User:Bcarmona

Solar Ypsi is an organization founded by Dave Strenski, installing solar panels within Ypsilanti, MI.These installations are supported by state funded grants intended to reduce reliance on electricity created by out of state fuel sources. Solar Ypsi advocates for the use of clean and renewable methods of energy production in Ypsilanti and the state of Michigan. .

History
Solar Ypsi was started in 2005, when longtime friend of Dave Strenski and general manager of Ypsilanti Food Co-op, Corinne Sikorski, found what she thought was a grant for the installation of solar panels. After researching and finding out that it was not in fact a grant, Dave Strenski proceeded to find an actual grant with which he bought the first of the solar panels Solar Ypsi installed. The first installation was at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op. Jason Bing helped Strenski continue his projects by supplying him with another grant which aided in the furthering of the project at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, as well as providing some funding for giving presentations about Solar Technology. Soon after, Strenski began planning the next project, the installation of solar panels at Ypsilanti City Hall. It was also around this time that Strenski developed a way to monitor the productivity of the solar installations. With the help of Eastern Michigan University student Nick Estep, Strenski was able to start posting the data collected online at SolarYpsi.org.

Projects

 * Project 1 is at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op, the system went through two expansions and now produces 2.3 kilowatts.
 * Project 2 is at Ypsilanti City hall, 12 panels were installed in 2009. The system produces 2.5 kilowatts, 2.5% of the buildings power.
 * Project 3 is at an ATAA bus stop, the installation included only one solar panel.
 * Project 4 is at the River Street Bakery; the installation included 30 solar panels and made the bakery 100% solar powered.
 * Project 5 is at the Adams S.T.E.M. Academy. This installation consists of 10 solar panels, it creates 2.25 kilowatts.
 * Project 6 is an installation at 403 Huron Street rental house, the installation provides some power to three apartments within the house.

Nation-Wide Attention
A TV commercial created by Google called "Dave Strenski: New Energy for Detroit" features Dave Strenski, the founder of Solar Ypsi, talking about the impact of solar projects on Ypsilanti. The commercial has been played nationally as part of Google's "Search Stories".

Solar Ypsi also became a part of the National Solar Tour, a nation wide even in support of Solar Technology. The tour has over 160,000 participants in 3,200 communities. In Ypsilanti, Solar Ypsi organized a presentation and tours of the solar panel systems.