Namasté Solar and the community donate community solar subscriptions to 176 low-income families
Boulder, Colorado, United States – Namasté Solar announces that it has raised $43,900 through the Keep the Lights on Colorado campaign to make solar energy more accessible this winter to 176 Colorado families that are unable to keep up with utility payments.
Namasté Solar created Keep the Lights on Colorado in 2020 to honor its vision of engaging in and creating holistic wealth for the community. It’s an annual month-long campaign that raises money for Energy Outreach Colorado, a Denver-based not-for-profit, that helps families throughout Colorado afford their energy costs.
Namasté Solar brought businesses and individuals together to support the campaign with 16 corporate sponsors and 60 individual donors helping provide community solar subscriptions to low-income families.
The community solar subscriptions are addressing an immediate need by taking a cost burden away from families and giving them the freedom to invest in other wants or needs. In looking at the long-term impacts, lower-income communities are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental hazards like pollution and CO2 emissions.
According to Energy Outreach Colorado:
- 1 in 4 households struggle with a high energy burden.
- These households are spending a disproportionate amount of their income on energy bills. The energy burden on low-income households is 3x that of higher-income households.
- Households that meet or are below the 80% area median income threshold are often making difficult decisions because their home energy can cost more than 20% of their monthly income.
By making renewable energy more accessible, Keep the Lights on Colorado provides energy bill relief for families all while offsetting 623,216 pounds of CO2 this year, the equivalent of 710,446 miles driven by one car.
Energy Outreach Colorado gives families access to community solar subscriptions* that provide long-term stability in the form of monthly bill credits, which will reduce their annual home energy costs by 37%.
Namasté Solar is appreciative of all the individuals and companies that contributed this year to helping 176 Colorado families access the necessity of a safe, warm home and recognizes these corporate sponsors:
- Leadership Level Sponsors ($5,000 supporting 20 families): REC Group.
- Influencer Level Sponsors ($2,500 supporting 10 families): Alpine Bank, Moye White, BayWa r.e.
- Premier Members Credit Union, Amalgamated Bank, and Studio Shed.
- Promoter Level Sponsors ($1,000 supporting 4 families): Conscience Bay Company, BSW Wealth.
- Partners, Vermilion Design + Digital, Shirazi Benefits, Plante Moran, IMA Financial Group, Domoto.
- Brands, KUNC, and The Colorado Sound.
Tess Richey, director of development at Energy Outreach Colorado said:
“The participants enrolled in Energy Outreach Colorado’s solar energy program are thrilled to see areduction in their home energy costs. By saving money each month, and by offsetting C02 emissions through a cleaner energy source, families can focus on having a healthy and secure future. Through the Keep the Lights on Colorado campaign, we can extend affordable, reliable, and efficient energy to even more households that are currently struggling to keep their home’s electricity on.”
Sam Mason, Namasté Solar co-owner and commercial design team manager said:
“A benefit of this campaign is putting choice in the hands of Colorado families struggling to afford home energy bills; only when someone’s immediate needs are met can choices be made that affect the long term. For example, if I’m struggling with basic necessities like utility bills I may not have the ability to prioritize reducing my environmental impact.”
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About Energy Outreach Colorado
Energy Outreach Colorado is a Denver-based not-for-profit helping families throughout Colorado who are struggling to afford their home energy bills. In addition to bill payment assistance and energy efficiency upgrades, Energy Outreach Colorado assists families through subscriptions to community solar gardens*. These subscriptions provide long-term stability in the form of monthly bill credits that reduce the burden of home energy costs and free up dollars for other basic needs for these families – all while utilizing the cost-saving and environmental benefits of clean solar energy.
For more information, please visit www.energyoutreach.org.
About Namasté Solar
Founded in 2005, Namasté Solar is an employee-owned Colorado Public Benefit Cooperative and Certified B Corporation that develops, designs, installs, and maintains solar electric systems for homeowners, commercial property owners, and utility-scale developers. Namasté Solar also provides
highly specialized solar engineering, design, consulting services, as well as maintenance and operations for solar projects across the United States. The company is on a mission to accelerate the adoption of clean renewable energy and to prove there’s a better way to do business. As a B Corp, Namasté Solar is part of a global movement using business as a force for good to solve social and environmental challenges. The company has installed more than 9,800 clean energy systems that produce over 137 megawatts combined.
For more information, please visit www.namastesolar.com.
* The subscriptions provided are not affiliated with projects built by or in benefit of Namasté Solar.
Media Contact
Chelsea Thomas
Namasté Solar
Content Marketing Specialist
[email protected]
Press release provided by Namasté Solar. Photo credit Namasté Solar.
