State-funded incentive programs have brought solar panels and solar water heaters to four senior housing communities operated by HumanGood in California. A fifth community is three-fourths through solar installation, and HumanGood hopes to retrofit 23 communities in total with renewable energy by the end of 2024.
The panels should lower the residents’ energy bills, the company states, in part because the state programs are designed to lower upfront costs.
“There are many benefits to solar, whether it’s the reduction in our buildings’ carbon footprint, the cost savings to daily operations and residents, or just doing our part of being responsible building owners,” construction management director George Sousou said in a statement.
HumanGood has more than 100 retirement and affordable senior housing communities within California, Pennsylvania and Washington, its website states.
Several senior living providers are looking to solar options as a way of benefitting their communities and also touting a commitment to environmental options that reduce their carbon footprint.
Earlier this year, The Village at Orchard Ridge in Winchester, VA, announced new construction for a nearly 2-megawatt solar installation that can meet 85% of the community’s needs.
Additionally, a long-term care facility in Sheboygan, WI, the Sheboygan Senior Community, put solar panels on its campus back in 2021 to cut down on energy use and save money. That project also was facilitated by state grant funding, McKnight’s reported at the time.
