By: Cody Wilson, Housing Director
2024 was a year of doubling down in our commitment to sustainable construction. One means was by bringing solar energy to our residents and offices at Neighbors Place. Along with improving construction envelopes, increasing insulation values, and installing high-efficiency appliances, solar power is becoming our favorite strategy to lower the cost of living for our residents. Solar helps future-proof our projects from foreseeable rising energy costs, and it improves our organization’s impact on our local environment.
Thanks to Gilles and several volunteers, we now have solar on Neighbors Place. Since active, we have seen promising signs of the system’s ability to subsidize our energy usage and offset our carbon consumption. From June to August, Neighbors Place saw an output of 3.84 MWh of electricity generated, leading to an equivalent energy savings of $638. Our summer energy costs decreased by $200–260/month.
In just the first quarter of this system’s operation, it prevented the release of nearly 6 tons of carbon gases into the atmosphere by NIPSCO. Over the expected life of the system, it will impede the release of approximately 720 tons of Co2.
Our solar energy investment, like many of our projects, is a mission that is measured in the way it reveals its effects, but broad in the many ways it impacts our residents and community.
Our most recently completed Cyrus Street home is receiving its own solar energy system to offset energy costs incurred by its residents. We gave care to decreasing the energy consumption in ways beyond solar, too. It will likely be one of the most energy-efficient properties enjoyed by Project Neighbors residents, and it will serve as a field test for future high energy efficient construction methods.
We are now determining which other Project Neighbor homes are good sites for solar. Not only will this ensure that cost saving renewable energy is benefiting our families who need it most, it benefits everyone in the community who longs to breathe clean air and yearns for environmental justice.
Often, renewable energy systems and strategies are gatekept by economic forces that dictate that only those who can afford them can have them. This market-based approach ignores the fact that, while the whole world benefits from the implementation of renewable energy, for many people, and especially those who Project Neighbors serves, these technologies are out of reach.
Project Neighbors’ commitment to environmental justice compels us to pursue a vision of health and sustainability for our residents, our community, and our world. While we seek out opportunities that will support our push for energy efficiency, we know that our community has always been, and will continue to be, the heart of our support for meaningful, justice-bringing initiatives like solar energy systems. Ultimately, with your support and participation, our energy-saving strategies will be a ray of hope for all.