Solar Barn Raising

Wikipedia describes a barn raising as, “a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by members of the community. Barn raising was particularly common in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. A barn was a necessary structure for any farmer, for example for storage of cereals and hay and keeping of animals. Yet a barn was also a large and costly structure, the assembly of which required more labor than a typical family could provide. Barn raising addressed the need by enlisting members of the community, unpaid, to assist in the building of their neighbors’ barns. Because each member was entitled to recruit others for help, the favor would eventually return to each participant.”

By Sami99tr CC Attribution 2.0 License, from Wikimedia Commons

Although barn raising itself has faded in popularity since the start of the 20th century, another type of barn raising is gaining momentum. However, this one involves solar power rather than storage for farm animals and equipment. Solar Barn Raising involves a gathering of do-it-yourself types that move from property to property installing solar photovoltaic systems. Much like traditional barn raising, group members in solar barn raising help each other to install solar panels at each of the members’ properties.

Solar energy infrastructure continues to get cheaper to purchase. With the solar barn raising program, the overall affordability of going solar increases drastically.

However, there are not many solar barn raising groups in the Midwest. While a great idea in concept, it is tough to get a group started and keep it going. The toughest part is finding someone with the training and experience necessary. Solar power systems need to be property designed and installed to work safely and efficiently. This person also needs to have the drive to start and lead such a group.

The folks at SolarBarnRaising.org are an example of such a group that has had success. They provide some good tips through their website that may be helpful if you wish start your own group. But they do caution that it is not for the weak of heart.

Many small communities do not have immediate access to an electrical engineer. Especially one with a desire to provide a significant amount of time in such an intensive voluntary effort. So it may be more viable to apply for a local grant to pay for the systems. The homeowners involved in the solar barn raising would pay for the engineering and permitting costs, while still contributing labor at other sites.