Oct. 1, 2014 – The University of Utah is extending the deadline for its community solar program to Oct. 24, 2014. The program offers U community members, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and campus guests, the opportunity to purchase discounted rooftop solar panels and installation for their homes.

In addition to those in Salt Lake, Summit and Davis counties, the program has been extended to the first 150 U community members in Morgan, Wasatch, Tooele and Utah counties.

To get started, homeowners should take the solar survey, a no-commitment questionnaire that takes 5-10 minutes to complete and asks questions about your home and electricity usage. Upon completion, an installer will be in touch to discuss your goals and budget in more detail.

“We are extending the deadline to respond to the high volume of interest we’ve received,” said Stephanie Dolmat-Connell, sustainability manager for U Facilities. “We’ve already surpassed the combined kilowatt-hours installed by both previous community solar programs in Utah, and we’re on track to becoming the largest campaign of this kind in the country.”

Since the program launched on Earth Day this year, more than 170 households have signed contracts to install solar panels totaling more than 800 kilowatts of energy. Over the lifetime of the panels, that’s equivalent to taking more than 4,000 cars off the road for a year.