ALNA — The Climate Action Committee of the Town of Alna announced an Alna Community Solar Day to celebrate the successful completion of the town’s solar transition project, learn more about how the new solar system works, and see demonstrations about the town’s proposed new Battery Lending Program.

All Alna residents are invited to drop by the Fire House on Saturday, June 21, from 1 to 4 p.m., to view the new solar system’s integrated components and learn about other ways clean energy resources are being used around the community. There will also be hands-on demonstrations of Alna’s new emergency backup portable power stations as well as information on how both the Alna Food Pantry and Community Garden benefit from solar power.

“The firehouse roof is the perfect location for our town’s new solar arrays," said Alna Fire Chief Mike Trask, in a Climate Action Committee, news release. "And because the station is already the best gathering place for Alna residents, we hope to see a good turn-out for Alna Community Solar Day.”

Alna’s full transition of all municipal buildings to solar power was completed on December 30 last year and is projected to eliminate 189,000 lb of carbon emissions annually, with a savings of $4,000 a year for the community. The solar panels and batteries were paid for by a Community Action Grant awarded to Alna by the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) through its Community Resilience Partnership program. The Battery Lending Program portion of the grant includes 5 portable, fire-safe, non- toxic, high-capacity batteries that can be used indoors during emergency situations to power personal devices, appliances and emergency equipment.

“Alna’s 2024 solar conversion grant proposal was extremely competitive, receiving the highest overall score of any town in the state, something we all are very proud of,” said CAC member Scott Budde.

Alna Pantry volunteer and CAC member Sherry Lyons added, “This is a great step forward for Alna and we’re excited to set aside some time to celebrate our achievement,” commenting further, “Alna residents should stop by!”