Westmoreland County homeowners and business owners who are interested in going solar have until the end of June to join a local co-op.

The deadline for signing on with the Westmoreland County Solar Co-op was extended to June 30 as the area emerges from restrictions related to the covid-19 pandemic.

Organized by nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, the co-op has 41 members with a goal of reaching 50.

“The co-op launched with in-person events and has been progressing online during social distancing, with free webinars and video conferencing,” said Henry McKay, Pennsylvania program director for the nonprofit. “We want to make the co-op available to as many people as we can.”

Free to join, the co-op shares information about solar energy with its members and leverages their numbers to obtain a group rate for voluntary solar installation. Following a bidding process, the co-op’s selection committee met via Zoom to pick Groundhog Solar as the group’s installer.

The Altoona-based company also was selected as the installer for a similar solar co-op in Indiana County.

Six of the Westmoreland co-op members have signed contracts for solar installation.

Solar installations have been allowed to resume in Pennsylvania since May 1, under Gov. Tom Wolf’s phased plan for gradually easing pandemic restrictions.

Installers must adhere to health and safety guidelines while on the job site, including wearing masks, maintaining six feet of social distancing where possible, and limiting crew members at the site to no more than four at a given time.

Visit the co-op web page at coops.solarunitedneighbors.org/coops/westmoreland for more information.

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