Last month Olympia Community Solar was selected as one of 7 finalists for the Department of Energy’s 2023 Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar for our project at Merritt Manor low income apartment complex! The American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar is a prize competition from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office that recognizes community solar projects that develop best practices to increase equitable access to the benefits of community solar for subscribers and their communities.

We will receive a $2,500 prize and advance to compete for a $10,000 Grand Prize!

Our solar project at Merritt Manor Multifamily Housing provides over 30% bill savings to a community of 100% low- to moderate-income residents. The installation consists of 324 solar panels and will produce about 129 megawatt hours of electricity a year, about a third of the building’s total consumption. Thanks to this installation, each of the eighty two apartments will save about 250 dollars each year on energy. The success of this project shows how solar energy is not only a climate solution, it is also a vehicle for economic justice.

Read the Sunny Awards Webpage.

Read more about the Merritt Manor Project.