St. Louis based Microgrid Solar announces efforts to educate and support the public through multiple solar initiatives. Beginning with a partnership with Clayton, Missouri last year and then the city of Creve Coeur this year, Microgrid Solar, alongside Ameren Missouri's Pure Power program, helped the two St. Louis suburbs to become the first and second EPA-certified "Green Power Communities" in Missouri by completing the Green Power Challenge (GPC).

Microgrid and Ameren Missouri are now partnering with the city of Webster Groves and are in the initial stages of the GPC, switching a percentage of the city's overall power use to green sources.

To help the public make sense of recent changes and new techniques in solar energy, Microgrid Solar has created a free educational program called SolarU. SolarU is a series of informational classes that can be tailored toward individuals, businesses, community groups or municipalities, and can be held on-site at an organization or business, as well as at the company's St. Louis County technology showroom.

Ben Good, General Manager-Residential at Microgrid said, "People are really curious and interested in this critical new option for generating their own electricity. We find that homeowners and business owners really appreciate hearing the facts straight from a solar expert, and many of our classes are oversubscribed."

In another company initiative, Microgrid Solar has just completed the final touches on their Solar Express, a truck outfitted with solar collectors that can be used to assist the public in off-grid conditions.

The vehicle gathers energy from the sun, converts it into electricity, stores it, then makes it available (as a free community resource) to people who need electricity where power is unavailable.

Mr. Good went on to say, "We use our Solar Express vehicle during emergency situations, such as power outages after storms, as well as at outdoor community events where no other power source is available." The vehicle has docking stations where numerous people at a time can safely charge their cell phones.