Earlier this year, the Climate Access Fund, Solar Stewards, CohnReznick and additional partners flipped the switch to activate Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins, a $3.8 million, 808-kW rooftop community solar project.
The project, owned and developed by the Climate Access Fund, is located at Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School, a Baltimore City Public K-8 School. In addition to saving approximately 150 low- to moderate-income households nearly $1 million in energy costs over 35 years and providing job training opportunities, Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins amplifies practical ways companies can participate in the energy transition through Social RECs.
Through a unique arrangement established by Atlanta-based social enterprise Solar Stewards, job training and coursework at the school will be funded through professional services firm CohnReznick’s purchase of the Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins’ Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), generating over a quarter of a million dollars in ongoing revenue for the Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins project, the Climate Access Fund, and the organization’s future community solar objectives.
“We recognize that companies have an important role to play as good stewards and good neighbors in local economies,” said Anton Cohen, partner and renewable energy practice leader at CohnReznick. “Partnering with Solar Stewards clarified the renewable energy credit space and provided economic justification for CohnReznick to pay a premium for the Social RECs. Our partnership enables hundreds of families to have access and save money on their electricity bills with clean, affordable power at a reasonable price and reduces our company’s carbon footprint.”
Through the Solar Stewards Marketplace, 100% of the revenue from RECs is used to fund community projects with social and economic benefits for historically excluded communities, creating a Social REC.
Annual membership in the Solar Stewards Marketplace allows companies to select available community opportunities and select projects that meet their missions and objectives. The team at Solar Stewards vets each project. It provides a high level of rigor and oversight so participating communities can be verified and businesses can reduce their risk and ensure the validity of social impact claims.
In the long-term, communities and businesses benefit because these projects facilitate additional investment and consequently attract and build additional talent in the area.
“Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins is one of three Social REC partnerships to come online in the past 18 months,” said Dana Redden, founder and CEO of Solar Stewards. “Our patented Solar Stewards Marketplace ensures economic inclusion and accountability with social impact claims.”
News item from the Climate Access Fund
