PEA’s Solarize Greater Philadelphia program partnered with PA Solar Center to map the five-county region to find savings
Philadelphia, PA – Today the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) and nonprofit the PA Solar Center announced they have discovered more than $340 million in potential energy savings over 25 years within select low-income and disadvantaged communities in the five-county Greater Philadelphia region if certain entities were to go solar. This translates to about $13.6 million in annual savings for the 297 businesses, nonprofits, and other kinds of organizations surveyed throughout the area.
“Of course, this is just a small sampling of the solar potential in southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Lisa Shulock, Director of Commercial Programs at PEA. “Our region could save far more than this if additional entities were to go solar. We encourage any of the region’s property owners to reach out to us via our Solarize Greater Philadelphia program to confirm that they’re a good candidate for solar energy.”
Through the Solarize Greater Philadelphia initiative, the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) is partnering with nonprofit the Pennsylvania Solar Center to work with businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and other organizations to help them understand if they can stabilize and lower their electricity bills by switching to solar energy. The PA Solar Center’s technical assistance program, called GET Solar, offers free or low-cost guidance to assess organizations’ solar potential and to help identify funding options and qualified solar developers. Leveraging any combination of tax credit and financing programs available can cover 30-50 percent or more of the cost to install solar on their properties.
“Our GET Solar program has helped organizations divert savings from solar to the missions of their organizations, as well as to hiring more workers and creating economic opportunities in their communities,” said Sharon Pillar, Founder and Executive Director of the PA Solar Center. “We now have more than 400 entities enrolled in GET Solar, including 60 school districts, dozens of municipalities, nonprofits, businesses, and farms.”
Earlier this year, the PA Solar Center hosted volunteer solar mapping sessions using innovative PV Watts software that allowed them to discover the $340 million in savings throughout the region. PEA and the PA Solar Center are actively reaching out to the 297 entities found to be able to save the millions in energy costs and invite them to participate in pre-screening for the PA Solar Center’s GET Solar program. They invite any interested organization to have their property’s solar potential assessed by visiting https://solarizegreaterphl.org/business-form/.
ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA ENERGY AUTHORITY
The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) is an independent municipal authority focused on building a robust, equitable clean energy economy for Philadelphia. PEA leads the Philadelphia Energy Campaign, a 10-year investment in energy efficiency and clean energy projects. To date, PEA has supported more than $1 billion in projects and created more than 8,300 jobs. Learn more at www.philaenergy.org.
ABOUT THE PENNSYLVANIA SOLAR CENTER
The PA Solar Center is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission to expand the benefits of solar to all Pennsylvanians to ensure a resilient, sustainable, and affordable future. The Center offers technical assistance to more than 300 non-profit organizations, schools, businesses, and communities to help them go solar, savvy media communications and online resources for all solar stakeholders, and education for decision-makers and advocates about the benefits of robust solar policy. Learn more at www.pasolarcenter.org.