Mission driven

Rebuilding Together Peninsula's new PV system saves them $3,500/year that can now use to rehabilitate homes

As the price of solar has plummeted and leases have become more widespread, many more Americans have been able to go solar. But what about the 75% who can’t?

More options are emerging for solar for the rest of us. This is part two of a 3-part series profiling startups that are finding new ways to crowdfund solar projects, paving the way to bring solar to all. You can read part one here.

Empowering the 75% through nonprofits

Youness Scally founded Everybody Solar in 2011. Its mission is to help nonprofits go solar, benefiting not only the environment but also the nonprofit’s budget. By reducing its power bills, a nonprofit can focus resources on programs instead of operating costs. And that helps the community the nonprofit serves. Everybody Solar focuses on local nonprofits that work to help the people with the greatest need in the community or who are doing environmental work. Scally’s motivation to start his own organization arose from frustration with the political process: “You hear a lot of doom and gloom about the environment, and I wanted to do something about it. A lot of organizations are doing environmental work, but much of it is focused on policy. For me, and for many people, it’s important to have a tangible effect.”

Nonprofits are part of the 75% in that it can be especially challenging for them to go solar. Not only are their funds generally limited, but they aren’t able to take advantage of tax incentives. So solar might not be financially feasible for them without some extra help. That’s where Everybody Solar comes in.

Rebuilding Together

Everybody Solar is partnering with a nonprofit solar installer, SunWork, which can get good deals on panels in part because of its nonprofit status. In selecting panels, SunWork considers factors like their environmental impact and how the manufacturers treat their employees. SunWork also provides volunteer training, another way to involve and benefit the community.

For their pilot project, Everybody Solar is putting a solar PV system on the Rebuilding Together Peninsula (RTP) headquarters in Redwood City, CA. Rebuilding Together will pitch in a small percentage of the cost of the system, and Everybody Solar will provide the rest. Scally looked at leases and power purchase agreements, but for this project it turned out to be cheaper to partner with SunWork and let RTP own the system.

In fact, since the first quote for this project in July 2012, the price of solar has declined further, making the project even more feasible. And the payback period for RTP will be under two years. The 13.5 KW system is expected to save RTP about $3,500 a year, which will be freed up for their work: rehabilitating low-income homes and community centers, which includes energy-efficiency upgrades – yet another environmental benefit.

Next: Empowering communities through a multiplier effect