Natasha and John Deane first visited Jackson County, Tennessee when they traveled from their home in Nashville up the Cumberland River on a long holiday weekend in the 90s. They quickly fell in love with the beautiful scenery and slower lifestyle in the community of Granville and built a weekend home there a few years later.
Eventually the Deanes relocated to Granville permanently after their children grew up and moved away. In an effort to revitalize the community, they decide to purchase Granville Marina and transform the old 1970s fishing camp into a boutique destination resort. A few years later they started their first solar project.
Becoming Energy Resilient
Natasha Deane, a former biologist, led the effort to qualify Wildwood as a designated Clean Marina, as access to fresh, clean water and sustainability is important to her. The Deanes knew solar was the right thing to do and would lead to energy resilience for their business. In the fall of 2020, LightWave installed a 17.52kW system on one of the cabins in the resort and soon after installed a 7.77kW system with two battery backups on their home.
Given that Jackson County, Tennessee, is only an hour’s drive east of Nashville International Airport, Wildwood’s new growth was inevitable and would only keep stretching out. But how long would that take? The Jackson County area was beautiful but lacked economic vitality and the Deanes wondered how else they could be stewards in the community for growth and sustainability. So they took matters into their own hands.
What came next was Miss Sallie’s Market. In the beautiful downtown square of Gainsboro, Tenn., the Deanes bought another property that includes Honest John’s Custard Shop and, next to it, Miss Sallie’s Market, a fresh food grocery and prepared foods market. That’s when they made the decision to have LightWave complete a third project for them, installing a 18.45kW system on the roof of Miss Sallie’s Market.
The Deanes enjoy using their monitoring apps to help track their energy usage for their home and businesses. Where they’ve found the most energy off-set is the solar system installed on Miss Sallie’s Market where they refrigerate and store multiple food products from local farms, makers, and suppliers and have a kitchen in the back where they make fresh take-home foods.
“The thing I love about solar is the learning process.”
– Natasha Deane
Advice To Others Looking To Go Solar
When asked what advice they’d give others looking to go solar, they said to be patient. The solar process takes time but is worth the reward. Along with that, utilize the government’s tax incentives and, if eligible, search for possible grants. The Deanes took advantage of the USDA REAP Grant which lowered the cost significantly on their solar projects at Miss Sallies and at Wildwood, thus making the return on investment even better.
Despite the cost, the Deanes feel going solar was the right thing to do. It not only speaks to their personal values but is part of the community culture built on resilience in the countryside of middle Tennessee. In addition, the solar battery system at their home helps them be less reliant on the grid in the event of a power outage.
When asked about working with Lightwave Solar, John said:
“We can tell the customer is very important to the LightWave team. We’ve enjoyed the great relationships and high level of trust. We know the follow through is going to be there.”
– John Deane
Go Visit!
If you’re ever traveling through middle Tennessee, stop by Miss Sallie’s Market for some fresh local produce and goods or take the rental boat out on the water and stay at Wildwood Resort & Marina!
