Everybody Solar has partnered again with Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) to help them bring solar to their veterans home. This 8kW system will allow COTS to redirect limited funding to their programming – helping more people and families out of homelessness.
This project, combined with the 19.5 kW system installed last November at the Mary Isaac Center, will save COTS an estimated $11,400 annually. The reduction in expenses for electricity will greatly impact COTS, since private donors often want to see their contributions go directly toward the organization’s programs, said Mike Johnson, COTS CEO. COTS provides housing for hundreds of homeless people on an emergency and long-term basis, as well as a variety of health care, career, food and other supportive programs.
The environmental impact is not too shabby either! The solar systems will offset 105,695 lbs. of CO2 per year; the equivalent of planting 1,333 trees, filling about 3 ¼ football fields. That’s a lot to celebrate.
The two campaigns cost $74,850 to achieve, and are the result of fundraising efforts conducted by Everybody Solar, a San Francisco-based nonprofit focused on providing solar to other nonprofit organizations. Contributors included JinkoSolar – Everybody Solar’s official module sponsor, Petaluma’s Enphase Energy, a number of private donors, and installation volunteers.
Workers will be putting finishing touches on the solar installation just in time for summer solstice. “We couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate the longest day of the year than by getting a solar system in place to help homeless veterans”, said Everybody Solar’s Executive Director Youness Scally.
“In addition, this project may even inspire more veterans to join the solar workforce”, said Scally. With the solar industry having nearly 1,000 new jobs available weekly and projects like Solar Ready Vets still expanding, the possibilities are great. He notes that according to The Solar Foundation, there are already over “16,835 U.S. veterans working at solar establishments across the United States, exceeding the percentage of veterans in the broader U.S. workforce” https://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/solar-ready-vets.
After this final installation, Everybody Solar and COTS are planning a ribbon cutting at the Mary Isaac Center on August 5th 2017, at 11 am. “We would love for the community to come and see first-hand what their donations have helped create”, Scally said.
News item from Everybody Solar