The board members of Valley Greene Apartments in East Falls have wanted to go solar for nearly a decade. But the contracts offered to them were too daunting, Valley Greene board chair Madeline Haggans said. They required Valley Greene to purchase all its energy from a single provider for the next 25 years.
“That’s a pretty scary commitment,” she said. “We don’t know what the world is going to look like 25 years from now, and we didn’t want to put the burden on future owners of this housing co-op.”
In December, the 88-unit, co-op apartments decided to take a chance on the Clean Energy Co-op, a volunteer-run cooperative that finances renewable energy projects in Pennsylvania.
The co-op will finance 315 solar panels on the roof of Valley Greene Apartments under the new power purchase agreement. The 185-kilowatt system marks the co-op’s biggest project yet.
“It’s very exciting to be able to step into this size. We think we have enough support from our members who are also looking to grow the Clean Energy Co-op so that even more projects will be possible,” said Joy Baxter, board president of the Clean Energy Co-op and co-chair of its Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter.
The power purchase agreement spans 25 years, but it doesn’t require Valley Greene to commit to a single provider, Haggans said. The solar energy will make up 25% of the building’s usage. The all-electric apartment complex sources the rest of its energy from Texas-based Freepoint Energy Solutions, she said.
The co-op will pay for the installation and charge Valley Greene for the electricity. Those rates are predetermined in the power purchase agreement, making it easier for residents to project their electric bills. Haggans estimates that the panels will save the complex around $30,000 a year. After six years, Valley Greene has the option to buy the panels from the co-op.
“We saw no downside,” Haggans said.
In addition to cost savings, the new solar project aligns with Valley Greene’s environmental efforts. The complex has its own recycling program, where volunteers track the building’s waste and collect materials multiple times a week.
“We are run by volunteers and self-governed, and those things always come into play when we’re talking about contracts with any company for any reason,” Haggans said.
The solar panels will reduce Valley Greene’s carbon footprint by an estimated 67 tons of CO2 per year, Baxter said.
The co-op has carried out eight solar panel installations in Pennsylvania, including at Weavers Way’s Germantown location and the grocery chain’s Mercantile building in Mt. Airy. The co-op’s Germantown project caught the attention of the Valley Greene board, Haggans said.
The co-op only partners with nonprofits, co-ops and community businesses to contribute to the local economy and boost solar financing among smaller entities, Baxter said. Exact Solar, a locally owned installer based in Newtown Township, Bucks County, is the contractor for the Valley Greene project.
“We want to help entities that are also helping others,” Baxter said.
The solar panels at Valley Greene are slated to be installed by August, she said.
Baxter said installations of this size generally cost around $300,000. Half of the upfront cost will be paid for by shares purchased by members of the co-op. The co-op also utilizes tax equity investors. It is currently fundraising for the project within its membership, Baxter said. Once it’s installed, the co-op will have more reinvestment money annually for projects.
“This is our largest project — three times the size of our next largest, which was Weavers Way Germantown location,” she said. “So we’re having to do more fundraising and outreach than we’ve had to in the past.”
Abby Weiss is an environmental reporter for the Local and a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at abby@chestnuthilllocal.com.