Solar keeps rolling out in Wisc., thanks to innovative program

The Denver-based Triple Bottom Line Foundation funds projects to retrofit low-income, multi-family properties that house underserved groups. The projects include energy-efficiency upgrades, solar power installations, and weatherization upgrades among others.

In western Illinois, ComEd's flexible interconnection program uses collaborative workshops and data-sharing agreements to allow community solar projects to connect to the grid without costly upgrades.

The Connecticut Green Bank's Solar MAP+ program acts as a "public developer" that bundles, finances, and directly develops solar projects for schools and municipalities that private developers avoid. To date, they've installed nearly 54 megawatts of solar, programmed to save $57 million in energy costs.

The Perinjanam Solar Initiative successfully combined government subsidies, cooperative bank financing, and a community-governed consumer committee to bring rooftop solar to over 1,000 households. Altogether, this cut monthly electricity bills by up to 80% and reduced carbon emissions by 192,000 kilograms, however such initiatives have failed elsewhere in Kerala due to the absence of government mandates, standardized financing frameworks, and the political will needed to scale the model statewide.

The nonprofit Solstar provides free solar panels to lower-income homeowners in Minneapolis by encouraging wealthy individuals to invest in its solar panel installations and cover the costs. The investors earn a modest return on their investment from Solstar and can take advantage of tax credits, while the homeowners see a drop in their electricity bills.

Churches in Appalachia are installing solar arrays and encouraging their communities to make energy-efficient upgrades and renewable-energy swaps, too. The Shepherdstown Presbyterian Church in West Virginia purchased its array with donations that community members raised from the money they saved on energy after installing free smart-control devices in their homes that reduced energy use during peak hours.

More than twenty partners in Quebec (including public and private investors, philanthropic foundations, and labor funds) have joined forces to develop a suite of loan programs designed to help social-purpose organizations beat rent inflation and increase their ability to provide community services. The initiative helps qualifying organizations make real estate purchases quickly, rather than risk losing their existing spaces to other buyers while trying to arrange financing. To date, more than 30 social-purpose entities have already received financial assistance and the program is attempting to expand.

In Lithuania, building owners looking to retrofit to improve energy use, reduce heating costs, and lower carbon emissions, can make use of a lending approach that pairs grants and loans. The grants are intended to offset the expense of the loan and can act as a first-loss guarantee for investors.

A 9.1-megawatt community solar farm built on a contaminated Superfund site in Waukegan, Illinois, is now providing guaranteed energy bill savings to about 1,000 low-income households. The project successfully transformed polluted land into a productive asset that also generates lease payments for the local school district.

Native Renewables, a Native- and women-led nonprofit, is bringing free, off-grid solar energy systems to homes in the Navajo and Hopi reservations that don’t have access to power. And it’s doing so by training local Indigenous peoples to work in the industry so they can reap the economic benefits of these careers instead of hiring out the work.