A group called Sustainable Energy Education & Development Support (SEEDS) said it exceeded its “350 kilowatts-Installed” goal by installing 356.7 kilowatts of solar and wind in the rural northeastern Pennsylvania counties of Lane and Pike and part of northeastern Yakima County.

Now, it just needs to meet its second goal, “350 Kilowatt-Hours-Saved”, a goal of reducing electric use in the area by 122,500 kilowatts hours annually through energy efficiency projects.

The number 350 has significance, explained SEEDS chair Michelle Sands. It’s based on the 350.org international campaign to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.

According to 350.org, which was started by author Bill McKibben, 350 parts per million is the amount of carbon dioxide in the air that we need to reach to reduce the impact of global warming.

“We’re looking at that model for inspiration,” Sands said. “We send in our reports but never see anything from them.”

Two things make SEEDS’ work significant. First, it’s mainly been in rural areas, according to Sands.

“Which makes this much more significant,” she said. “It’s not a densely populated area by any means.”

Second, the majority of the 350 kilowatts were installed at homes, not for utilities or at businesses. She said that three commercial-sized sites accounted for 80 kilowatts of solar, but the majority of the rest were installed at homes.

When SEEDS began its campaign, it found that there were few people in the region qualified to install solar power, Sands said.

“Most of those installers were trained by SEEDS,” she said.

According to Sands, the organization began by holding forums to get people interested in learning about solar and wind.

Originally, SEEDS planned to have two training sessions.

Sands said they ended up having seven trainings.

The training started in the classroom, but upon realizing that installers needed hands-on experience, SEEDS helped coordinate on-sight training. Ultimately, according to Sands, the organization trained about 60 installers. She said she’s heard that the training model has now been adopted by other groups, but couldn’t specify which groups.

SEEDS has made progress on its other goal, saving electricity, through energy efficiency projects. But Sands said, “We’re finding it’s more difficult to get people to conserve energy.”

Image courtesy of Solar Connecticut.