Solar Energy System to be donated to CAPE in honor of Ms. Alice Weathers
Updated: Sep 26, 2023
As part of our Certified B Corporate mission, Morton Solar is committing to a yearly donation of a 3KW solar energy system to the Community Action Program of Evansville in honor of the late Alice A. Weathers, former Executive Director of CAPE for 36 years. The solar energy systems will be installed on housing units that benefit low and medium income customers. Morton Solar has a long history working with CAPE and wants to continue to help make solar accessible to all.
Ms. Weathers was passionate about solar energy before it arrived in SW Indiana and searched for ways to enable solar energy to reach the low-income levels of our population. She knew it could help these individuals at a greater level due to the lower-income families having to pay the high electric rates here. And, she was right. After applying for and winning several grants to fund solar projects on low-income housing, Ms. Weathers worked with Morton Solar to install approximately 15 solar projects throughout Vanderburgh and Gibson Counties over a 15-year period. These were some of the earliest solar projects in the area and were installed at a time when there was much public skepticism about the use of solar energy. However, the projects were successful and many of the recipients' electric bills were drastically reduced, even though the systems that were installed were moderately sized at 2-3KW each.
Last year, Morton Solar was finally able to give back by donating two solar energy systems to CAPE-owned homes on Mulberry Street in Evansville, Indiana. You can view the news article about the donation here: https://www.14news.com/2020/07/15/morton-solar-donates-solar-energy-systems-cape-homes/
Ms. Weathers was instrumental in helping thousands of low-income families pay their electric bills over her 36-year career with the Community Action Program of Evansville. She was passionate about helping those who needed help the most and recognized the plight of those who struggled to pay their electric bills. Through her direction over the years, CAPE offered many services to those in need which included energy efficiency, weatherization services, housing, and childcare. The weatherization and energy efficiency services included finding grants and funding mechanisms to permit weatherization services such as LED Lighting, insulation of homes, windows, doors, and other specific home improvements that were determined to be needed as a result of an energy audit of the individual home.
And, through its weatherization program, Brad Morton met Talmon Haywood, who was CAPE's weatherization manager for several years. Talmon later became an employee of Morton Solar and went on to become the foreman on several history-making projects such as the Lincoln Heritage Public Library - Chrisney Branch which was the 1st Net-Zero Library in the United States and the Richardsville Elementary School Project which was the 1st Net-Zero Elementary School in the United States.
Here is an article about Talmon as Weatherization Manager for CAPE:
Today, Talmon is the Safety & Production Manager for Morton Solar and oversees most installations for residential and commercial solar projects. He is also responsible for keeping our crews safe while on rooftops installing solar systems.
Here is Talmon Haywood installing solar panels in 2010 on the solar parking canopy for Richardsville Elementary School near Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Morton Solar also has ties to CAPE through Board of Advisor member Jack Buttrum. Jack was the former President of Swanson Nunn Electric Company and served on the CAPE Board of Directors when Ms. Weathers was hired 36 years ago. Jack is very familiar with the mission of CAPE and helped the program with making decisions and guiding the organization to success while serving on the board.
CAPE solar project for a home on Evansville's westside installed in 2011. The system has lowered the electric bill significantly for the homeowner over a 12-year period.
Community Action Program of Evansville has helped thousands of low-income residents through difficult financial circumstances over the years, some of which could have been life-threatening if their electric services were turned off during the winter. Fighting on behalf of their customers is just one of the services that CAPE has provided over the these. We want to help CAPE extend all of the benefits of self-generated renewable energy to those that need it and can benefit from it the most.
Brad Morton
President