Making Solar Accessible

A standout fact about The White House’s solar initiatives announced earlier this summer is that they focus on making solar accessible to everyone, no matter what income class. Previously, access to solar power has been largely skewed toward affluent households.

Low-income households often face many barriers to going solar. Not only are they less likely to own their own home, they are less able to take out loans or access other financing options for solar and more likely to have subsidized utility bills. However, the need to be able to generate their own electricity is higher considering the disparity between their income and their energy bills.

Solar Initiatives for Accessible Solar

The White House’s solar initiatives strive to triple the target for solar on federally subsidized housing to 300 megawatts by 2020. They also direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide technical guidance for state and local housing authorities on how to go solar. As an integral part of these new solar initiatives, The White House also announced more than $520 million in commitments from private companies, investors, NGOs, and state and local governments to pay for energy efficiency and solar projects for low-income households.

These new solar initiatives also place an emphasis on community solar, in which groups of households pool resources to build and maintain a shared solar system in their neighborhood.

Solar for Low-Income Housing

Several power companies and other states are working to find ways to support solar for low-income housing:

• Arizona Public Service, a Phoenix-area utility, recently launched a $28.5 million program to install its own solar panels on rooftops in its service area, specifically targeting low-income households.
• Con Ed, the power company serving most of New York City, plans to spend $250 million on such upgrades in Brooklyn and Queens, as an alternative to a $1 billion upgrade to the old natural gas-fired electric grid.

Miller Bros. Solar (MBS) is a chosen leader in operations and maintenance (O&M) solutions due to the company’s project expertise, full construction capabilities, and 160+ pieces of heavy equipment. MBS is one of the few electrical contractors that can simultaneously self-perform multiple utility scale solar projects while exceeding client expectations, controlling costs and adhering to timelines and customer schedules.

Miller Bros. Solar provides O&M services for solar projects in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

For more information, visit http://millerbrossolar.com or call 610-832-1000.