A Pilot Program to Establish the SoBro Solar Electric Power Cooperative
“Making SoBro Greener” was a vision laid out in the SoBro Neighborhood Plan adopted by the Metro Council on October 26, 2007. Under the leadership of former Mayor Jerry Abramson, the SoBro Task Force made recommendations to the Metro Council for creating sustainable energy as a police initiative that would target the SoBro District. Under the banner “Making Sobro Greener” the SoBro Task Force report to the Metro Council announced:
“The primary goals of this initiative are to enact policies and programs at all levels of government to address such issues as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the restoration of urban forestry projects, the reduction of urban sprawl and the development of public information campaigns concerning all issues dealing with sustainable climate protection. Louisville’s SoBro neighborhood offers a unique opportunity for Louisville Metro to position itself among the progressive leading cities in the United States . . . The economic incentives for “greener” development are simple. Cities save money through reduced energy usage…The designation of SoBro as a green development zone can potentially transform this neighborhood, with its neglected streets and excess of empty surface parking lots, into one of the most vibrant and sought-after mixed-use areas of the city.” (SoBro Neighborhood Plan, 2007, pp. 43-44).
Creating a SoBro Solar Electric Power Cooperative among the 24-unit owners of the Thierman Building will fulfil the Plan’s recommendation for the enactment of policies and programs to reduce carbon emissions. Our proposal is to partner with the City of Louisville in forming a municipal utility company that relies on renewable energy rather than burning fossil fuels, which threatens catastrophic hurricanes, deadly wildfires and flooding due to global warming from greenhouse gases.
Residents of the Thierman Building invite your support for creating an annual fundraising event called the SoBro Music Festival that will compliment and coincide with the dates of the St. James Art Show to raise money for expanding the electric cooperative year after year.
The Thierman Building located at 420 W. Breckinridge Street was built in 1912 during the Progressive Era in America.
Raising money to expand renewable energy
Green energy is now cheaper to produce than fossil fuels and nuclear energy. In 2022, for the first time in U.S. history, renewable energy produced from wind, solar and geothermal surpassed coal in the production of electricity. [1]
Nearly two decades ago, former Mayor Jerry Abramson proposed buying the investor-owned utility company Louisville, Gas & Electric (LG&E), with the vision of operating a municipal utility company. Rather than buy an outdated and inefficient overhead electric distribution system of utility poles coated with toxic creosote, our proposal envisions building a modern solar electric cooperative from the ground up, starting with the Thierman Building.
This system we are proposing will have battery storage capacity to provide power at night and to share excess power with the city to develop a network of EV charging stations within the SoBro District.
While the Kentucky Power Commission regulates privately owned utility monopolies, like LG&E, municipal utilities are exempt. We are asking for the support of the Metro Council to approve an ordinance to create the SoBro Solar Electric Power Cooperative as a pilot program by creating the city’s first not-for-profit neighborhood/municipal utility company.
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration announcement March 27, 2023.
The rooftop of the Thierman Building has a large capacity to generate solar energy. The parking to the right can add to this capacity with a solar car port, as a long-range plan. To the right is Presentation Academy’s gymnasium. Since this aerial photo was taken, Presentation Acadamy has added solar panels to its rooftop.
Solar Carports to generate renewable energy
Money raised over time can fund capital improvement projects for the SoBro District. A solar carport covering the Thierman parking lot can expand the production of renewable energy to build a sustainable future.
Replace Broken Sidewalks with Solar Sidewalks
In 2013, George Washington University installed the first solar sidewalk demonstration project in the world, with a peak capacity of producing 400 watts of power for 450 LED lights inside non-slip solar panels for pedestrian walkways at its Virginia Science and Technology Campus.[1]
After Hurricane Irma devastated Florida’s electric grid in 2017, Tampa came up with the idea of installing solar sidewalks as a way of keeping the lights on during storm events. In 2020, the city initiated a pilot program, installing 84 solar sidewalk panels at a downtown intersection to generate electricity for municipal traffic control lights. The solar sidewalk demonstration project in Tampa generated 75% of the energy needed to power traffic lights at that one intersection. The city plans to expand the program to build more solar sidewalks.[2]
Our goal by having an annual SoBro Music Festival is to raise money for renewable energy, for projects like the repair of broken sidewalks in Louisville’s SoBro District.
The year after Mayor Abramson released its plan for making SoBro Greener, in 2008, architect Branden Klayko began an on-line publication called Broken Sidewalks that envisioned urban planning for areas like SoBro to reduce our carbon footprint. The Metro government adopted Klayko’s call for building a system of bike lanes, installing bikeways along Breckinridge and Kentucky Streets, cutting through the heart of the SoBro neighborhood.
While other neighborhoods like NuLu transformed into a vibrant area of the city, with the construction of energy efficient buildings, the urban plan adopted by the Metro Council and the one Klayko envisioned for reducing the use of fossil fuels never fully materialized in SoBro.
Our vision is to make SoBro greener by raising money for solar and wind driven turbines that can power a network of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations within our neighborhood.
[1] The Future of Green: Solar Sidewalks, Green Cities, Oct. 25, 2013, www.earthday.org.
[2] Sue Carlton, “Hurricanes knock out traffic lights. Could a Tampa solar sidewalk change that.?” Tampa Bay Times, Nov. 18, 2022.