Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Wilmington Housing Authority unveils solar array in Southbridge

Sophia Schmidt
/
Delaware Public Media
Solar panels at the former WHA Southbridge Extension site

The Wilmington Housing Authority joined state and local officials Monday to show off a new solar array at the former 180-unit WHA Southbridge Extension site in Wilmington’s Southbridge neighborhood.

 

 

  

According to city officials, it’s currently the largest privately-financed, public housing solar project in the country.

 

The project is expected to save the Wilmington Housing Authority $1.2 million over the course of a 25 year contract with Ecogy Energy, which developed and financed the project.

 

The solar installation went live earlier this month, and produces 1.15 megawatts of energy. According to Roger Turk of the Wilmington Housing Authority, that’s enough to power about 300 of the Housing Authority’s more than 1300 units.

 

It’s also enough to offset CO2 emissions from more than 69,000 barrels of oil or nearly 33,000,000 pounds of coal burned, according to city officials.

 

Ken Becker of Ecogy Energy says the the park is unusual because it allows public housing residents to reap the benefits of renewable energy.

 

“Typically solar panels … are on very expensive homes, and that’s because the residents have to pay for those panels, and they’re not cheap. So low-income people can’t afford those,” he said. “What we did here was … we paid for everything and the Housing Authority simply pays for the electricity, which is below grid price.”

 

Wilmington Housing Authority Acting Executive Director Karen Spellman says installing the solar panels created 15 temporary jobs for local residents. And one of them was hired full-time to handle maintenance.

 

 

Credit Sophia Schmidt, Delaware Public Media
Wilmington Housing Authority, state and local officials "flip the switch" on the new Southbridge solar array.

  

Spellman says the Housing Authority hopes to do more projects like this one.

 

“We still have about three acres over there. We’ve already started talks about expanding this park,” she said. “So that we can service more of our facilities.”

 

According to Spellman, funding from the project came in part from a HUD grant, a loan from Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, and Solar Renewable Energy Credits obtained by Ecogy Energy. 

Gov. John Carney noted the significance of building a renewable energy facility in Southbridge, which he says experiences the effects of climate change and rising sea levels in the form of flooding.

 

The City of Wilmington has plans for a South Wilmington Wetland Park which hopes to reduce flooding in Southbridge. An open house where citizens can give input about the Wetland Park is planned for June 19th at 6pm at Elbert-Palmer Elementary School.

 

 

A previous version of this story indicated funding for this project included a loan from Delaware State University (DSU).  The loan came from Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (DSEU) and the story has been updated to reflect that.  Delaware Public media apologizes for the error.

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
Related Content