Partnerships will more than double the amount of renewable energy to HUD assisted multifamily units
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that 27 affordable housing providers and service providers across the nation have committed to installing more than 150 megawatts of on-site renewable energy, more than doubling the amount of renewable energy on HUD-assisted multifamily buildings.
In response to the President’s call to join him in advancing opportunity for all Americans, partners across the private and public sectors are making commitments to advance solar deployment and energy efficiency.
The 27 new renewable energy partnerships will create good jobs while cutting carbon pollution and come in response to the President’s call to action as part of the White House Solar Summit last month and the Better Buildings Initiative the President launched in 2011. Additionally, the new executive actions announced today by President Obama will bolster investment in energy upgrades in homes and federal buildings, strengthen appliance standards and building codes, and build a skilled solar workforce. Together, the President’s executive actions will account for $2 billion in energy efficiency investments in Federal buildings; smarter appliances that will cut carbon pollution by more than 380 million metric tons – equivalent to taking 80 million cars off the road for one year – and will save businesses nearly $26 billion on their energy bills; and training programs at community colleges across the country that will assist 50,000 workers to enter the solar industry by 2020.
“HUD is addressing the issue of climate change by creating opportunities and programs for affordable housing owners to take advantage of renewable energy resources, saving energy and money,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Thanks to the leadership of our multifamily partners and developers, we are on track to meet and surpass President Obama’s challenge to reach 100 megawatts of on-site renewable energy on affordable housing by 2020.”
Across the country, HUD partners, to include affordable housing developers, public housing authorities, financial institutions, and service providers, are choosing to install and use solar energy on affordable and market-rate multifamily properties because it reduces their long-term energy costs and creates jobs that are helping boost local economies. Responding to the President’s call to action on solar deployment, the following leaders made commitments that will install more than 150 megawatts of on-site renewable energy, create jobs and reduce carbon pollution:
- Affirmed Housing Group, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 550 KW of on-site solar across 2 projects.
- Bayview Community Development Corp., a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 400 KW of on-site solar across 1 project.
- Black Rock Solar, non-profit clean energy organization, has a goal of installing 11 MW of solar across housing and community facilities by 2017.
- Chelsea Investment Corporation, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 6.5 MW of on-site solar across a total of 20 projects.
- Community Advancement Corp., a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 255 KW of on-site solar across a total of 7 projects.
- Community Housing Works, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 3.5 MW of on-site solar across a total of 22 projects.
- Community Power Network is setting a goal of 1 MW of solar installed across 200 projects in DC, MD, and VA by 2015.
- The Core Companies, a multi-family affordable housing provider, will add 1.6 MW of on-site solar across a total of 4 projects.
- Denver Housing Authority recently installed 2.5 MW of solar and continues its commitment of adding solar to every new phase of redevelopment as evidenced by its installation of another 100kw on Mariposa Phase VI starting construction in the fall of 2014. The housing authority is also developing a comprehensive district wide energy design program for PV and g?eothermal energy under a micro-utility structure for Denver’s 100 acre Sun Valley neighborhood.
- EAH Housing, a California nonprofit housing development and management corporation, has 3.1 MW of on-site solar in their affordable housing portfolio and is committed to an additional 20 projects – a total of nearly 10 MW.
- Enterprise Community Partners, which facilitates affordable multifamily housing across the country, is announcing a 16 MW target totaling $40 million in investment by 2020 in D.C., Denver, Boston, LA, and Chicago.
- Global Green USA is setting a goal to install 1 MW of solar nationally by 2017.
- GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit organization, will help install 100 MW of solar on affordable single-family and multifamily housing across the country by 2024; GRID Alternatives has also launched a new Tribal Solar Initiative to ensure that American Indian tribes have access to the benefits of solar power.
- Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, through its subsidiary Affordable Community Energy, Inc., a financial innovator providing housing and energy services to low-income communities across the Midwest, is on track to install 600 kW of solar by May and commits to add 530 kW of additional solar by the end of 2015.
- Horizon Development/Preservation Partners, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 450 kW of on-site solar across a total of 2 projects.
- Innovative Housing Opportunities, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 500 kW of on-site solar across a total of 5 projects.
- LINC Housing, a non-profit organization that builds, owns, and operates affordable housing, is committed to installing 826 kW of solar PV across over 1,000 units in California by 2016.
- Mutual Housing California, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 800 kW of on-site solar across a total of 6 projects.
- National Housing Trust, an innovative affordable housing developer and owner in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, will install 400 kW of solar PV and 15,000 therms of Solar thermal this year; in 2015, it will add another 100 kW of PV and 5,000 therms of Solar thermal.
- Standard Property Company, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 2.6 MW of on-site solar.
- Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) and its eleven members joined together to reduce energy and water consumption nationwide by 20 percent by 2020 through their Big Reach Initiative. These efforts have the potential to contribute 500,000 therms and 4 MW of solar PV.
- The Reliant Group, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 800 kW of on-site solar across a total of 6 projects.
- Urban Housing Communities, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 300 kW of on-site solar.
- VITUS, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 450 kW of on-site solar.
- Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation, a multifamily affordable housing provider, will add 542 kW of on-site solar across a total of 4 projects.
- WinnCompanies, the largest manager of affordable multifamily housing in the nation, has developed over 1 MW of solar and is setting a goal of an additional 4 MW by 2020, focused on Massachusetts and the Northeast.
- Yolo County Housing Authority in California is setting a goal to install 900 kW of solar by 2016.
For more information on President Obama’s solar energy announcement and the administration’s Climate Action Plan please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan
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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the
need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build
inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and
http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDGov, on facebook at
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Contact:
George I. Gonzalez
(202)402-6054
