Transcript:
At Juanita Nolasco Residences, an apartment complex for low-income, older, and disabled adults in Denver, residents are saving money with solar energy.
Infante: “The reason why it’s important to reach folks that live in multifamily housing is because they’re often left out in this transition to clean energy.”
Michel Infante is with the nonprofit Energy Outreach Colorado, which has helped more than a hundred residents join a community solar program.
Subscriptions are entirely free to tenants.
Infante: “The subscriptions themselves are completely donated. … And when we tell them that it’s a free program, they almost don’t believe it, like it’s too good to be true.”
Each subscriber is assigned a portion of a solar farm owned by Pivot Energy.
The utility tracks how much energy the solar farm produces each month and provides a credit on each subscriber’s bill for their portion of the power.
Infante: “On average, each residence there is seeing savings of $15 per month.”
Tenants with higher energy costs – for example, those who rely on oxygen machines – receive a larger share to help offset their higher energy needs.
So the program is expanding access to solar energy and saving money for people who most need the help.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
