Boosting the Success of the Broward Solar Co-op

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The success of the Broward Solar Co-op, a program offering solar system installation at a bulk purchase discount with customer support, was boosted by investing in an aggressive marketing and educational campaign, incentivizing a non-profit to recruit solar co-op participants effectively, and by incentivizing residents to invest in solar systems with a discount group price and free technical support and assistance while the federal tax credit was available. The 2019 Solar Co-op was well supported by the community, with a record breaking 226 sign-ups. Over 55 projects were completed through the co-op, resulting in lifetime carbon reductions of 20,452,509 million lbs. Each resident was eligible to take advantage of the federal tax rebate in addition to the discount co-op installation rate, saving them $10,000s. By July 2020, $1.9 million of economic investment resulted from the program, creating 16 jobs and installing 965.8 kW of solar. By going solar, homeowners helped support the implementation of the County’s goal of increasing renewable energy use and reducing emissions to mitigate climate change. The program was aligned with existing county initiatives to further assist low-and moderate- income residents in relieving energy burden. Hosting a solar co-op was a creative and unusual way for local government to support solar installations while minimizing long term investment needs.