alternative [energy], [this project] is going to create a number of jobs–it already has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also participating in the installation were several job trainees from Ulster YouthBuild, a local job training, educational and leadership development program for low-income young people in Ulster County, NY.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission in YouthBuild is to provide any kind of training that we can get, so that they have a better chance of being able to get real employment when they finish the program,\u201d said Bonnie Landi, Executive Director of Ulster YouthBuild. \u201cThis opportunity that RUPCO brought us to with GRID Alternatives has been exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks to the the Mayor\u2019s Office of Kingston, RUPCO, Ulster Youth Build, and Neighborworks America for their ongoing support as we continue to make solar energy and job training accessible to Kingston families.<\/p>\n
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