Mountain View Solar (mtvSolar) recently installed a free rooftop array for the Kids Clubs of Northern Shenandoah Valley as part of the company’s Community Giveback Program. The company first installed a 6.71-kW project on the rooftop in 2020. With the additional 22.91-kW installation this year, solar is now expected to cover 100% of the facility’s energy needs.
“We are proud to help out an organization that has such a tremendous impact on the Winchester community,” said Mountain View Solar founder and CEO Mike McKechnie. “Our installation in 2020 was just the beginning and we’re so glad to complete this project to help the Kids Clubs reduce their energy expenses.”
The Kids Clubs of Northern Shenandoah Valley offers after-school programming and summer camps for children ranging from elementary school through high school. Many of the children that attend the Kids Clubs live below the poverty line.
“This has been a dream of ours for a long time and it’s amazing to complete this project,” said Sarah Bradley, director of development and marketing for the Kids Clubs of Northern Shenandoah Valley. “It also gives us a great opportunity to engage the kids with lessons on renewable energy and solar power. We’re looking forward to using the savings that we will receive as a teaching tool.”
Mountain View Solar’s Community Giveback Program operates on an “Install One, Get One” model in which every time a homeowner or business goes solar, they can donate one or more panels at no cost to a participating nonprofit organization. The Community Giveback Program supports nonprofit organizations who want to demonstrate clean energy and reduce their operating costs. Mountain View Solar is slated to continue the Community Giveback Program with other nonprofit organizations this summer.
“The resources that are being saved for the Kids Clubs will allow them to provide more services for the kids,” said Winchester Mayor John David Smith Jr. “The City of Winchester recently adjusted our zoning laws so we can allow more permissible solar energy on buildings and that is an achievement that I am very proud of.”
