Solar and EV and Bears, Oh My!

How a Non-Profit’s projects with Business Partners provide environmental and other public benefits with a Madison Avenue impact.

Bob Harris is president and one of three founders of Black Bear Solar Institute, a unique non-profit based right outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee.  Black Bear Solar Institute concentrates on education through demonstration to teach visitors and residents of the area lessons in ecology, sustainable living, environmental stewardship, and successful coexistence with our wildlife neighbors.  Using technology to teach ecology, Black Bear Solar Institute strives to show in tangible ways what is possible for people to achieve right now using today’s technologies and practices.

With a background in renewable energy, electric transportation, manufacturing automation, and wildlife rehabilitation facility operation, Bob combines this experience with another of the founder’s 22 years in wildlife rehab to plan construction of a sustainability showcase for Park visitors, centered around a solar-powered wildlife center to care for orphaned or injured animals, from bears to bunnies.  Black Bear Solar Institute operates an Educational Center in Townsend, Tennessee, and additionally owns and operates around 8% of the public EV charging stations in Tennessee, including all of those installed in the Tennessee State Parks.  You can find more information about projects and programs at www.BlackBearSolarInstitute.org and www.Facebook.com/BlackBearSolarInstitute