Genevieve Fenwick lives in a classic row home in Baltimore’s Belair-Edison neighborhood. Living on a fixed income, Fenwick said, “I’m the last person on earth you’d expect to have 12 solar panels powering my row home.” But thanks to GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit bringing renewable energy to underserved communities, the solar panels on Fenwick’s roof will soon be turning sunlight into electricity.
Construction on Brian Haas’ new home is still underway, but the U.S. Army veteran welcomed a yard full of guests to the property today. Elected officials, business leaders and volunteers were there to celebrate the installation of a rooftop solar system by GRID Alternatives' employees and job trainees on Haas’ new three-bedroom house, built by Purcellville nonprofit HeroHomes, with solar panels donated by Standard Solar.
As the cost of solar technology continues to drop, more Americans – and DC residents – are opting to install rooftop solar panels to defray electricity costs and green their homes. Ashley David, a DC teenager, urged her family to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on their Northeast DC home, and in May the David home became the symbolic one millionth solar installation in the US.
The District of Columbia will now join the ranks of states with aggressive renewable energy targets, such as California, New York and, more recently, Oregon. A month after the District of Columbia Council unanimously approved legislation to target 50% renewables, Bowser signed the legislation and gave a preview of the city's plan to turn it into a boon for both employment and the environment.
The nation’s capital now has the fifth-most-aggressive RPS policy in the nation. As part of the new program the city plans to install solar PV on 100,000 homes where low-income families live.
DC Mayor Bowser promoted a solar program to save money for low-income families. The DC mayor signed legislation to help 100,000 low-income families a year to install solar by the year 2032.
Today, Mayor Bowser of the District of Columbia signed the Renewable Portfolio Standard Expansion Act of 2016 into Law. This legislation, which was introduced by Councilmember Cheh and unanimously passed by the Council, will simultaneously increase the use of clean energy in DC, bring clean energy and energy savings to 100,000 low-income homeowners by the year 2032, and will create hundreds of clean energy jobs each year.
By the year 2032, half of D.C.'s energy will be from renewable energy, as required by the new Renewable Portfolio Standard signed into law today by DC Mayor Bowser. At least 5 percent of this clean energy will be from solar, with a program that will allow 100,000 low-income residents to benefit from solar energy-savings by 2032.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has signed into law a bill that increases the district’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) from 20% by 2020 to 50% by 2032 – with a 5% solar carve-out.
