SBNDC Shrinks Carbon Footprint by 45% with Solar Project
Solar panels were installed on the roof of one of our multifamily buildings near Andrew Square in the fall of 2020.
The first of 13 rooftop solar panel arrays was installed last month on one of SBNDC’s Andrew Square buildings, with two more installations planned in the coming weeks. The coronavirus pandemic made a mess of our summertime installation plans, but we are back on track and working to get as many arrays in place before winter.
Rooftop solar has been a dream for SBNDC for years, and we partnered with Resonant Energy in 2019 to start putting that dream into action. We were shocked to learn that 13 of our 16 multifamily buildings were solar-feasible, meaning the roofs received adequate sunlight and were spacious enough to make rooftop panels a worthwhile investment.
Although our newer construction projects were all built to be solar-ready, we were surprised that so many of our smaller, more traditional buildings throughout the neighborhood were also good candidates for solar.
Unlike a solar setup on a single-family home, incorporating solar panels into multifamily, affordable housing is a bit more complicated and SBNDC is among the first few nonprofit affordable housing developers in Boston to take on such a project.
At Patriot Homes and our newest building, 5 O’Connor Way, electricity generated by the rooftop panels will offset electricity used on-site, primarily to light common areas like walkways, community rooms and hallways. Energy produced by the remaining panels on rooftops across our building portfolio will be combined to offset the very large electricity demand at our senior building on West Fourth Street.
SBNDC’s solar installations will cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 82.6 metric tons each year – that’s the same as taking 17.9 cars off the road for one year! Click the image to see more. Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
The West Fourth Street building uses thousands of dollars in electricity each month to operate the elevator, central air conditioning and heating systems. When the solar project is complete in the spring, almost all of that electricity usage will be generated with solar power instead of fossil fuels.
When complete, SBNDC’s solar project will reduce our carbon footprint by the same amount as 108 acres of forest! Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
Overall, our solar project will cut SBNDC’s fossil fuel reliance by 45%, shrinking our carbon footprint by 82.6 metric tons each year! That’s the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving 205,071 miles each year, and has the same environmental impact as 108 acres of forest.
On top of dramatically reducing our carbon footprint, SBNDC will save thousands of dollars a month on lower electricity bills – savings which will be used to support and expand our programming, youth jobs, and resident services.
SBNDC’s solar project is part of the Climate Action initiative we launched in 2019, to become more sustainable and reduce our overall environmental impact.
These efforts included working with residents to improve recycling and reduce energy consumption in our buildings, weatherizing buildings and installing more efficient heating and hot water systems, and working with youth programs to raise awareness of how South Boston will be impacted by climate change.