Established in 1998 by the founder of the Real Goods Trading Company, John Schaeffer, the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, CA, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit solar training organization that promotes sustainable living through inspirational environmental education.

The Institute manages the Solar Living Center, a 12-acre renewable energy and sustainable living demonstration site that is visited by 200,000 people annually.

To learn more about visiting the Solar Living Center for a tour, click here.

This program became part of the Solar Living Institute in 1998 when our organization was founded. Our workshop program was an outgrowth of solar training workshops first offered by Real Goods in 1991 under the name of the Institute for Independent Living. Energy efficiency, solar photovoltaics, wind and hydro systems, passive solar design, water development, gardening and composting were introduced in these early intensive lecture and hands-on workshops. Classes took place on a nearby homestead where students lived, ate and learned together, creating close and lasting bonds among participants. Tours of local energy-independent homes added interest and first-hand knowledge to the class experience.

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The organic farm was started in May 2003 to create a model for public education by showing a synergistic and pragmatic integration of food, water, landscape, and shelter in ways that are energy efficient and enhance the surrounding environment to create a regenerative and sustainable system.

The farm currently includes 4,400 square feet on the north end of the property adjacent to Feliz Creek. Manure is provided free by the Anderson Valley Brewery and seeds are donated by Synergy Seeds. The farm is irrigated by a solar pump that moves water from a pond to the farm on the facility. Produce is sold seasonally at a farm stand on site. Produce and sales from the produce help feed interns.

In addition to the farm, an organic "kitchen garden" located near the greenhouse on site, as well as our many food-producing trees and shrubs help feed our interns.

The Institute is home to Solar 2000, one of northern California's largest solar arrays providing 160,000 kWh of clean renewable energy annually. Solar 2000 was conceived, designed and built in eight weeks and was a joint project of Real Goods, GPU Solar, Green Mountain Energy, and the Solar Living Institute. It is now owned by the Solar Living Institute generating monthly revenue for our organization.

The array cost $750,000 to build and received $430,000 in California energy rebates. It is made from 1,200 individual 110-watt solar electric modules with a total of 43,000 single crystal silicon cells. This clean-energy array displaces 1,600 tons each year of carbon dioxide emissions and generates 132kW, or 160,000kWh per year, of clean renewable energy. It sits on one-third of an acre, creates no pollution, is nearly maintenance free and has a lifespan of over 50 years.

Solar 2000 is one of many solar and renewable energy displays at the Solar Living Center. Come and visit us to learn more.

In 1996, the first SolFest marked the grand opening of the Solar Living Center in Hopland, California. SolFest became part of the Solar Living Institute in 1998 when our organization was founded. SolFest is the premier renewable energy event in the western United States. The primary goal of SolFest is to enhance the mission of the Solar Living Institute, by inspiring people to take action on their environmental concerns. Since the first SolFest in 1996, over 80,000 people have participated.

The next SolFest is tentatively scheduled for late summer 2012.  Please check this website for updates.

To learn more about SolFest, click here.