WinnCompanies Completes Washington, D.C.’s Largest Community Solar Project

In March, Better Buildings Challenge multifamily partner WinnCompanies announced the completion of Washington, D.C.’s largest community solar project, aimed at reducing energy bills for low-income residents throughout the nation’s capital. WinnCompanies is participating in Solar for All, a program of the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) that seeks to extend the benefits of solar electricity to 100,000 low-income households and reduce their energy bills by 50 percent by 2032. Winn also created www.solarsavingsdc.com, an online portal to help explain the program and subscribe residents.

The company installed the 651 KW solar panel facility on the roofs of Atlantic Terrace Apartments, six garden-style buildings comprising 195 units. The clean energy will be fed into the District’s utility grid in a net metering arrangement, and the savings will be passed back to qualified low-income residents through credits reflected on their utility bills. The project is financed with a $1.3 million Solar for All grant.

The solar installation at Atlantic Terrace occurred as the company completed a $69 million rehabilitation project at the community and its sister property, Atlantic Gardens. The two-year effort modernized 303 apartments while preserving both communities as critically-needed Project-Based Section 8 housing for 750 residents.

WinnCompanies is working to bring additional community solar projects online throughout the District in the near future. In the past decade, the company has invested more than $50 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across its affordable housing portfolio, combatting climate change while saving money for residents and property owners.