A chapel built in the heart of the nation’s capital in 1929, recently converted to a townhouse, is now being powered by clean solar energy. Meanwhile, the building owner gets to sit back and collect a new revenue stream, simply from leasing out the roof to SaveSolar. As the developer, owner and operator of this solar installation, SaveSolar got the job done with no out-of-pocket costs for the building owner, who now has peace of mind knowing that they’re helping the community, the environment and their own pocketbook.
The building owners are receiving a significant discount on their communal area electricity bills thanks to a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which gives them a competitive rate to what they previously paid to PEPCO, Washington, D.C.’s utility. But not only is the building receiving cheap green electricity from its rooftop solar array, they are guaranteed that rate over the life of the system. Due to fluctuating electricity costs across the country, Bishop’s Gate receives discounted electricity and gets to avoid the risk of inflationary power costs.
The clean energy generated by the installation in the first year — about 71,769 kilowatt hours — goes straight into the building’s meter, meaning it’s drawing less energy from PEPCO’s grid. With help from our partners at Solar Energy Services and Prime Partners Engineering, solar panels now stretch across multiple buildings on the property with two interconnections.
A Net Energy Metering system like the one at Bishop’s Gate makes total sense for condos and townhouses in D.C. SaveSolar will come in and finance the system, all while giving the residents cheap, clean electricity at no upfront cost.
SaveSolar is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that specializes in developing community solar assets. We work with building owners to finance and build solar assets, then compensate the building owners with long-term revenue and generate that solar energy back into the utility. This energy is then provided at a discount to residential, low-income community subscribers. Our mission is to help the District reach its renewable energy goals and to lower the cost of electricity. The SaveSolar executive leadership team has over 60 years of combined experience in renewable energy markets in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. We have diversified experience across construction, finance, project management, technology and sustainability.
