For a quarter-century, the American Solar Energy (ASES) has organized and delivered the National Solar Tour, the largest grassroots solar event in the U.S. This year’s all-virtual tour is being extended beginning September 28 and running through the official tour weekend, October 3 and 4. Carly Rixham, ASES Executive Director, talks about the Tour’s long-standing history and what we can expect to see this year.
SR: Clearly things are different today than they were 25 years ago when ASES launched the first solar tour.
CR: Definitely! What began as a local solar and sustainability tour at the Solar Living Institute, a former ASES Chapter, in Hopland, California, under the direction of John Schaeffer, expanded to become the National Solar Tour in 1995.
SR: Tell us about this year’s tour.
CR: The biggest distinction in this year’s tour is that it’s virtual. National Solar Tour week will showcase live programming from ASES and our partner Solar United Neighbors. Solar United Neighbors helps people join together to go solar and fight for their energy rights. You’ll view virtual solar tours, take a virtual test drive in an electric vehicle (EV), and experience solar through a week of never before seen programming. These events and tours are crafted to empower people to learn about solar technology and the process of going solar from their neighbors and people nationwide, all from the comfort and safety of their homes.
SR: I’m really looking forward to settling in on the couch and watching (popcorn included). Apart from the inherent differences for this year’s tour, what other challenges have you faced?
CR: Every tour has a different flavor. At ASES, we want to celebrate the variety but still provide useful structure and national attention. This year, going virtual has been a totally new challenge but it’s been a long time coming for the tour. The video tours are really fun and informative. Having the tour online connects our solar stories with easily accessible information to potentially much wider audiences.
SR: And the successes?
CR: Without being too self-aggrandzing, some 76% of tour attendees surveyed confirmed they are definitely or very likely to purchase and install solar or energy-efficient systems after attending the Solar Tour. This high conversion rate from tour goer to renewable energy consumer underscores the importance of consumer education. We’ll be interested to see the survey numbers after this year’s tour.
SR: The Tour also encourages local tours in cities. In Texas, we have tours in Austin, the Metroplex, Lubbock and Waco.
CR: That’s right. This year we have almost 40 local tours in Texas cities like Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Lubbock and Waco. Collectively, we have 177 Open Houses on the Tour
Visit nationalsolartour.org for information about this year’s National Solar Tour or contact solartour@ases.org.
Carly Rixham is the Executive Director for the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). She is the Editor, Publisher, and Art Director for Solar Today magazine. She received her masters in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she researched microalgae for the production of biofuel. While studying in Boulder, Rixham served as Director of Arts and Sciences at CU Energy. She has taught biology and ecology at the university and high school levels.