Here Comes Solar Resources

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In March 2017, a representative from Community RetrofitNYC, a City-funded energy efficiency program, introduced Solar One to the board of 838 Park Place HDFC, a limited-equity cooperative that was interested in exploring a solar project for their building. Through the Here Comes Solar program, Solar One provided the building with free comprehensive technical assistance including onsite assessment, board consultation, and assistance soliciting bids from qualified local solar installation companies.

128 W 138th street HDFC began their solar journey after attending a Solar Uptown Now (SUN) campaign info session in WE ACT’s offices in Harlem in late May 2017. The SUN campaign was a solar group purchasing campaign led by UHAB, Solar One, and WE ACT where buildings in Northern Manhattan committed to going solar together with a single installer in exchange for discounted pricing through economies of scale.

In September of 2017, 470 Convent Avenue HDFC reached out to Solar One to learn more about rooftop solar after viewing a Solar.Uptown.Now flyer in their building. Solar One created a costs and savings estimate that broke down the available tax incentives, potential electricity production, and savings on the co-op’s electric bills. Solar One also performed a site assessment to ensure their rooftop was suitable for solar. One month later, the Board held a meeting with Solar One to learn more about their solar options. Solar One explained the Solar. Uptown. Now. (SUN) campaign, a joint effort between Solar One, UHAB, Sustainable CUNY, and Harlem-based organization WE ACT for Environmental Justice

In December of 2017, a super and board member of Joseph Cardona Memorial HDFC, a small cooperative in the East Village, attended a workshop put on by Cooper Square Committee and Solar One about solar for limited-equity co-ops. The coop had been interested in solar for many years and had reached out to solar installers years ago, but they refused to work with a small flat-roofed building in Manhattan.

In April 2019, the owner of 2992 Nostrand Avenue, a rental building in Brooklyn, contacted Here Comes Solar seeking solar energy technical assistance through NYC’s Retrofit Accelerator program. Here Comes Solar staff provided the owner with a costs/savings estimate, performed an onsite assessment, and held meetings to discuss the solar tax incentives. The building owner was committed to sustainability and improving the quality of life of his tenants, and understood solar was a step in the right direction.

In January 2017, UHAB introduced the board of 310-312West 122nd St to the Here Comes Solar team at Solar One. Here Comes Solar staff provided the board with a costs/savings estimate, performed an onsite assessment, and met with the board to go over the savings estimate and answer questions about solar. The co-op was already committed to sustainability in their building, and the board president had experience with green design in his work as an architect for the city, so solar was immediately attractive for the building.

416 W 129th St HDFC reached out to the Co-ops Go Solar team in February of 2017 to learn how to reduce their electricity costs. Here Comes Solar staff provided the co-op with an onsite assessment and a cost/savings estimate for a basic system that would offset 100% of the common area with an approximate 8 year payback period through a cash purchase. However after some consideration, the building requested an estimate for offsetting some of the residents’ electricity costs. The next estimate was able to demonstrate an approximate30% offset to residents’ bills with a 4 year payback period. The building then went further in considering the benefits for both the coop and apartment bills can have from installing solar. In the end the 416W 129th St HDFC looked at six different options how solar can benefit their cooperative and its residents.

In November of 2016, UHAB connected the board treasurer of 45-53 W 110th St HDFC with Solar One to explore the possibility of solar on their co-op. The Here Comes Solar team helped the co-op determine their solar viability, doing an on-site assessment and calculating their potential for savings under a number of different scenarios – leaving part of the roof open for a roof deck, using the energy to cover their common area costs, or distributing the energy to the individual residents’ bills. However, at that time the board decided to put the project on hold to focus on other issues.

In October 2016, a board member of 660 St Nicholas Ave read an article about Solar One in the New York Times and reached out to see whether solar would work for his limited-equity cooperative. Through the Here Comes Solar program, Solar One provided the building with free comprehensive technical assistance including an onsite assessment, board consultation including estimates of costs and savings for different solar designs, and assistance soliciting bids from qualified local solar installation companies.

This guide is intended to serve as a resource for affordable housing developers and professionals to support the construction and maintenance of cost-effective and high-performance solar energy systems.

While installing solar can be a strong investment for multifamily buildings, many buildings don’t have sufficient reserves to purchase solar, especially non-profit affordable housing providers and HDFC co-ops. Here are financing options that can allow your building to install solar with little to no upfront cost.

Multifamily affordable housing providers and Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) co-opscan now access low-cost rooftop solar power. Solar One, through its Here Comes Solar program, provides FREE comprehensive technical assistance for affordable housing properties in New York City that are considering solar.

Solar 101 Overview – Learn how solar works, different types of installations, operations and maintenance, financials, incentives and more.