More people and organizations are interested in going solar than ever before. According to a recent survey, a growing number of homeowners are choosing solar energy to power their homes. Following the lead, York County Shelter Programs (YCSP), has recently subscribed to a community solar program.

The non-profit organization was founded in 1979 and is based in Alfred, Maine. This community solar energy subscription will help the organization in two ways:

  1.  To save several thousand dollars on annual electricity expenditure
  2. The organization will be labelled as an environmentally responsible provider to the community.

YCSP operates a homeless shelter for emergency assistance for adults in Alfred and a family shelter in Sanford. The non-profit agency also offers affordable rental units for individuals or families in transition, provides substance abuse support, and runs a food pantry. The organization is responsible for more than 350 total beds across its shelter and housing units and assigns case managers to help clients with the support and skills they need to gain independence.

The non-profit which has recently subscribed to approximately 400 kW from a community solar program, will partially offset its monthly CMP bills and lead to meaningful savings. YCSP gets more than 100 separate electric bills representing the usage from its various rental units, shelters, and administrative facilities. Finding an easy way to reduce this expense was a high priority.

Community Solar

Today, many American households and businesses do not have access to solar because they rent, live in multi-tenant buildings, have roofs that are unable to host a solar PV system or experience some other mitigating factor.

A community solar farm is a solar power installation that accepts capital from and provides output credit and tax benefits to multiple customers, including individuals, businesses, non-profits, and other investors. Thus, it provides homeowners, renters, and businesses equal access to the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy regardless of the physical attributes or ownership of their home or business. A total of 3.4GW of community solar have been installed in the U.S. through 2020.

The organization, which relies mostly on grants, fundraisers, and donations for its operating budget, is always looking for ways to make its financial resources go further, and the savings from this community solar participation will enable it to do more for individuals and families in need in the region.

“Our leaders have always wanted to do more to make our operation green, and this was a simple way to make real progress,” explained Lori Theriault, Housing Director, YCSP. “We have installed solar panels on some of our buildings, but for others, it just is not practical. Community solar provides us with a way to increase our sustainability program without having to spend any money upfront or install any equipment at our facilities. I enrolled in community solar for my own home, so I knew already that the program worked.”

YCSP primarily offers shelter to the homeless but also offers a number of other services to help clients get back on their feet. The organization also offers mental health, addiction treatment, job training, and support services.

If you have an uneven roof or any other constraint which stops you from getting solar on your roof, community solar may be a solution for you. But if you have ample roof space for installing solar panels, Staten Solar is here to serve you. Staten serves individual residents as well as larger commercial and non-profit customers in choosing their path to solar energy. It is not out of place to mention that we offer a 1% rebate to a non-profit organization.

For our Commercial and Industrial client, Staten is looking to finance and build C&I solar projects in California for customers with good credit. Project size has to be 500KW minimum with no upper limit. Our fund is populated and ready to make investments. We don’t need to raise additional debt or tax equity. To get in touch ping us via private email at projectfinance@statensolar.com. Another way is to simply fill this short form.