In the immortal words of the TV sitcom, "It's always sunny in Philadelphia."

With a big flat roof on its new supermarket in Germantown, the Weavers Way grocery co-op was inspired to take advantage of all that sun to meet its sizeable energy needs. After all, the rays of the sun are free.

But, it turns out, harnessing "free" energy isn't simple; and it's definitely not free. Engineering and constructing an array of solar panels large enough to meet even a good fraction of the store's needs, the co-op learned, could cost as much as $150,000. That was on top of the considerable cost of refitting the former ACME store at 328 W. Chelten Ave. Would it be worth it to absorb the extra expense?

The answer came from an innovative partnership with another co-op. The Clean Energy Co-op – which originated in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 2015 – recently created a new chapter in southeast Pennsylvania dedicated to bringing renewable energy to the Philadelphia area. Weavers Way became the chapter's first customer.

"We were actively looking for new members and new projects," Chapter Chair Joy Baxter, told the Local, "especially non-profits or community facilities."

"There are plenty of companies that will install solar panels on a private home," she explained, "but there's a lot more work and not as much profit in commercial installations."

She and her team outlined a plan for Weavers Way that could provide about 67 Kilowatts of solar power – about a third of the store's needs – without the co-op having to pay for the necessary equipment. The clean energy group's unique model involves selling shares in each project to buyers who become co-op members. The panels belong to those members and they recoup their investment by selling kilowatts to the host corporation. The best part for Weavers Way is that the price of each kilowatt is fixed for 25 years.

Leaders at both co-ops said it is particularly gratifying to be working together.

Facilities Manager Steve Hebden, speaking on a recent “Planet Philadelphia” show on Germantown Radio, noted that while anyone can shop at the grocery chain, it is owned by its members, each of whom has an equal voice in its running and policies. And it is thriving. What began in 1975 as a small corner grocery in Mt. Airy "where the checkout counter was a stack of milk crates," he said, is now a four-store operation, including stores in Chestnut Hill, Ambler and now Germantown in addition to the original storefront.

Baxter emphasized that she sees the goal of the co-op movement as "people over profits" and "management by consensus."

The Clean Energy Co-op grew from a northeast Pennsylvania nonprofit initiative called SEEDS, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable living. One way they work to achieve their goals is to train solar installers. But they had to figure out how to fund their programs.

"We were looking for a way to pool our funds for municipalities and to get Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval. The cooperative approach offered a model where you don't have to be an accredited investor to be able to pool," said Baxter.

"The opportunity to invest is project specific, but investors invest in the co-op, not the project. You must be a Pennsylvania resident to buy preferred shares," she added. "The target dividend rate is two percent, it's socially conscious investing. The payback amount for commercial solar is very slow."

There's no limit on how much somebody can invest, but if oversubscribed, some money is given back so others can join. The Weavers Way project was very quickly fully subscribed.

The Southeastern Chapter is focused on the five-county region including Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties, but the Weavers Way project is the first they've been able to bring to fruition.

Weavers Way General Manager John Roesser told the Local that the Germantown installation is ready to go, and just needs final approval from the organizations that financed the building. 

And it may not be the last location he considers for solar.

The Ambler store –  a free standing building with plenty of unshaded roof space – may also be an ideal candidate. There, however, the ownership situation is more complicated. As in Germantown, the co-op took over its space from another grocer, but instead of purchasing the building, it became a sub-tenant of the Aldi corporation. As a tenant of a tenant, Weavers Way is unable to offer the long-term assurances the Clean Energy Co-op needs to be able to sell preferred shares.

The arrangement with Aldi will run for nine more years and Roesser said he hopes he can then revisit the chance to go solar.

"We absolutely will save money," he said. "And it's better from a marketing and communications point to have an array on your roof. It's a pretty mission driven thing."