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Earth Day 2024 is around the corner on April 22. The annual event brings people together to commit to making the planet a better and more inhabitable place to live at a time of great concern about climate change.
At Capital Good Fund, we treat every day like it is Earth Day. We are committed to taking steps both big and small to contribute to the solution because climate change negatively impacts the communities we serve. A recent study showed that heat waves and cold snaps lead to surges in payday lending, keeping people in debt and further harming low-income communities.
Our biggest environmental effort since Earth Day last year has been the pilot Georgia BRIGHT Solar leasing program. We’re so proud of this first-of-its-kind program recently extended to run through the summer. The pilot is aimed at low-and-middle income (LMI) residents who often face the biggest impacts of climate change. They experience increasingly unpredictable utility bills that consume a disproportionate portion of their income and are at risk of dealing with the high cost of fixing damage from storms that are both more frequent and more intense. Yet renewable energy sources like solar have been historically largely inaccessible to LMI communities, which only serves to widen the income gap since wealthier families can better afford solar.
The way Georgia BRIGHT works is that around 200 homeowners making less than $100,000 a year can lease solar and battery storage systems that Capital Good Fund owns and maintains. The average family stands to save 10% on energy costs a month. To qualify, homeowners must have a roof in good condition and meet certain income requirements, with no minimum credit score required. This program is possible because the Inflation Reduction Act allows nonprofits to use tax credits to reduce the cost of solar panels for low to moderate-income homeowners.
The program has helped 33 LMI families in Georgia who would have been otherwise unable to benefit from solar. For example, 77-year-old Marc Thomas of Savannah Georgia had Georgia BRIGHT solar panels and a battery installed in his home in December. Thomas suffers from sleep apnea, so a harsh storm can endanger his health because it impacts the breathing machine he relies on. He now has the peace of mind he was lacking when he experienced four power outages that lasted four or more days in the dozen years he’s lived in his home.
Athens resident Delmira Jennings, 57, and her husband John have five acres of trees on their property, which make their home especially vulnerable to power outages during storms. They used the Georgia BRIGHT leasing program to put solar panels on their home in February. They are also happy with how the program has helped them reduce their fossil fuel use and they have already saved money after receiving their first utility bill since installation.
The program is so unique that it has drawn local and national media attention including stories in Fast Company, Atlanta Journal Constitution, NPR Marketplace, Solar Power World, and more.
To celebrate Earth Month, we are giving away $250 VISA gift cards* to any Georgia resident who closes their BRIGHT lease by April 30th. Get started today via GeorgiaBRIGHT.org!
*Giveaway subject to terms and conditions. Please visit GeorgiaBRIGHT.org for more information.
