(ATLANTA, GA) The 2009 Georgia Solar Tour and Festival Oct 3 Glenwood Park

The Georgia Solar Energy Association Hosts

Statewide Solar Tour; Powers Festival at Glenwood Park

Tickets on sale now for October events highlighting solar technologies                        available to residents and businesses

Your browser may not support display of this image.  
(ATLANTA)– The 2009 Georgia Solar Tour and Festival, presented by the Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA), will feature homes and businesses that have installed solar and a Solar Powered music festival (in cooperation with the 2009 HOToberFest) at Glenwood Park. Activities will unite solar advocates, concerned citizens, businesses and schools to share their experience while educating participants about how solar power can save money, create jobs, encourage economic development and deliver a more sustainable environment.
 

The two-day event will kick off on Friday, Oct. 2 with Hands on Solar Day where metro Atlanta students from area schools, including The Westminster Schools and The New Schools at Carver will get a unique opportunity to experience solar power up close and personal. During the three-hour event, students will engage in a field run class about solar energy and watch a solar powered sound system being installed and operating.

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Solar Tour, part of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) national solar tour, will showcase solar installations across the state including locations in Athens, Savannah and metro Atlanta, where GSEA will host a VIP tour to give business and community leaders the opportunity to see successful solar projects completed in residential, commercial, industrial, governmental and educational settings. In addition, homeowners and businesses will open their doors to the general public for a self-guided tour to share how they are using solar technologies to reduce monthly energy bills and their carbon footprints, while realizing tax credits and incentives that help improve their property values and their bottom lines. 

“This tour allows Georgians to get a first-hand look at solar energy in action,” said Michelle Conlon, GSEA board member and solar tour chair. “With better incentives available for solar, the tour provides us with an opportunity educate consumers and raise awareness that will hopefully help fuel an industry that can create jobs and generate economic development in Georgia.”  

For the first time, solar energy will power the stage at the second annual HOToberFest, a day-long festival celebrating live music, craft beer and the potential of solar power to make “homegrown” power in Georgia. The event raises awareness of the importance of protecting the environment by living a more sustainable life, every day. 

“With these great events, our hope is that more Georgians will see that solar offers ‘real’ benefits to ‘real’ people right now,” said Walter Brown, chairman of the board of GSEA. “Georgia is ripe for expansion of solar use.” 

The Solar Powered music festival at the annual HOToberFest is the culminating celebration of a series of events sponsored by GSEA including the Southern Solar Summit, a two-day event taking place on Wednesday, Aug. 26 in Savannah in conjunction with the Georgia Environmental Conference; and Thursday, Sept. 3 in Atlanta, in conjunction with the GreenBusiness Works EXPO. The summit, first of a planned series of annual events, will draw a broad range of environmental and design professionals, policy makers, state and local government officials, developers, and others seeking and sharing knowledge about how to advance the clean energy economy in Georgia. Core tracks include: Solar Basics, Solar Economics, Solar Public Policy, and the Current State of Solar. The Atlanta session will feature Brad Collins, ASES executive director as its closing plenary keynote speaker.

The Solar Tour is an annual fundraiser for GSEA and affordable tickets are $15 for members, $25 for non-members (includes GSEA membership) and free for 17 and under accompanied by a paying adult. To purchase tour tickets and to get more details about the Solar Tour and Festival, visit www.gasolar.org.

About the Georgia Solar Energy Association 
The Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA) leads the statewide effort to promote the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy through education, advocacy and industry support. GSEA, a non-profit affiliated with the American Solar Energy Society, is supported by more than 230 members across the state (energy professionals and grassroots supporters) who are working together to help create a sustainable energy economy for Georgia. For more information, visit
www.gasolar.org. Fan GSEA on Facebook or follow on Twitter @GASolar.

Scroll to Top