By James Ferguson
Team Members:  Jennifer Sekar, Jen Williams, Daniel Ketyer, James Ferguson, Ellis Baehr

“There are two main takeaways from today’s talk: 1. The state tax credit for 35% of renewable energy investments is set to expire at the end of this year, and 2. Our research team has done the homework for you on everything you need to know: solar market trends, installer reliability, pricing and financing options.”

These two main points—the narrowing window of opportunity and the trustworthy research that went into the Solarize Duke program—were the key pieces of information for our audience of Duke employees interested in residential solar at our April kick-off events. These informational sessions began the Solarize Duke program, the product of our Bass Connections research.

Along with experienced campaign organizer Rob Pinder and local solar installers, we presented Duke employees with the essential information on residential solar: reasons to install solar now, how the Solarize Duke program works, examples of previous Solarize campaigns, residential solar resources and how the installation process works. A fruitful Q&A session answered many important questions, covering topics such as: the tiered pricing structure, payment installments, net metering policy, proper system sizing, hardware durability & warranties, suitable roof types, and dealing with your HOA. The atmosphere of the presentation and Q&A made for an engaging, educational, and inspiring kick-off.

The result of these kick-off events exceeded expectations. We currently have signed up 80+ Duke employees in the program, in addition to another 20+ enrolled in the sister campaign, Solarize Research Triangle Park. By design, Solarize Duke and RTP campaign participants are grouped together to maximize the discount each participant receives. Our team will present later this month to Duke Regional Hospital employees, hoping to reach another part of the Duke community and raise program participation to over 100!

A number of strategies lead to the effectiveness of these events:

• Students presenting with installers– having a student spokesperson alongside the installers highlighted the quality research behind the program, complimented by industry expertise from Yes! Solar Solutions and Southern Energy Management.
• Q/A at the end – many questions alluded to previously sparked curiosity and conversation around the idea of installing solar at home. We provided answers to all questions, which reassured and informed the questioners.
• Hosting multiple events at different times of day – to give employees options, we hosted various events on different days, at different times (lunch time, end of work-day), and at different places. This led to high turnout at both events so far, and will hopefully work for future information sessions.
• Student presence to facilitate signing in, answering questions, and sign ups before and after the presentation made sure the event ran smoothly. Supplying computers at the event for employees to sign up, then and there, also streamlined the experience.
• Food/drink – everybody loves free food, especially when it’s Parker & Otis!

A number of strategies proved successful in our general approach to the marketing campaign:

• Working with Office of Executive VP, Office of Communications – partnering with Duke administration helped greatly in disseminating information university-wide, getting a visually artistic flier, and writing a news article in Duke Today!
• Choosing a Solarize campaign – the nature of Solarize campaigns galvanizes the community around solar and benefits everyone involved: the employees, their family & friends, the university, and the greater community, including local business. After all, the more participants, the better the price.
• Educational aspect – this program began as a research project, and we strongly emphasized its educational aspect from the start. As part of an intellectual community at Duke, this approach works. If nothing else, we have raised many people’s awareness of the opportunities for residential solar in North Carolina.
• Teamwork – there are certain characteristics of a successful research team. We found the following essential to staying positive and productive throughout our research: small size, shared passion, individual responsibility, swift communication and clear expectations. All five teammates demonstrated these traits, allowing us to accomplish much more than we originally set out to do.

The success of Solarize Duke is underway after two lively kick-off sessions. Now it’s time for the free assessments, contract signing and ultimately the solar installations to go up! Our team looks forward to seeing how many installations this campaign yields. In partnership with the DCOI, we hope to keep track of many systems associated with the project by using and analyzing their energy data for future research. As for now, we have more qualified solar candidates to recruit!