Electricity Generated Will Benefit Home Leasing Affordable Housing Communities
Project Demonstrates How Businesses Can Work to Address Climate Change

Ontario, NY – Nelson Leenhouts, Chairman of Home Leasing, has announced the completion of a 2.2 Megawatt (MW) solar array located in Wayne County. The array will generate electricity for Home Leasing Affordable Housing Communities throughout the Greater Rochester area. The solar array was designed, developed, and installed by GreenSpark Solar, based in Ontario, NY, the same town in which the solar array was built. 

The solar farm, located in Ontario, Wayne County, hosts just over 6,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels. It truly is a local story with local ownership, local development, local labor, and local benefits.

“The development of the solar farm made financial sense while also helping Home Leasing achieve its goal of environmental sustainability,” said Leenhouts.  “We plan to continue to develop additional renewable energy options for our communities.”

Both Home Leasing and GreenSpark Solar are Certified Benefit Corporations (B Corp). Certified B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance people, planet, and profit, using business as a force for good.  

“GreenSpark is tremendously proud to work with a fellow, local B Corp in Home Leasing, with a mission to improve the lives of its residents and the communities in which it works,” expressed GreenSpark CEO, Kevin Schulte. “We feel strongly that solar energy can benefit all people in our community and the Leenhouts Family gets it, as they will be passing these savings onto Home Leasing affordable housing communities.”

The project is estimated to generate 2.6 million kilowatts hours of electricity in the first year alone. That’s equivalent to removing the greenhouse gas emissions from almost 400 passenger vehicles in one year or 4.5 million miles driven. To put it in more familiar terms, the clean electricity generated is enough to cover the electricity for over 300 homes or charge nearly 250 million smartphones in just one year.

The Home Leasing communities that will benefit from the solar array provide affordable housing options to families and seniors in the Rochester area. These properties were developed by Home Leasing in partnership with funding provided by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).  Providing solar energy to these properties continues the effort by Home Leasing in partnership with the State of New York to put affordable housing in the forefront of the effort to address climate change and achieving net zero carbon emissions.

“Home Leasing has been an exemplary partner in the development and management of high-quality affordable housing. Now they are going the extra mile to make those homes more self-reliant and environmentally sustainable while setting the pace and example for all other developers of housing, whether it is affordable or market-rate,” expressed HCR Commissioner, RuthAnne Visnauskas.

The solar project aligns with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative to have 70 percent of New York’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. This project is partially funded through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Value of Distributed Energy Resources. 

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About Home Leasing:  Rochester-based Home Leasing specializes in the development, construction and management of high-quality apartment communities with a mission to, “Improve the lives of our residents and the communities in which we work.”  Founded by veteran real estate developer and former co-CEO and co-Chairman of Home Properties Nelson Leenhouts, the company is owned and operated by three generations of the Leenhouts Family.  Home Leasing today employs over 200 people who provide support to or are directly involved in the day-to-day operations of affordable, mixed income and market rate residential communities across New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

About GreenSpark Solar:  GreenSpark Solar, Loyal to People and Planet, creates fiercely local, cost-effective, clean energy options for the Greater Rochester Community. GreenSpark is a fully independent B Corp with a mission to provide diverse renewable energy solutions that produce meaningful cost savings, local economic benefits, and a better balance with our planet for homeowners, business owners, community partners, and more. GreenSpark’s success is a result of our passionate and experienced team, and our commitment to using business as a force for good for nearly 20 years. We can be both profitable and collaborative—creating win-win partnerships that benefit our long-term company health along with our growing solar family of customers, vendors, subcontractors, and our planet.

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