Pittsburgh neighborhood organization taps local talent for rooftop solar project

A community organization in Wilkinsburg, a borough of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, just switched on a rooftop solar array as a demonstration for the whole neighborhood. The Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation (WCDC) installed a 23.4-kilowatt system with 39 panels on its building, working with local contractor EIS Solar. In its first month, the array produced 7% more power than expected.

The project took three years to put together, with help from the Pennsylvania Solar Center, a nonprofit that guided WCDC through the paperwork and financing and connected it with a contractor. Money came from several places: a Google employee donated $10,000, which Google matched with another $10,000; a local lender called Neighborhood Community Development Fund created a custom loan for the project; and it also qualified for a state energy-efficiency rebate along with the federal solar tax credit and an extra bonus for using domestically made equipment.

WCDC's leaders say the point isn't just to cut their own electric bill. They want the project to show other businesses and organizations in the area what going solar looks like in practice, and they plan to hold workshops to help more local groups do the same. If you live in the area, this is a sign that solar financing options, including local lenders and combined incentives, can make projects work even for nonprofits and small organizations, not just homeowners with cash on hand. It may be worth checking what similar rebates, tax credits, or local financing programs are available in your own state.