Event Will Focus On Financing Solar For Affordable Housing
BOSTON, MA – For the second year in a row, Boston Community Capital (BCC) has been invited to the White House to discuss ways to help low-income communities access the cost savings and price stability of solar power.
BCC is participating today, Thursday, in a White House roundtable focused on financing solar power for affordable housing. BCC, which has a long track record of helping find solutions for affordable housing, has developed innovative methods in Massachusetts for making solar cost-effective for non-profits and low-income community institutions. The White House is hosting Thursday’s roundtable to help realize President Obama’s goal of installing 100 megawatts of renewable energy on federally assisted housing by 2020. The event will include stakeholders ranging from banks, other community development financial institutions like BCC, foundations, housing developers and state and federal agencies. BCC will be represented by DeWitt Jones, President of BCC’s Solar Energy Advantage unit.
“We are honored to participate in this White House roundtable,” said Elyse Cherry, CEO of BCC. “Our team has become a recognized authority on how to expand solar power to low income communities and we have deep experience in the challenges of helping working people secure housing, so we will approach Thursday’s panel with a unique perspective.”
More than two-thirds of the solar projects financed by BCC have served affordable, multi-family housing developments. Other beneficiaries of BCC’s solar financing have been community service non-profits like the Greater Boston Food Bank. These installations have provided these citizens and groups with a reliable source of electricity that is inexpensive and insulated from the fluctuations of other utility prices like natural gas. The 1,150 panels installed at the Great Boston Food Bank lowered that organization’s food storage costs by approximately $20,000 a year.
“BCC has a strong record of engaging with the solar sector to create jobs, lower costs for tenants of affordable housing, meet state utility goals and protect the environment,” Cherry said. “We are excited to bring the knowledge gained from this experience to the table.”
Boston Community Capital (BCC) is a nonprofit community development financial institution dedicated to building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. Since 1985, BCC has invested over $1 billion in projects that provide affordable housing, good jobs, and new opportunities in low-income communities, connecting these neighborhoods to the mainstream economy.