Ohio’s Third Sun Solar is proud to announce the donation of a ground-mounted solar array to local non-profit, Women for Recovery, of Athens, Ohio.
Third Sun Solar has partnered with Women for Recovery of Athens, Ohio, to provide clean energy to the Serenity Grove Women’s Recovery House. The addition of a solar array to the Serenity Grove facility will greatly reduce the nonprofit’s utility costs for the next two decades or more. CEO and co-founder, Michelle Greenfield says: “As a company committed to the flourishing of our community, we are proud to support this organization's critical mission”.
On September 8th Third Sun began the installation of a ground-mounted solar array. The 22 panel, 7.4 kW array will provide an estimated 40% of electricity to the Women’s Recovery House.
Annually, the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by Serenity Grove will be equivalent to:
·     Charging 865,816 cell phones
·     Driving the perimeter of the United States 1.5 times
·     Recycling 289 bags of waste instead of landfilling
As a non-profit struggling to navigate the effects of the pandemic, Women for Recovery can immediately use the monetary savings from their electric bills to help with ongoing operating costs. In addition, the longer term savings will enable many other options with expanded programming.
“We believe that partnering with Women for Recovery in this way will not just reduce the overhead costs for this mission-driven non-profit, but will bring needed attention to solar and help us to further accelerate the shift to clean energy that is catching on in the Midwest,” said Greenfield.
In speaking about the founding of Women for Recovery’s Serenity Grove, Executive Director Betsy Anderson said, “It’s really been a collaboration with individuals and partner organizations. I don’t know if all communities are this way, but Athens has supported us remarkably.” She went on to note that the solar array will help offset operating costs for the nonprofit, but she says, “the longer term impact is, in addition to our commitment to recovery and helping women rebuild their lives, an ongoing commitment to our community, to our environment and to our planet. To reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use and demonstrate that to our residents, staff, board and community – that is invaluable.”
Employees at Third Sun Solar are excited about this partnership. In the past, the company has partnered with national nonprofit Habitat for Humanity. This time, Third Sun Solar is excited to partner with a different local non-profit providing meaningful services to women in Athens County.
“Part of our responsibility as a certified B Corp is to actively seek ways to promote social and environmental support of our community,” Greenfield said. “Helping provide affordable and sustainable housing while educating people on how easy it is to attain energy independence is a great fit for our mission-driven company, and our team is really looking forward to it.”