The Georgia Solar Energy Association conferred its 2015 Solar Advocate Award on Tybee Island’s Paul Wolff in a December ceremony. GA Solar honored Wolff for initiating, guiding and successfully achieving the Solarize Tybee (Chatham County) program. Solarize Tybee, which followed the national model for effecting solar installations at lowest cost through a streamlined screening process and bulk purchasing, created 62 rooftop installations throughout Chatham County totaling 340 kilowatts.

Some 600 people signed up for assessments, 300 were deemed viable for solar, and 62 projects were installed at $2.70 per watt, about $1 below the national average.

“Having realized the direct benefits of solar personally, I wanted to share that with my neighbors,” Wolff said in a video detailing his effort to Solarize Tybee. https://vimeo.com/149136460

Sharon Lee, GA Solar Chair added, “GA Solar is proud to bestow this prestigious award on Paul Wolff. It is designed to honor those in our solar community who are forging new paths to the benefits and practicality of solar for Georgians in every walk of life and every part of the state.”

Solarize Tybee was the first Solarize Program in the Southeast. The Solarize Tybee website, http://www.solarizetybee.org, remains available online with helpful FAQs about the program.

Throughout the process, Paul Wolff’s enthusiasm, dedication and insight helped attract prospective solar customers and overcome obstacles to the initiative’s successful completion.

“This was a community movement. And that movement started and was fueled by Paul Wolff, who was the catalyst throughout this entire project,” said Grant Tallon of Hannah Solar, which won the bid for the Solarize Tybee installations. “His attitude was contagious.”