Sunwealth and PowerOptions Partnership Delivers Over 550 kW of Impactful Projects to New England

Farnsworth House in Jamacia Plain, MA, the future home of a Sunwealth project.

In 2022, Sunwealth kicked off our partnership with PowerOptions. This nonprofit energy-buying consortium reduces the cost and complexity of energy for nonprofits and the public sector in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The collaboration focuses on delivering solar benefits to low-income communities and nonprofits.  

PowerOptions selected Sunwealth through a competitive request-for-proposal procurement. Under this partnership, Sunwealth delivers solar and solar plus storage projects to housing authorities, affordable housing providers, community development corporations, houses of worship, senior living facilities, human services organizations, and centers for performing arts. This partnership allows us to leverage our in-house solar development expertise to increase access to solar, bring impactful community-based solar projects to life, and deliver long-term energy savings and sustainability. 

We are already seeing the impressive results of this partnership. Since the beginning of this partnership, Sunwealth has contracted 24 projects totaling over 550 kW on affordable housing developments across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with many more moving towards the contracting stage. 

A recent Sunwealth project on a housing authority building in Haverhill, MA.

One project sits on a public affordable housing development in West Newbury, MA, a 26-unit building owned by the West Newbury Housing Authority. Two others in New Bedford, MA, are on developments owned by the New Bedford Housing Authority (NBHA): one project is located at NBHA’s Westwood development, and the other is on their Crestview development. Westwood, built in 2018, consists of 12 units and is fully accessible for those with mobility handicaps, hearing impairments, and visual impairments. Crestview, built in 2010, is an elderly-only development with a part-time on-site elderly service coordinator consisting of twenty-four one-bedroom apartments. 

Farnsworth House, the final project in our first set of contracted PowerOptions projects, is a 75-unit affordable housing development in Jamaica Plain, MA that serves income-eligible elderly residents and individuals with disabilities. It is owned by Rogerson Communities, a nonprofit dedicated to providing housing and healthcare services for low-income communities in the Boston area. 

In total, these PowerOptions projects that are under contract or beginning construction will remove almost 195,800 tons of carbon and create over 300 solar job years. By partnering with a trusted organization, that has over 25 years of experience and relationships with New England nonprofits and public entities, Sunwealth is able to expand our reach and footprint. And with another 53 projects – almost 8 MW – in our PowerOptions pipeline, this progress is set to continue. Partnerships are key to our mission. Collaborating – with PowerOptions, local developers, nonprofits, and community banks – enables us to build wealth, resilience, and sustainability in communities across New England and beyond.