Increasing Solar Access Among New England Disadvantaged Communities and Nonprofits

Sunwealth will focus on developing solar for housing, arts, human services, religious organizations, and other nonprofits in the PowerOptions consortium.

BOSTON, MA – PowerOptions and Sunwealth are excited to announce a new partnership to extend the benefits of solar to low-income communities, low-income residential buildings, energy justice communities, and other nonprofits.

Sunwealth was selected by PowerOptions through a competitive RFP procurement, which included a proactive effort to drive value for certain PowerOptions member sectors. Under this partnership Sunwealth will serve low-income residents through housing authorities and community development corporations, houses of worship, senior living facilities, human services organizations, and centers for performing arts.

“We are committed to accelerating clean energy equity, access, affordability, and resiliency for disadvantaged communities and smaller nonprofits typically left behind, using the strength of the PowerOptions aggregation and consortium model,” said PowerOptions CEO Heather Takle. “As a leading and local solar and resiliency provider, Sunwealth has experience delivering value to low-income and affordable housing and will ensure our communities can take advantage of the crucial wave of increased funding supporting these segments.”

Sunwealth has financed and developed 575 projects totaling 37 megawatts (MW) worth of solar capacity that benefit communities across 16 U.S. states and D.C.

“For nonprofits and community organizations, money saved on energy costs is money that can be reinvested into their mission-driven programs,” said Jon Abe, CEO of Sunwealth. “PowerOptions has been providing its members with energy savings and sustainability solutions for over two decades. Sunwealth is proud to forge this new partnership to help deliver long-term access to solar and energy savings to impactful organizations across New England.” 

Since the launch of its first solar program in 2011, PowerOptions members have completed more than 100 projects totaling 85+ MWs and savings of more than $150 million.

About PowerOptions

For 25 years PowerOptions has reduced the cost, carbon, and complexity of energy for nonprofits and is now the largest energy consortium in New England. With 495 members of every size and sector across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, PowerOptions has market strength to negotiate very competitive prices and member demand to drive innovation. Any nonprofit or public entity is eligible to join and access our programs for electricity and natural gas procurement, turnkey solar, clean transportation, sustainability planning and implementation, data analytics, and advisory services. For more information, go to www.poweroptions.org.  

About Sunwealth

Based in Cambridge, MA, Sunwealth is a clean energy investment firm working to change who has access to renewable energy by changing the way we invest in it. Combining deep experience in solar development and finance with roots in community and impact investing, Sunwealth invests in diverse commercial solar projects delivering clean energy and energy savings to communities while providing strong financial returns to investors and community partners. Since 2014, the company has invested over $135 million across 575 community-based solar projects nationwide that will deliver over $80 million in lifetime energy savings to Sunwealth customers. For three consecutive years, ImpactAssets named Sunwealth to its IA50, a leading list of impact fund managers; Environmental Finance named Sunwealth’s Solar Impact Fund its 2022 Environmental Fund of the Year. Learn more at www.sunwealth.com 

Media contacts

PowerOptions: Liam Sullivan, VP of Marketing and Communications | (617) 755-1322

Sunwealth: Christian Morris, Senior Marketing Associate | (781) 724-0947