BRIDGE Housing and Sunrun Celebrate Completion of Solar Installation for Renters in Suisun City
Ribbon cutting event at Cottonwood Creek rental community marks 8th completed Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) project between Sunrun and BRIDGE Housing
SUISUN CITY, Calif., Dec. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, nationally recognized community development organization, BRIDGE Housing, and Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services provider, held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a new solar installation serving 94 affordable rental homes in Suisun City, California. The Cottonwood Creek solar project is 246 kilowatts, which provides nearly $47 per month in bill savings for residents via virtual net metering, along with job training in the rapidly growing clean energy sector.
"Installing solar helps residents save significantly on their utility bills while making our properties more environmentally sustainable," said Ken Lombard, President & CEO of BRIDGE Housing. "We're proud to partner with Sunrun and the SOMAH program to bring renewable energy and job opportunities to communities such as Cottonwood Creek."
In 2018, Sunrun made a commitment to develop 100 megawatts of solar on affordable multifamily housing in California by 2030 via the state Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program. Additionally, in 2021, Sunrun pledged to bring at least 500 megawatts of low-income solar to people across the country by 2030. These efforts will bring the benefits of solar to hundreds of thousands of families.
“I’m thrilled that BRIDGE Housing and Sunrun are expanding clean energy access and bill savings to thousands of additional renters across California,” said Mary Powell, Sunrun’s CEO. “We’re committed to a future where everyone has affordable, reliable, clean power.”
SOMAH has a significant focus on workforce development and tenant engagement. Each SOMAH project, including Cottonwood Creek, offers paid job training opportunities in the rapidly growing clean energy sector. One of the trainees from Cottonwood Creek now holds a full-time job at Sunrun.
“At a time when national attention is on the high price of gasoline and inflation, Sunrun and BRIDGE Housing are demonstrating the triple bottom line opportunity presented by the historic SOMAH Program. Bill credits from this solar installation will provide real energy burden relief to Cottonwood Creek’s families now and for future generations and another SOMAH job trainee has a full-time career based on his work on this project. We’re excited to deploy the nearly $250m in funding we have available to replicate this success story all across California,” said Chris Walker of the SOMAH Program Administrator team.
Additionally, via the SOMAH program, Sunrun partnered with GRID Alternatives’ jobs training program to train more than 100 Californians in solar installation to date.
“I’m very excited to save some money on energy bills,” said Margaret Van Bibber, a Cottonwood Creek resident who works as an in-home care provider. “Even a little will go a long way to help with my daughter’s school supplies and other essentials.”
Cottonwood Creek, which opened in 2008, offers 94 affordable apartment homes for families; the median household income of residents is currently $25,707. The property consists of garden-style walk-up apartments with a Craftsman design, plus a community room and recreational amenities such as a pool, tot lot and picnic area. Cottonwood Creek’s environmentally-friendly features also include landscaping that minimizes the buildings’ solar gain in the summer, energy- and water-efficient fixtures and appliances throughout, and sustainable building materials.
About BRIDGE Housing
As a mission-driven nonprofit, BRIDGE’s goal is to strengthen communities and improve people’s lives, beginning--but not ending--with affordable housing. Since it was founded in 1983, BRIDGE has participated in the development of more than 18,000 homes in California, Oregon and Washington. For more information, visit www.bridgehousing.com.
About SOMAH
The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program provides up to $100 million annually in financial incentives for installing photovoltaic (PV) energy systems on multifamily affordable housing in California. The program’s unique, community-based approach ensures long-term, direct economic benefits for low-income households, helps catalyze the market for solar on multifamily housing and creates jobs. SOMAH is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission and funded through the greenhouse gas allowance auction proceeds of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, Liberty Utilities Company, and PacifiCorp. SOMAH aims to install 300 megawatts of generating capacity by 2030. For more information, please visit calsomah.org.
About Sunrun
Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solution brings families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.
Media Contacts:
Wyatt Semanek
Public Relations Manager
press@sunrun.com
Lyn Hikida
VP of Communications
lhikida@bridgehousing.com
Brittany Chenier
SOMAH Program
Marketing, Education & Outreach Manager
media@calsomah.org
Released December 3, 2021