PowerMarket partnered with Solar One to provide Con Edison customers guaranteed savings on their electric bills by developing a new community solar project on a mixed income, multi-family building near Coney Island – Nostrand Community Solar. Solar One is a nonprofit whose mission is to design and deliver innovative education, training and technical assistance to make solar more accessible to New York City residents.
Multi-family solar model
Nostrand Community Solar is a model that other multi-family buildings across the city can adopt.
The building owner is offsetting the common area electricity bill, and offering discounted solar credits to building residents first, with the remaining credits offered to other Con Edison customers who wish to sign up. The project does not require a credit score from people seeking to participate. Con Edison customers normally excluded from participating in solar are eligible to join and save money on their bill.
Removing the credit score requirement challenges conventional industry practices and supports the missions of both PowerMarket and Solar One to provide solar to more diverse communities.
“Solar One is a major player in the urban solar and sustainability space. This first project with their team is a critical milestone in our plan to make solar energy more accessible. Businesses, homeowners, and renters don’t need to install panels to save money anymore” said Nick Baudouin, PowerMarket’s co-founder and head of business development. “This project is special because many stakeholders will experience the benefits of solar energy. Additionally, unlike switching to a new electric supplier, PowerMarket protects customers by having clear terms, no hidden fees, and guarantees savings while contributing to environmental protection,” stated José Gálvez Contreras, program manager at Solar One.
Community solar solves the core issue people face when seeking to install panels themselves: it’s typically inaccessible and impractical. According to a 2015 NREL study, up to 80% of American households can’t install solar. Building owners with shaded or older rooftops, renters, or anyone without significant capital or access to financing cannot install solar themselves. With community solar, they can join a project in minutes from the comfort of their home.
By joining this community solar project, customers will replace roughly 100% of their annual forecasted electricity use with community solar, energy use that is otherwise primarily powered by natural gas in New York State. (Limited space available click here if you are a Con Edison customer and would like to sign up.)
— Solar Builder magazine
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