West side businesses in Salt Lake take a step toward clean energy [Video]

SALT LAKE CITY — A few businesses on Salt Lake City’s west side are going solar. They hope to encourage others to do the same.

Salt Lake Barber Company and Culture Coffee installed rooftop solar on Monday. They’re among the first of the west side’s small and medium-sized businesses to do so.

Utah Clean Energy‘s Brandy Smith said the businesses will serve as ambassadors for others who may be too intimidated to make the jump to solar.

“I think peer-to-peer learning really matters,” Smith said. “To … reach out to those business owners … It’s a fair thing to ask ‘How’s it working? How are you liking your solar? Who’d you go through?”

According to Smith, Salt Lake Barber Company and Culture Coffee have set an example for other businesses in underserved communities. Often, those businesses face challenges that prevent them from switching to clean energy. 

“In certain under-resourced communities, you’re not seeing solar adoption as …