DC Green Bank Commits $7.5M to Residential Solar Projects
By Keith Loria May 20, 2022 4:05 pm
reprints
During Infrastructure Week in Washington, D.C., this week, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that DC Green Bank, a publicly funded bank, has committed $7.5 million to community and residential solar projects across the city.
As part of its new commitments, a $7 million loan was provided to PosiGen, which will provide solar energy at no cost to low- and moderate-income (LMI) residents. The loan will unlock funding for the construction of up to 3,000 kilowatts of solar capacity on approximately 320 homes across the District in Wards 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8.
A second $530,000 loan was provided to Uprise Electric to deliver community solar serving 15 residential projects under Solar for All, a program of D.C.’s Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE).
“Partnering with PosiGen, a nationally recognized expert in solar and efficiency finance for low- and moderate-income homeowners, allows us to leverage their experience and scale to support our local solar developers,” Eli Hopson, CEO of DC Green Bank, told Commercial Observer. “By providing financing to Uprise Electric, we are able to invest directly into a local solar developer that is seeking to expand their solar footprint in the district and bring clean and renewable energy to LMI residents and communities.”
Under the deal, more than a dozen LMI families are expected to see their electricity bills cut by half. It will create up to 13 clean economy jobs, generate more than 90 megawatts of renewable energy, and avoid approximately 64 tons of CO2 equivalent annually.
Since its launch in 2018, DC Green Bank has pledged more than $12 million to community and residential solar projects for the District’s low- and moderate-income residents.
Mayor Bowser introduced legislation establishing the DC Green Bank in 2018, a policy tool that utilized public-purpose funding to attract private investment to expand renewable energy, lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs and enhance resilience.
“We were proud to make D.C. one of the first cities in the nation to launch a Green Bank, and these projects which are helping us build a more sustainable and equitable D.C.,” Bowser said in a prepared statement. “By bringing together DC Green Bank and DOEE’s Solar for All program, we’re lowering electric bills, reducing pollution, and creating jobs for D.C. residents.”
Additionally, the installations are expected to create hundreds of clean economy jobs in the construction phase and generate more than 3,600 MWh of renewable energy annually, while also eliminating more than 2,500 tons of CO2 emissions.
Update: This story originally misattributed source material. This has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
