March 16, 2023
RSF Social Finance has supplied a $5 million debt mortgage to scrub energy funding agency Sunwealth. The financing will assist a portfolio of 26 community-based solar tasks throughout 5 states. More than one-third of the portfolio straight advantages low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities.
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sunwealth delivers significant energy financial savings to clients and will increase entry to solar power for households and organizations that in any other case could be left behind within the clear energy transition. RSF’s mortgage additionally helps Sunwealth’s Solar Access Program, which makes solar power reasonably priced to LMI communities by eliminating upfront prices and permitting any constructing — whatever the proprietor’s revenue or credit score rating — to host a solar challenge and obtain energy financial savings.
The 26-project portfolio totals 3.1 MW of unpolluted energy that can ship $5.8 million in lifetime energy financial savings to Sunwealth clients and create greater than 100 lifetime job years for native solar builders and installers. Projects funded via RSF Social Finance’s funding embrace:
- A gaggle of solar installations totaling 69 kW on the roofs of three homes of worship throughout town of Boston as a part of the Solar Access Program: Bethel AME Church, the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin, and the Second Church in Dorchester. The tasks will ship a mixed $112,000 in lifetime energy financial savings to the three church buildings.
- A set of solar tasks totaling 286 kW on the rooftops of Symmes Valley Elementary School and Symmes Valley High School in Willow Wood, Ohio, within the Appalachian area. Developed in partnership with Illinois-based TMI Energy Solutions, the pair of installations will ship greater than $128,000 in lifetime energy financial savings to the Symmes Valley Local School District.
- A 247 kW rooftop solar challenge situated at Pacific EcoRisk in Fairfield, California, developed in partnership with Solaris Energy. Pacific EcoRisk is an environmental consulting agency conducting analysis and testing within the fields of environmental toxicology, aquatic biology and environmental chemistry. This challenge will save Pacific EcoRisk $733,000 over the challenge’s lifetime.
Sunwealth’s revolutionary solar financing mannequin brings important capital to the community-based solar market, supporting solar tasks on rooftops, parking heaps, and different underutilized areas within the constructed atmosphere.
“Our partnership with RSF enables Sunwealth to remain catalytic with its community impact,” stated Omar Blayton, chief monetary officer of Sunwealth. “RSF continues to demonstrate its leadership through thoughtful and innovative investments. We look forward to collaborating with them for years to come.”
Projects vary in dimension from 5 kW to upwards of 5 MW. The firm companions with native solar builders and installers to construct tasks that ship solar entry and long-term energy financial savings to clients together with nonprofits, colleges, municipalities, small companies, reasonably priced housing authorities and LMI households.
“RSF wants to address climate change in a way that not only protects the most vulnerable communities but also gives them a real share in the clean economy,” stated Michael Jones, VP of lending enterprise growth at RSF Social Finance. “Our investment in Sunwealth achieves that goal, financing a portfolio that prioritizes solar access, savings, and green job creation while providing new liquidity for a social enterprise focused on democratizing clean energy.”
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Tags: neighborhood funding, Financing, rooftop solar, RSF Social Finance, Sunwealth
