NORTHAMPTON — A new initiative at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity is inviting community members to transform their excess solar energy into vibrant cultural experiences.
“Sunshine into Art,” a new solar credit donation program, was launched by the nonprofit in July to redirect energy costs toward programming. The initiative was inspired by resident John Silletto, who donated 100% of his surplus solar credits to the venue.
Currently, Bombyx spends over $13,000 annually on electricity, a figure that is anticipated to rise naturally and as the organization expands its schedule. Through crowdsourcing solar credits, the nonprofit aims to eliminate these utility costs and redirect 100% of those funds toward artists’ residencies and community events.
“We want to turn ‘overhead’ into ‘opportunity,’” said Bombyx Executive Director Cassandra Holden. “Every dollar we don’t spend on the electric bill is a dollar that goes directly to supporting multidisciplinary artists locally, regionally and globally.”
Holden told Reminder Publishing that since taking the historic building over in 2021, the organization has prioritized investments into the building’s HVAC system, and its insulation and energy efficiency to help prime it for its future uses.
“It was not a good situation, so from the very beginning, we’ve been doing a variety of energy upgrades, really working to make the building’s air quality better and the efficiency of everything better, really trying to make the building more sustainable so it can last for another 150 years,” Holden said. “As we’re doing more programming and expanding our concerts, our films, our classes, our workshops, all these different things, we’re only using the building more, so our energy demands continue to increase as the prices for energy also increase. And it’s really important to me, to the board, and to the artists who work in our space, that we’re not burning up our planet in order to make art. Artists care about the environment and care about the community, and one way that we can really demonstrate that is to move toward energy dependence.”
With that in mind, Bombyx is asking community members who have already installed solar on their homes and who are generating more energy than they use to consider donating their credits to the nonprofit.
Funds reclaimed from energy bills will directly support artist residencies, performances, and other community projects taking place inside the building. The program is currently open to National Grid customers, and the process is designed to be seamless for donors.
Those with solar interested in signing up to donate can request a Schedule Z form by emailing Holden at cassandra@bombyx.live. Through the form, donors can transfer credits and designate Bombyx as the recipient of the excess credits. Donors who provide a copy of their monthly bill showing the transferred amount will receive a formal tax acknowledgement for their records, which adds a tax benefit to those looking to get involved.
So far, two people have signed up for the initiative, and those donations are already helping to cover about 20% of the building’s annual energy bill, according to Holden.
“If we had a handful more people do that, let’s say we get five or six more people to do that, we could pretty well wipe out our electric bill, which would be outstanding,” said Holden. “For us as an organization, the goal is really to get to the place where we are energy independent or close to it.”
She added, “What I would like to see in the future is imagining the worst-case scenario. We have another Hurricane Irene come through, and the power is out across town for a week, and you can come to Bombyx for a beautiful chef-prepared meal, you can get warmed or cooled depending on the season, you can charge your phone, and you can also come to a deeply moving performance in our sanctuary space. So we’re not just meeting basic human needs, we’re getting all the way to joy, and we get to do all of that all the time.”
Holden said that by participating in this new initiative, community members can ensure that the region’s renewable energy directly fuels the local arts community.
“It’s deeply meaningful for us. Our community includes artists, people who come to our programming [and] people who walk their dogs by every day. I believe this region really cares about the environment, and this program is one way for folks who care deeply to express that and to use what they’re already generating to benefit others around them,” Holden said. “It doesn’t cost anyone anything to donate their solar credits that they’re already generating. If you’re doing that, you’re already banking them, so this is an opportunity to give them away and create good in the region.”
For more information on the program, people can reach out to Bombyx at hello@bombyx.live.
