Building for Lasting Impact
Habitat for Humanity Goes Solar in South Central New Jersey
For over 30 years, Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey has promoted homeownership by providing income-based, affordable mortgages to low- and moderate-income residents of 77 cities and townships in South Central New Jersey. Would-be homeowners must contribute 250 to 400 hours of “sweat equity” to build their home and the homes of other Habitat families, work in the organization’s ReStore, and complete financial, budgeting, and credit education workshops. Habitat’s Veterans Build program also assists military and veteran families with employment opportunities and works with individuals to facilitate integration into civic life; while their Neighborhood Revitalization program helps income-eligible homeowners maintain the integrity of their homes by providing affordable repair assistance.
When Habitat needed to replace the roof on their main office in Maple Shade, NJ, board member Mike Sherman encouraged the organization to explore going solar. And when the project needed financing, Sherman, CEO of Vanguard Building Solutions (VBS), called Sunwealth.
“Every dollar we save using solar is money we can
put toward our mission of building homes,
communities, and hope.”
Sunwealth partnered with VBS to develop a 92 kW rooftop installation on the building. The 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Sunwealth and Habitat will deliver over $80,000 in lifetime energy savings to the organization and allow it to dedicate more funds to improving home ownership and security and the resiliency of underserved neighborhoods. The project will also reduce over 2,000 metric tons of carbon emissions and create three solar job years.
Given the environmental and economic benefits of going solar, greenlighting the project was an easy decision for the Habitat board to make. As Sherman stated, “Everyone is having a tough time with the current economy, and this was a great way to save money and be good stewards of the environment.”
Habitat CFO/COO John Garton concurs, saying “Every dollar we save using solar is money we can put toward our mission of building homes, communities, and hope.” And that’s something we can all agree on.