The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Reusing old panels and reducing energy costs for a local nonprofit
By Katherine Nettles
A solar array installation at the Gunnison Country Food Pantry has not only given new life to old solar panels and reduced costs for the nonprofit organization but helped local students gain some experience in the growing solar technology industry while learning how to install it.
This solar array project has been a few years in the making, says food pantry executive director Jodi Payne. The pantry relocated in 2023 from its former location in downtown Gunnison to a much larger space a few blocks away on 14th Street, and as the pantry remodeled the space, a collaboration came together between Nunatak Energy, Coldharbour Institute’s Equitable Solar Solutions (ESS), Western Colorado University (WCU) and Solar Energy International, a solar education institute based in Paonia.
The partners gathered solar panels donated to ESS by Jefferson County Schools and some homeowners around the state who were upgrading to newer equipment. Solar Energy International donated the rails and mounting hardware; a solar installer in California donated the microinverters; and finally, 22 people volunteered their time over the course of five days last fall to install everything through a complimentary workshop offered by Coldharbour/ESS and open to WCU students, faculty, staff and members of the public, free of charge.
Local solar expert Jay Pozner, who was a co-founder of Nunatak and has long volunteered at the food pantry, explains where the idea began. “When you have a specialty, you have an eye for that out in the world and I always thought what a great thing it would be for the pantry to get solar panels because that is the kind of asset that keeps on giving. If we could bring the operating cost down with all the refrigeration they have at the food pantry, it was something I could offer to help,” says Pozner.
Nunatak started a perpetuity fund to build toward a project such as the one at the food pantry. “So for every watt we installed, we set aside funding,” he explains. “I always thought that just because you have a business here in the valley doesn’t mean you just take and don’t give anything back…so we built that into the business model.”
Concurrently, Rich Stromberg, a lecturer and graduate student mentor at WCU who cofounded ESS to create sustainable energy solutions that benefit disadvantaged communities through reusing solar energy systems was locating panels that could be donated.
“Rich found the panels and the racking for the system, and we also found all the inverters for the system,” says Pozner. “So, in essence a lot of the major equipment was donated or procured and repurposed.”
Lena Wilensky, Nunatak’s cofounder, did the final design and layout with her team, and the group collected around 130 panels of a few different varieties for the pantry project. “It is just under a 25kw AC solar PV System, and it is projected to produce about 26,000 kwh of electricity annually,” says Wilensky. She says that size of a system and installation would normally cost about $75,000.
“As the project started growing and people were investing time and energy in it, the pantry put some money up for it as well. And Rich used it as a platform to do some teaching,” says Pozner.
The Solar Society club at WCU kicked the installation workshop off with a lecture and discussion focused on site safety, photovoltaic theory and the installation steps for roof setups.
Stromberg ran the course, which was titled Introduction to Reuse Solar Photovoltaic Installations for five non-credit hours. The installation was completed in September, then Nunatak completed the wiring to get the system operational. The food pantry is awaiting one last part and Wilensky says that once it comes in, it should take about a week to get all the inspections required by the state electrical inspector and City of Gunnison Electric Utility.
Pozner says the way the net metering system works is that when more energy is produced than what is being used, it feeds back into the grid what it doesn’t use. That energy can later be pulled back from the grid when needed, “sort of like a bank.”
Pozner says the pantry’s work to keep those in need connected to the community and to a dependable food source is meaningful. “What they’re doing in this community is so awesome,” he says. He adds another element that he and others involved have appreciated. An anonymous donation to help the food pantry purchase its new building in Gunnison had come in the name of longtime local Dan Escalante, who cared deeply about renewable energy and who died in an avalanche accident in 2020.
“It’s really touching that these panels and this project went on a building purchased with funds in honor of Dan Escalante,” says Pozner. “It just really meant a lot to me.”
Payne says the pantry couldn’t be happier with the process and collaboration.
“We are so excited to have the solar panels turned on and see the impact it will have on our building expenses,” says Payne. “As the need for food assistance increases in the Valley, it gives me peace of mind to know that we can allocate funds where we need them most—food! The project is a huge gift, and working with Nunatak, ESS and Jay Pozner was wonderful. They truly are the experts!”
Wilensky agrees that the project has been a great collaboration. “This has been a project that we’ve been working on for several years. It’s exciting to see it come to life! We are always wanting to do more projects like this that will help community organizations and community members be a part of producing sustainable energy locally, and helping them to continue their amazing work for generations to come,” she says.
