Solar in Philadelphia Part II

Continuation of “Solar in Philadelphia Part I”

Retrofits are expected to pay for themselves eventually through decreased renewable energy prices. Unfortunately, investors and energy services firms have tendencies to avoid small-scale low- and moderate-income housing projects.

This has resulted in the School District of Philadelphia enduring financial challenges that has caused access to financing for capital improvements harder. Through collective projects, the Energy Authority can better attract investment for smaller-scale assignments that typically wouldn’t receive funding, Schapira says.

Philadelphia's campaign ties equity concerns to energy goals, says Caroline Lauer, a researcher who studied the Philadelphia Energy Campaign as a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

In her report, which won "Best Paper on Housing" from the Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies, Lauer calls the campaign "an unlikely success story of a municipal climate initiative prioritizing the needs of its low-income and minority residents, transcending the disconnect between equity and environment by addressing affordable, safe housing through energy policy."

Case Study

Lauer, now a doctoral student in the University of North Carolina's city and regional planning department, says Philadelphia's energy campaign is an attractive case study she dual aim of solar energy efficiency and poverty reduction was evident. "They approached the problem in a way that was much more holistic and intentional than I had really seen before," she says.

The Philadelphia Energy Authority began in 2010 by Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke and then-Mayor Michael Nutter. But the campaign didn't take for 5 years, when Clarke, whose issues are affordable housing, poverty, and energy goals, tasked Schapira with developing a program that connects clean energy efficiency work to job development.

While the campaign has gained support for its ambitions, moving past the pilot phase of its programs. Mark Alan Hughes, faculty director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, says the city is focused on solar energy projects that will pay for themselves through reduced costs.

Several of its programs need households to participate, Hughes says. Cities are limited in their ability tofulfill environmental goals than they like to admit, Hughes says. The authority is focused on decreasing renewable energy prices for lower-income residents.

Schapira conducted a heating-oil cooperative in Philadelphia after graduating from college. The experience helped her view of energy efficiency, poverty and housing preservation. The goal of the renewable energy campaign is its four sectors of focus; affordable housing, schools, municipal buildings and small businesses will "leverage each other," bringing in energy investors that might not go for each project individually, Schapira says.

The campaign anticipates to decrease price to make a difference for low-income people while reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions. "Energy is just a tool for impact," Schapira says. "It's not about the energy itself. Even though that is a great benefit, that's the least important benefit of it. The most important benefit is housing preservation, poverty reduction, job creation real things that change the trajectory of this city. And I think this scale is big enough that we're talking about a real impact here."

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