A 1.2 MW photo voltaic vitality undertaking throughout 40 New York Metropolis Housing Authority rooftops has been named because the nationwide winner of a U.S. Division of Vitality program to make solar energy inexpensive to renters in public housing.
The undertaking was developed by Photo voltaic One in collaboration with WE ACT for Environmental Justice, the Brooklyn Motion Heart and Con Edison. It was one in all 10 finalists within the DOE’s Sunny Awards for Equitable Group Photo voltaic, introduced on Jan. 25 on the Nationwide Group Photo voltaic Partnership (NCSP) Annual Summit in San Diego.
This yr’s summit theme, “Group Photo voltaic’s Time to Shine,” displays how current renewable vitality improvements and the Inflation Discount Act (IRA) passage have unlocked new potential for group photo voltaic in the USA.
The New York Metropolis undertaking, accomplished in 2021, was developed at three New York Metropolis Housing Authority developments — the George Washington Carver Homes in Spanish Harlem; Kingsborough Homes in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; and Glenwood Homes within the Flatlands part of Brooklyn. The initiative delivers direct vitality financial savings to 500 low-to-moderate revenue (LMI) households by way of a 20% low cost on photo voltaic credit, saving every individual about $120 per yr.
Group photo voltaic, which permits a number of prospects to learn from a shared photo voltaic vitality system, gives an answer for people who can’t get rooftop photo voltaic panels. The DOE’s nationwide group photo voltaic goal is to offer financial savings and energy for five million properties by 2023.
“Group photo voltaic is efficacious for low-income households as a result of they spend a disproportionate quantity of their family revenue on vitality prices,” stated Noah Ginsburg, director of Photo voltaic One’s Right here Comes Photo voltaic program that ensures low-income New Yorkers have entry to and profit from solar energy.
Gretchen Bradley, Photo voltaic One’s senior group photo voltaic program supervisor, additionally attended the convention and shared the group’s success story throughout a discussion board on equity-focused group photo voltaic initiatives and their advantages to subscribers and communities. On the assembly, the U.S. Division of Vitality introduced the creation of the Group Energy Accelerator, an initiative to foster new community-driven photo voltaic undertaking growth all through the nation with grant funding and assist from technical help suppliers, together with Photo voltaic One.
Solar One is an environmental nonprofit working to develop entry to wash vitality within the New York CIty area.
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