SALT LAKE CITY — A few businesses on Salt Lake City’s west side are going solar. They hope to encourage others to do the same.
Salt Lake Barber Company and Culture Coffee installed rooftop solar on Monday. They’re among the first of the west side’s small and medium-sized businesses to do so.
Utah Clean Energy‘s Brandy Smith said the businesses will serve as ambassadors for others who may be too intimidated to make the jump to solar.
“I think peer-to-peer learning really matters,” Smith said. “To … reach out to those business owners … It’s a fair thing to ask ‘How’s it working? How are you liking your solar? Who’d you go through?”
According to Smith, Salt Lake Barber Company and Culture Coffee have set an example for other businesses in underserved communities. Often, those businesses face challenges that prevent them from switching to clean energy.
“In certain under-resourced communities, you’re not seeing solar adoption as prevalent as you would in other communities,” she said.
Additionally, Smith said that many people struggle with barriers to installing solar. They include upfront costs, trust, or just not understanding how to go about getting this fairly new technology.
“Financial barriers, trust barriers (and) … technical hurtles,” Smith said.
This is one step Salt Lake City’s west side businesses are taking to make clean energy more accessible.
Heather Peterson is a reporter and producer for KSL NewsRadio. She also produces Utah’s Noon News.
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