Module manufacturer JinkoSolar’s U.S. subsidiary has donated 14 kW to RE-volv, a solar nonprofit and member of the White House National Community Solar Partnership. The donation will provide two local charities with solar power.
JinkoSolar says its donation significantly reduced RE-volv’s crowdfunding goal, allowing both the Serenity House in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Riverwest Co-op, in Milwaukee, Wis., to enjoy the benefits of solar sooner than anticipated.
5.6 kW of JinkoSolar modules have been installed on the Serenity House, an outreach ministry of the Arch Street United Methodist Church. The rooftop system is expected to save the Serenity House over 15% on its monthly electricity costs. Arch Street United Methodist Church will reinvest the savings into its community services.
The remaining 8.4 kW will be installed on the Riverwest Co-op, a natural food store and cafe located in Milwaukee’s diverse Riverwest neighborhood. The co-op is dedicated to providing the community with nutritious, wholesome food and supporting local producers along the way. With the help of Jinko’s module donation, Riverwest Co-op will save $40,000 in electricity costs over the lifetime of the system.
Through its revolving Solar Seed Fund, RE-volv will use the ongoing lease payments from these two projects to finance four more solar projects for other community-serving nonprofits and co-ops.
“These two projects mark an important milestone for us, as they are our first projects outside of California,” declares Andreas Karelas, founder and executive director of RE-volv. “Thanks to our on-the-ground Solar Ambassador college fellows spearheading the projects, and the generous support of JinkoSolar, it’s now possible for us to successfully empower community-serving organizations with solar energy around the country.”
“JinkoSolar is proud to support RE-volv in reaching its goals in providing solar energy to nonprofits across the U.S.,” says Nigel Cockroft, general manager of JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc. “As we are a company committed to giving back, we were excited to learn that the savings realized from our donation will be reinvested back into the respective communities.”
