ASES National Solar Conference 2016: Solar Power for Rural America.

This paper describes the methods for reaching rural citizens of all ages to communicate information regarding solar power and sustainability. In the Ozarks, citizens are genuinely interested in solar power but may not trust the technology intially, perhaps they are cost conscious or perhaps they may not have direct access to reliable, detailed information on the subject. In many cases, these individuals still lack access to the Internet. Big solar providers tend to be located in major cities and it's often troublesome for rural families to travel regularly to these hubs. I explore techniques for reaching this demographic with greater ease. I draw from personal experience and have analyzed approaches from within the small town of Rolla, Missouri. More specifically, I have analyzed the role Missouri University of Science and Technology has played in getting complex topics like solar power to the general populace. Often, the target population are of a lower income tax bracket and big solar companies may discredit the rural population for that reason. Methods for reaching these individuals must be encouraged and well understood. The future is the sun, but we must not forget citizens in hard to reach areas. If one listens to the community, more often than not, they are willing to take the risk of a small array but require a different approach of spreading the word about solar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]