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During this season we would like to take a moment to be thankful for everything that we have. Whether it’s good health, time with family and friends or just being able to watch the sun set, we are reminded to take some time to be grateful.

Here are a few things that we are thankful for:

“I’m thankful for my health, a roof over my head, food to eat and friends and family that I can always count on.” Deb B.

“I’m thankful for a beautiful, happy and healthy family, good friends and a great place to work! I’m also thankful for the sacrifice of others, past and present, that gives us the freedom to do the things we often take for granted.” Keith R.

“I’m thankful for my health, family and the WSW winter swells.” Neil S.

“I’m an thankful for working at groSolar.” Steven M.

“I am thankful for:
Three children who are loving, healthy, and environmentally aware young adults.
Right livelihood that allows me to express my values and have an impact through my daily work.
Living in a place with clean water, fresh air and bears, coyotes and mountain lions as neighbors. ” Jeff H.

“I’m thankful that I have 3 healthy children. A year ago today, my then 12 year old son suffered a grand mal seizure. We rushed him to the emergency room. Initially he was diagnosed with juvenile epilepsy. Over the next week he endured test after test and eventually it was determined that he had a brain tumor. He underwent brain surgery on December 11, 2009. It was uncertain if he would have any way to communicate with the world after the procedure. Thankfully the tumor was completely removed and he suffered no detriments from the procedure. He undergoes MRIs once a year as the tumor has the potential for regrowth, but a year out the MRIs have been clean. In the blink of an eye we learned the greatest lesson in life; it isn’t about what we own, it isn’t about what we do, it is all about the one’s we love and cherishing every day, every moment with those special people in out lives.” Deb R. B.

“I am thankful every day that my three sons are safe and healthy – that they have the conviction and courage to serve their country in the Marine Corps.
I am thankful for all the love in my life, just got married last month!!
I am thankful that my first grandchild is on the way, due in January.
I am thankful to live in Vermont in a house we just finished building, so I am also thankful that it’s finally done!” Joann F.

“I am thankful for the amazing place I live and the sanity that endures in rural Vermont.” Therese L.

“I’m thankful that it’s becoming clear to more and more people that the ‘endless growth’ economic paradigm is not sustainable and that we need a completely new business-model of steady-state re-localization for sustainability in the 21st century. I’m thankful that I am no longer afraid of the economic collapse that is continuing across the US economy. Moreover, I welcome this collapse, as this is the wake-up call our society needs.” Gaelan B.

“I am thankful for all my wonderful family and friends and to be able to work for a company that shares the same morals and work ethics that I hold true. Plus I like my co-workers! I am thankful that more awareness is being brought to some key environmental issues currently facing our earth (energy, transportation, clean water)! But the thing I am most thankful for is our families’ health and to be able to be together for the holidays.” Danielle H-D.

“I am thankful for coffee, energy drinks, the Red Sox, of course my wonderful family and friends… oh AND for the opportunity to be a part of a company making a positive impact on the world, I don’t think there are a lot of people who can say that about their jobs…” Dawn P.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust” Thanks to Emily F.

So tell us, what are you thankful for – Click the Comments link above to leave your responses.

Happy Holidays from groSolar!  Earn big $$ by encouraging friends and loved ones to install solar power.

We’ll give you $1,000 for every new customer you refer to us before January 31st, 2011.

Visit groSolarConnectors.com

1. Register as a groSolar Connector

2. Tell your friends about solar

3. ‘Refer a Friend’ for a FREE home solar evaluation

If they make the switch by the end of 2011, we’ll send you $1,000, PLUS they’ll get $250 off their installation.

Remember, the sun still shines in the winter.

Happy Holidays from,

Here is Chester the Dog helping us with a recent installation:

groSolar CEO, Jeff Wolfe, will be speaking at two panels during Greenbuild, November 17-19 in Chicago, IL.  Details are:

• Wednesday, November 17 12-2pm: Certainteed PV Discussion Panel – The Future of Solar Energy – groSolar CEO, Jeff Wolfe, is a panelist during this session
• Wednesday, November 17 2-4pm: The Green Debate: Tackling Green Building Issues – groSolar CEO, Jeff Wolfe, is a panelist during this session.

Here at groSolar, we like to have a little fun…

Did you know that if you live in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Massachusetts you can go solar for a very low down payment (a couple of thousand dollars) and a fixed low monthly payment for your solar electricity? Often times your monthly solar payment is less than what you have been paying your utility company, plus the rate you pay for solar electricity won’t change even as utility rates increase. Sound good, huh? Find out more about SunRun solar financing in your state:

California

New York

Pennsylvania

Massachusetts

Don’t live in one of the states listed above? Don’t worry, strong local, state and federal incentives and low module pricing make solar affordable and within reach for most homeowners. Find specifics for your state on our Solar by State map.

It’s that time of year in New England – beautiful fall foliage, frosty mornings, vistas that take ones breath away. It’s also the time to put the gardens to bed and hope that we have enough food stored to last us through the winter. Who am I kidding? I, unfortunately, am not that good of a farmer. We’d surely starve if we had to live off my garden. Luckily, we can rely on local farmers to keep my family fed through the winter.
But there is one type of farming our family has excelled at – growing electrical energy at our home. Speaking as someone who works full time, this type of farming can’t be beat. I don’t need to put it away for the winter, I don’t need to mulch it, I don’t need to build a barn to shelter it from the winter winds. With the generation of solar electricity, you plant once and enjoy the harvest day after day, year after year. There is nothing we have found quite as satisfying as watching the electric meter spin backwards. We have managed, over the years, to conserve enough and “plant” enough to generate all the electricity we use each year.
We even grow some forms of heating energy too, the passive solar and solar hot water panel forms of heating. We have yet to fell and split our own fire wood – we get help from our neighbor with that. We stick to and recommend highly the no maintenance energy garden. It is an investment in the next quarter century of energy, with a great return on the investment both from price stability and environmental perspective. I sleep better at night knowing I am doing what I can to leave this planet a little greener for the next generations. 

As I wrote in the children’s song “What’s a Watt?”:
What’s a Watt? It’s what I’ve got, growing in the open air.
Out on a pole, or on the roof, raising them without a care.
They’re incredible, hardly edible; Watt’s don’t do any harm.
What’s a Watt? It’s what I’ve got, growing out on the farm.

We started out small, just a panel that’s all, added some more when we could.
They don’t need watering, no messy stalls. They don’t need any food at all.
What do you need to raise a Watt? Sunshine certainly helps.
They don’t pollute the environment. Energy that heaven sent….

What can you do with a bunch of these Watts? You might be curious to know.
Light up the night, keep computers bright, they can actually run the whole show.
We watch our Watts and how we use them. Conserving certainly helps.
No matter where you live or work, you can be an energy farmer too…

So if you care about keeping the New England landscape pristine and the maple trees beautiful, take action, small or large, but do something to reduce your use of fossil fuels. Become a farmer of energy. Whether you start with simple conservation measures – buying food locally, making a home-cooked meal using minimal packaging, weatherizing your home or whether you take the plunge into a renewable energy system or an electric vehicle, positive actions heal in more ways than one.
Now a word of warning – farming energy, while clean, quiet and non-polluting, is addicting. I confess – I am happily addicted to growing my own energy and then using as little of it as I can. There are a lot of addictive habits out there to lure us and ensnare us. Getting hooked on energy conservation and renewable energy production is the best. I encourage one and all to joining the quickly growing ranks of energy farmers. You won’t regret it.

Dori Wolfe
Co-Founder and Treasurer, groSolar
Strafford, VT Resident