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Solarize Asheville-Buncombe Campaign to Launch April 7, 2021
For Immediate Release: March 25, 2021 Solarize Asheville-Buncombe to Launch Bulk-Purchase Solar Community Campaign on Wednesday, April 7 Local Solarize Campaign Centers Workforce Development, Affordability Asheville, N.C. — A coalition of local organizations is launching Solarize Asheville-Buncombe, a community-based group-purchasing solar campaign that makes solar energy and battery storage more affordable to participants. A virtual…
Read MoreCleaning up Asheville’s Cleaning Industry
Aerial view of Solar Suds, courtesy of Melissa Gladden Seventeen years ago, Melissa Gladden started cleaning houses in Asheville. She was good at her job and cared about the environment. Instead of using carcinogenic cleaners, she made her own environmentally-friendly ones. Her clients were impressed with her attention to detail and the care she put…
Read MoreGoing Green like New Belgium? Start with a Hike
This is the fourth entry in a blog series about commercial energy efficiency in Buncombe County by Andrew Polich, Lenoir-Rhyne University Master of Sustainability Studies student. View the first, second, and third. An aerial view of New Belgium’s AVL campus from the west. Source: Metal Construction News. What does it really take to be a…
Read MoreAn Asheville-Based Company Working to Ignite the Green Roof Revolution
View looking south from the Garage Apartments in downtown Asheville What do you think of when you hear the term ‘green roof’? If you’re like me, the first words that come to mind are idealistic or expensive. Green roofs may be idealistic but they are also cost-effective–providing a quick return on investment (ROI) and a…
Read MoreFighting COVID-19 with Building Efficiency: What Businesses Can Learn from Warren Wilson College
Spring of 2020 was an eerie time. Faced with a deadly and novel virus, America’s 5,300 colleges and universities dealt with the difficult decision of closing campuses. Quads once-filled with frisbee-throwing students were deserted. Dormitories and other large buildings sat in silence, home to only essential staff and luxuriating insects. COVID poses a financial threat…
Read MoreNew Series on Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings
My name is Andrew Polich and I’m pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainability Studies at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Asheville. For my capstone project, I decided to collaborate with The Blue Horizons Project and focus on communicating local success stories in greener buildings. My goal is to help Blue Horizons Project in its mission to…
Read MoreBlue Horizons Project Community Council Seeks Inaugural Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 14, 2020 With…
Read MoreVolunteer Opportunity: Canvassing Shifts to Help Asheville Homes Save Energy
You might remember that a few years ago, the Asheville Beyond Coal campaign won the scheduled closure of Asheville’s coal-burning power plant by 2020, and got Duke Energy to commit to delaying or avoiding a new fossil fuel-powered peaker plant in Asheville. But we’ll only avoid the plant if we reduce our region’s energy demand.…
Read MoreBlue Horizons Project Press Release
The Blue Horizons Press Conference was held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 21 at a home benefiting from the Blue Horizons Project and its Energy Upgrade Program at 88 Wyoming Road in Kenilworth. The press conference offered interviews with government and nonprofit leaders behind the Blue Horizons Project, and visuals including a tour of the…
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