Affordable, Renewable Energy in Washington, D.C.

We are excited to expand our renewable energy portfolio through a new loan facility to Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) and its District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) program. This deal will help finance solar systems on low-to-moderate-income (LMI) single-family houses at no charge to the homeowners, lowering resident’s electricity bills and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

The DCSEU helps DC residents and businesses use less energy and save money. Through Solar for All, a Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) program, the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) is working with local solar contractors to design and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at no cost to income-qualified District homeowners. The Solar for All program aims to bring solar electricity to 100,000 low-income households and reduce their energy bills by 50% by 2032.

Calvert Impact Capital is providing the DCSEU access to flexible capital to advance Solar for All work. Our financing will support the DCSEU’s recently launched Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) purchase program. SRECs show that a certain amount of electricity was produced by solar systems. For example, an SREC is generated every time one megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean, renewable electricity is produced and the average single-family solar system generates between three and seven SRECs per year. Homeowners/residents who own their solar systems, or others those who hold the SRECs, can sell SRECs on the SREC market to electricity suppliers and utilities.

Over the course of the program, the DCSEU aims to provide more than 200 income qualified homeowners with home solar systems at zero cost in exchange for granting the DCSEU their SREC revenue for five years. More than 70 income-qualified homeowners have already benefited from this program. In addition to benefiting from lower energy bills, homeowners will own the solar system upon installation and will own the SRECS generated from the system after five years.

This is our first investment with the DCSEU and we are excited about the depth of experience and dedication to mission they bring to our renewable energy portfolio.

Want to learn more about the DCSEU? Visit their website or read their Annual Report.