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A Solar Leasing Program Offers a Bright Future for Renewable Energy

WFC | November 4, 2024

With help from philanthropic partners like Wells Fargo, Capital Good Fund's solar leasing program helps lower-income residents and nonprofit organizations save on their utility bills.

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 4, 2024 / Wells Fargo
Key takeaways

Capital Good Fund's Georgia BRIGHT program offers solar panel and battery storage leases to help lower-income Georgia residents save on electric bills by utilizing the "direct pay" feature of the Inflation Reduction Act. It's piloting a Pennsylvania BRIGHT program, too.
By the end of 2029, Georgia BRIGHT plans to bring benefits of solar energy to more than 16,000 households.
Participants generate renewable power where they live or work, giving them access to cleaner, lower-cost electricity.
Optional battery storage can enhance energy savings and the resiliency of the state's electrical grid.
Watch: Capital Good Fund's Georgia Bright program is reducing the utility bills of homeowners and organizations, including Marc Thomas of Savannah, Georgia, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Statesboro, Georgia. (2:02)

Marc Thomas used to worry about the frequent, nearly week-long power outages - four since he moved to his coastal Georgia home - that threatened his health.

"I need my CPAP to sleep safely at night, otherwise I could easily have a heart attack," he said.

These days, he rests easier, confident that his CPAP machine, a device that helps people with sleep apnea breathe during sleep, will always have power. In December 2023, Thomas and his wife Margo got a solar energy array installed on their Savannah, Georgia, home. If an outage occurs, a battery draws stored electricity, ensuring they are never left in the dark.

The couple is among many Georgia homeowners and organizations that have leased solar panels through Capital Good Fund's Georgia BRIGHT program. The initiative allows Georgia households making less than $150,000 a year to lease panels and batteries with little or no upfront cost.

In addition to providing crucial backup electricity in case of a power outage, the solar panels are helping participants save on their electricity bills. In the first year, the average annual savings for homeowners in the program is $272, and Capital Good Fund estimates savings to steadily increase to $655 during the final year of the 25-year lease (see infographic).

Wells Fargo is a philanthropic partner supporting Capital Good Fund as part of the bank's sustainability philanthropy. The shared goal is to expand access and financial opportunities that enable broader clean energy adoption with improved affordability and accessibility.

Georgia has among the highest low-income energy burdens in the country. Low- and moderate-income households in the state spend on average 19.4% of their total household income on household electricity bills.

The Georgia BRIGHT program helps participants produce their own power, so they buy much less electricity. The savings can lower their utility bill enough to offset the cost of the lease, allowing for immediate savings.

For the Thomases, their utility bill went down 90% between the summers before and after they joined the program, savings that easily covered their $100 monthly lease payment.

"We'd been interested in looking at solar power for some time, but had found that the installation costs were expensive," he said. "We've been very pleased with the result."

Expanding access to renewables

From power outages to rate hikes, there are many reasons why solar energy and batteries could help Georgia residents. Frequent extreme weather, from hurricanes to heatwaves, is hitting Georgia's electrical grid disproportionately hard, Climate Central reports, and rising temperatures (PDF) will only add strain to the system.

Yet it's among the states with the lowest residential solar energy adoption, according to Andy Posner, founder and CEO of Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI).

Georgia BRIGHT uses a new funding method for expanding renewable energy. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act's tax incentives, nonprofits like Capital Good Fund can use "direct pay" to spread the benefits of rooftop solar tax credits to lower-income Americans, who don't have the tax burden to be able to use traditional tax credits. Capital Good Fund accesses the "direct pay" incentive on behalf of these homeowners and incorporates the savings into the lease which allows for greater affordability for the homeowner.

The Wells Fargo Foundation awarded the CDFI a $250,000 grant to finalize product design, supporting Capital Good Fund in navigating technical, regulatory, and legal considerations. The funding also supported hiring new personnel to implement the pilot, which included a campaign to conduct outreach to community members.

"It's really the case with solar that if you create the right financial instrument and build the trust to reach these communities, that you can unlock the potential [to grow solar]," Posner said.

The solar panels, which are manufactured in Georgia, and battery storage systems help lower-income residents use cheap, renewable electricity when they need it, like on increasingly hot nights. When people are less vulnerable to extreme temperatures, they breathe better, feel less depressed, and avoid a laundry list of other health risks, data shows. But if they can't afford it, many people choose to not run their air conditioning.

Georgia BRIGHT participants may opt to add battery storage to keep their electricity running when the power is out or when panels aren't active, like at night or during rough storms. They can also increase participants' energy savings and reduce their carbon footprint by maximizing how much solar energy they use, according to Alicia Brown, who directs the program.

"We have hurricanes, tropical storms, and other weather events that can cause power outages," she said. "When you're a lower- or middle-income family, losing a refrigerator full of groceries can be a real financial burden."

Empowering community organizations with renewable energy investments

In addition to the residential program, Georgia BRIGHT offers a commercial program for nonprofits and community organizations, enabling them to take advantage of the savings and put their energy toward serving those in need.

Trinity Episcopal Church in Statesboro, Georgia, is the first mission-driven group to take advantage of the program. The solar array on the church roof could save the parish an estimated $62,000 over 25 years, according to Reverend Charles Todd. A similar setup would've cost roughly $75,000 to buy and install, he added.

"In Georgia, our electric rates have been going up significantly. We were at a moment when we needed to do something to mitigate the rising cost of energy," said Todd, the church's rector.

The church plans to reinvest the utility savings to meet the congregation's needs.

"The solar panel installation is really a part of our commitment to look at ways to use more … things that are better for the environment and better for the Earth, but also things that help our community," Todd said.

A rapid boost to Georgia's residential solar

About 70 arrays have been installed as part of the pilot, as of August 2024. But Posner said Georgia BRIGHT will soon change the state's renewable energy landscape.

The Wells Fargo Foundation grant, which allowed Capital Good Fund to increase it's capacity, supported the CDFI's pursuit of government funding. Capital Good Fund was awarded a $156 million grant from Solar for All, a $7 billion grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The grant is expected to increase the number of Georgia households with residential solar by 50% or more, an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 homes, in the next five years, Posner said.

The money will also allow the CDFI to bring renewable energy to hundreds of extremely low-income or vulnerable households and thousands of others through community solar and utility-led projects in Georgia.

In total, that's a target of more than 16,000 households tapping solar energy by the end of 2029. Plus, Capital Good Fund has already started a Pennsylvania version of the pilot program.

"Not only are we reaching communities that, across the board, are less likely to go solar," Posner said, "we're doing it in one of the hardest markets for solar."

How you can apply to Georgia BRIGHT

Who's eligible?

The program is open to single-family homeowners in Georgia who make less than $150,000 a year, as well as mission-driven organizations. A roof in good condition is needed. Applicants don't need good credit to qualify.

What does it cost?

Participants pay 25-year lease payments, which are often covered by utility savings. The program covers maintenance costs. If a participant sells their house or moves, the next residents can continue the lease, or participants can buy out the lease with proceeds from the property sale.

How do I apply?

Visit georgiabright.org to get a free solar consultation.

The solar panels on Marc Thomas' roof help ensure his machine can continue running during power outages.