BRATTLEBORO — Steven Strong, founder of one of the first solar companies in the United States and an industry leader and innovator, will speak at the Hooker-Dunham Theater, 139 Main St., on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.
Strong's talk will assess the current state of solar in this country, how we reached this point, and what needs to be done in the future to make solar mainstream. It will cover all aspects of solar, from individual residences to large-scale utility solar plants.
There is a suggested donation of $10 for the talk. Light refreshments will be provided.
The talk is sponsored by Brattleboro Solar Summer, a campaign to support Brattleboro residents and businesses in choosing locally generated solar power. The campaign, which runs until Sept. 30, offers discounts from five participating local solar companies for installing a home or business system or purchasing shares in a community solar project.
Strong is president of Solar Design Associates, Inc. based in Harvard, Mass., an interdisciplinary group of engineers and architects dedicated exclusively to the design of environmentally responsive buildings and the engineering and integration of renewable energy systems.
He founded the firm in 1974 after serving as an energy-systems engineering consultant on the Alaskan pipeline, where he became convinced there were easier, less-costly, more environmentally desirable ways to provide comfort and convenience to the consumer than “going to the ends of the earth to extract the last drop of fossil fuel.”
Drawing on his background in engineering and architecture, he has earned the firm an international reputation for the pioneering integration of renewable energy systems - especially solar electricity - with environmentally responsive building design. The firm has completed projects around the world, with a wide diversity of applications from custom all-solar residences to commercial and utility-scale applications.
Strong has served as an advisor on energy and environmental issues at the state and federal level, as well as a number of electric utilities. He is the author of The Solar Electric House and Solar Electric Buildings, an Overview of Today's Applications and the editor and contributing author of Photovoltaics in the Built Environment, a Design Guide for Architects and Engineers as well as contributing author to Photovoltaics in Buildings, Building with Photovoltaics and Green Design – From Theory to Practice with Ken Yeang.