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Capital Good Fund is proud to expand our BRIGHT solar leasing program to our second location – the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The benefits of the programs in southeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania will be the same but there are some differences. We turned to Pennsylvania BRIGHT Program Director Alexis McCarthy for some illumination on the program.
What are the best reasons for Low and Middle-Income (LMI) Pennsylvania residents to participate in Pennsylvania BRIGHT?
There is no upfront cost to our residential solar lease program for homeowners who meet the requirement of either having gross annual income less than $100,000 or residing in a disadvantaged census tract as identified by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. They will get immediate savings. Solar panels can reduce the energy bills of Pennsylvania residents by up to 88% because of net metering. They will always know what their energy payments will be because the cost of energy and the lease are fixed and prices will only rise over the course of the lease by 1% annually. The homeowners don’t have to worry about maintenance and monitoring of their panels because Pennsylvania BRIGHT is responsible for that. Pennsylvania BRIGHT can offer these benefits to homeowners because of tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act.
What are the biggest differences between Pennsylvania BRIGHT in the southwestern and the southeastern parts of the commonwealth?
In the southwestern counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland the pilot program will help 100 LMI families and will include batteries as an option for half of the installations. In the southeastern counties of Philadelphia, Bucks Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery we are looking to install 60 systems on LMI homes with panels only. In the southwestern part of the Commonwealth, our program is new, and we are building it from the ground up. In the southeastern part of the commonwealth we are partnering with the well-established Solarize Philly campaign started seven years ago by the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) and the Philadelphia Green Capital Corp (PGCC). The Solarize Philly program is trusted in the area and has vetted installers we will be working with who are now able to expand their offering to residential solar leases, which have been an extremely popular method for households in the area to go solar.
What are the strategies Capital Good Fund is implementing to get Pennsylvania BRIGHT off to a good start?
Pennsylvania BRIGHT has benefited from lessons we learned from Georgia BRIGHT, our first residential solar home leasing pilot we started last year. Before starting the program here in Pennsylvania, we met with philanthropic leaders, solar and community nonprofits, and local groups across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We understood the different energy landscape in Pennsylvania and the availability of net metering. We adjusted our pricing model to take that into account and continue to meet with local partners to hear what they are most interested in and concerned about going solar. There are bad actors out there and we want to make sure that people understand we are a mission-driven organization looking to make a positive impact for LMI households and deliver cleaner energy at the same time.
Why is Pennsylvania BRIGHT important for LMI families?
Pennsylvania BRIGHT lets LMI homeowners know that solar is for everyone and their family can also benefit from clean energy. It is structured in a way that allows access to those who may not have a high FICO score and for whom buying panels or taking out a loan to finance them is not an option. Pennsylvania BRIGHT through Capital Good Fund looks holistically at applicants instead of at just one score. If you want to learn more about the application process, be in touch. We are here to help.