3 Girls, 2 Solar Panels, 1 Minute

In between important calls on the crimson Batphone, I finally caught up to Chris Fastner regarding VISTA impact. Turns out, as expected, that our poster child for poverty reduction is the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) in Pine River.

Since 2000, RREAL has battled fuel-poverty with the power of the sun. With four Initiative Foundation VISTAs rolling up their sleeves, RREAL designed its own residential solar heating system and installed it in more than 60 low-income homes at little or no charge.

Its goal is to complete 100 more installations in 2009.

The solar panels serve as a simple sidekick to a home heating system and reduce a family's heating bills by up to 25 percent, often eliminating their need for public fuel assistance. And it's all done with clean, renewable energy.

Their current VISTA is the talented Tina Schilawski, who put together this cool video of a solar installation. She's the one in the gray stocking cap. Yo.



RREAL was also the Initiative Foundation's 2009 Outstanding Green Venture. Here's the award video shown at our big event in April, which cast a light on one family's struggle surviving a Minnesota winter.