Baltimore rooftop solar farm to offset energy consumption for Jewish community groups

MD Energy Advisors (MDEA) recently collaborated with Luminace to provide a rooftop solar energy system for a group of Jewish community organizations in Baltimore.

MDEA identified an opportunity to maximize existing structures and solar energy to power multiple properties and offset energy consumption for buildings connected to The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, an organization with the goal to strengthen and nurture Jewish life by engaging and supporting community partners in Greater Baltimore, Israel and around the world.

In collaboration with Luminace, a leading decarbonization-as-a-service provider in North America, MDEA plans to produce more than an estimated 4 million kWh in the first year alone, across two rooftop solar farms, to support energy production to eight organizations.

This solar project is one component of The Associated’s larger community sustainability initiative. The organizations that will benefit from the rooftop solar farm in Baltimore include:

• The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore
• Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc.
• Edward A Myerberg Senior Center Inc.
• Jewish Community Center of Baltimore Inc.
• Jewish Community Services
• Jewish Museum of Maryland
• Pearlstone Conference & Retreat Center Inc.

“The Associated system has long prided itself and been publicly recognized as a leader in environmental and sustainability efforts,” said Marc B. Terrill, president of The Associated. “The addition of green power from solar is not only advancing organizational value but will have a clear positive economic impact on our system as well.”

The Associated is one of the founding members of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, led and formed by the national organization, Adamah, headquartered at Pearlstone in Reisterstown, Maryland. As a founding member, The Associated has released its climate action plan, outlining its strategic priorities, one of which is an emphasis on solar power, specifically to use solar power for 100% of its utility needs. 

“This project with MD Energy Advisors to support the environmental sustainability initiatives of The Associated is yet another example of Luminace’s diverse portfolio of customer-centric decarbonization solution sand our commitment to the communities we serve in Maryland and throughout the US,” said Brendon Quinlivan, CEO of Luminace. 

In addition to mitigating energy-related risk and achieving sustainability goals, the benefits of this offsite solar project is expected to provide cost savings up to 30% while the organizations are able to receive the electricity production output without the infrastructure, sunlight exposure, building ownership or capital expenditure required for on-site solar system.

“Throughout the last few years, we’ve been very fortunate to support multiple projects with The Associated,” said Jason Schwartzberg, president and cofounder of MD Energy Advisors. “Their ability to be forward thinking and their commitment to environmental and sustainability initiatives deserved to be both recognized and applauded.”

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/projects/baltimore-rooftop-solar-farm-jewish-community-groups/]