GreenSpark Announces Providence Housing as the Winner of its ROC THE SUN Solar Giveaway

GreenSpark will donate a 5kW solar array to Providence Housing and organize a crowdfunding effort to add to the project.

Ontario, NY – GreenSpark, after receiving 14 applications from area nonprofit organizations for its ROC the SUN Solar Giveaway, has chosen Rochester’s Providence Housing Development Corporation (Providence Housing) as the recipient of a 5kW solar array. GreenSpark announced in early May that it would be giving away a 5kW solar array to a Greater Rochester Area non-profit organization and lead a crowdfunding effort to cover the remaining costs. After a two month application and interview process, GreenSpark came to the decision to partner with Providence Housing on the solar project.

“We are still overwhelmed by the quality applications we received from these deserving nonprofit organizations, this was an extremely hard decision to make” said GreenSpark’s, Meaghann Schulte. “We feel that Providence Housing will be a great pilot project to illustrate how crowdfunding can work in renewable projects, and we hope to work with all the applicants in the near future.”

This project will enable Providence Housing, committed to helping the local community, spend its allocated funding dollars more directly on its stated mission and services rather than its electric bills. Providence Housing strives to strengthen families and communities by creating and providing access to quality affordable housing enriched by the availability of support services. In 2014, Providence Housing celebrates 20 years offering better choices and more affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families in the Greater Rochester Area.

“We are excited and proud to ROC the SUN on our properties through GreenSpark,” said John McDermott, Executive Director of Providence Housing. “The solar array will help keep our electric costs down and allow us to focus on building human dignity through affordable housing and support services.”

This project will serve as a showcase for the environmental benefits of solar energy available to the Rochester community. GreenSpark believes the Greater Rochester Area has significant potential for the use of distributed renewable energy technologies like wind and solar. GreenSpark has made it a priority to educate the community on the economic and environmental benefits that these technologies can provide. Distributed renewable energy systems provide electricity generation in a wide variety of settings, including households, schools, farms, businesses, towns, and communities. Projects range, for example, from 1 to 10 kilowatt (kW) projects at a home, small business, or small agricultural load – to multi-megawatt (MW) projects for a university campus, manufacturing facility or municipality.

GreenSpark is developing future projects that will give consumers the opportunity to invest in local renewable energy projects that generate positive economic returns as well.  “The ability for consumers to make socially conscious investment decisions to directly benefit their communities changed significantly with the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012,” says GreenSpark’s George McConochie.  “The rules that will govern this law are long overdue, but crowdfunding websites provide the opportunity now to undertake donation-based campaigns, so we are going to take advantage of the chance to do good now and plant the seed of renewable energy crowdfunding.”

GreenSpark has donated the equipment, labor, and expertise for the project, and along with Providence Housing, looks to the Greater Rochester Community, and beyond, to help raise the remaining funds needed to complete the project. Your donation will strengthen our community-based effort and help Providence Housing focus on its mission.

####

About Providence Housing – Providence Housing’s founders envisioned a housing development corporation that would work closely with the faith community and Catholic Charities agencies, supporting those entities where a need for housing was perceived. Since 1994, Providence Housing has secured greater than $135 million in project development funding from public and private sources and has created more than 900 units of affordable housing. Providence Housing’s mission is to strengthen families and communities by creating and providing access to quality affordable housing enriched by the availability of supportive services.Providence Housing develops, finances, and manages affordable housing for seniors, individuals with special needs, and families. Providence Housing is a not-for-profit corporation affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, New York, and professionally manages 752 units within 22 communities. For more information about Providence Housing, visit ProvidenceHousing.org.