FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      

 MACON-BIBB PARKS AND BEAUTIFICATION DIRECTOR
RECEIVES 2018 SOLAR ADVOCATE AWARD
Sam Kitchens honored for developing municipal uses for solar and saving taxpayer dollars

Macon, GA — The Macon-Bibb Director of Parks and Beautification, and Vice Chairman of the Jones County Board of Commissioners, Sam Kitchens received the 2018 Solar Advocate Award from the Georgia Solar Energy Association on Thursday, December 13^th, 2018 at the organization’s annual Holiday Celebration.

LINK: SAM KITCHENS VIDEO

Past Solar Advocate Award winners include the Georgia Public Service Commission (ASI and ASI Prime), Mitchell County Economic Development Authority Chair Joe Bostick (Camilla Solar Farm), former Tybee Island City Councilman Paul Wolff (Solarize Tybee), and Shan Arora (Southface/Georgia Energy Data Map).

Kitchens was honored for his decade-long efforts to bring solar resources and savings to the Macon-Bibb procurement process. As a result of his initiative, four firehouses now have two solar panels each directly connecting to their industrial-sized water heaters.  When firefighters return from a fire, they must shower to remove soot and other residues.  This puts heavy, daily demand on the station’s hot water heaters. The two solar panels on these four firehouses provide hot water around the clock while lowering the county’s utility bill for this need.

Thursday, October 25th, 2018 saw the 10th Anniversary of Georgia Solar's Southern Solar Summit at Atlanta's Carter Center. Over 100 attendees joined for a lively conference with keynote speakers Bill Nussey, Anya Schoolman, a panel discussion of the Weather Channel's "Killing Clean" documentary and more.  A direct link to our video can be found by clicking here.

WEATHER CHANNEL DOCUMENTARY: Killing Clean is a documentary about Ohio that examines the forces pushing back on renewable energy progress. Opponents of solar and other renewable resources have mobilized across the country to undermine increasing adoption and deployment of renewable energy. “Killing Clean” demonstrates how they zeroed in on Ohio as an early win for their effort to fight clean energy policy at the state level. Ultimately, the initiative failed, in part because renewable energy advocates reminded Ohio’s leaders about the jobs and investment their commitment to renewable energy has produced. At Georgia Solar's 10th Anniversary Southern Solar Summit, moderator Julie Hairston, producer Marisa Venegas, Reporter Brad Wieners, and Greenlink Founder Matt Cox discussed the Ohio face-off. A direct link to our video can be found here.

Georgia Energy Data and Clean Energy Industry Census Manager Wins
The Georgia Solar Energy Association’s 2016 Solar Advocate Award

The Georgia Solar Energy Association awarded its 2016 Solar Advocate Award to Shan Arora, program manager for Southface, at its annual holiday celebration on Thursday, December 15.

   Arora created and manages georgiaenergydata.org, an interactive map and database that provide both aggregate and detailed information on Georgia’s growing solar portfolio. He also conducts and analyzes the annual Clean Jobs Census that shows the growth and economic contribution of Georgia’s solar industry.

   In a video debuted as part of the awards presentation, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7SepJOKpbw, Georgia PSC Commissioner Tim Echols praised Arora for giving policymakers reliable information on the positive impact of policy decisions that encourage solar investment throughout the state. 

Click here to view the full video