Perch Energy & Nuveen Launch Campaign to Enroll Thousands of Affordable Housing Residents in Community Solar Across NYC
09 July 2024 - 9:30PM
Perch Energy (Perch), a clean energy technology platform and
community solar servicer, and Nuveen, a leading global investment
manager and one of the nation’s largest owners of affordable
housing, today announced a campaign to offer thousands of low-and
moderate-income residents in Nuveen’s properties access to
community solar and substantial discounts on their electricity
bills.
In October 2023 the Private Equity Impact team at Nuveen, the
$1.1 trillion asset manager of TIAA, committed $30 million in
Series B equity to Perch and since investment, has worked closely
with both Nuveen’s affordable housing team and Perch to pioneer a
strategy to bring community solar to low-income households at
scale.
The campaign has begun enrolling 1,700 units, home to an
estimated 5,000 residents from seven properties across The Bronx,
Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, through special events and lease
renewals. Nuveen owns and maintains over 15,000 affordable housing
units in NYC alone.
This partnership underscores Nuveen's commitment to
sustainability and enhancing the living standards of its residents,
who can expect up to 20% savings on their monthly electricity bills
after signup. The initiative will also mean that cost savings from
community spaces can be re-invested in additional environmental
performance projects across Nuveen’s affordable housing portfolio,
such as LED lighting replacements and low flow fixtures.
“We are excited to bring community solar and meaningful savings
to Nuveen’s affordable housing residents in NYC. Our investment in
Perch is emblematic of our focus on investing in companies that can
leverage the broader Nuveen platform to drive an equitable
transition to a low carbon economy,” said Radhika Shroff, Managing
Director at Nuveen PE Impact.
As a firm dedicated to environmental stewardship and social
responsibility, Nuveen is excited to partner with Perch Energy to
bring the benefits of community solar to our residents, including
reducing monthly electricity bills, freeing up those funds for
other necessities" said Jason Acosta, Head of US Asset Management –
Impact Investing at Nuveen Real Estate. "This initiative not only
elevates the lives of residents at our affordable housing
developments, but will enhance the breadth of sustainability
initiatives across the investment portfolio.”
“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Nuveen to deliver
thousands of New Yorkers access to significant cost savings on a
major expense like their electricity bill,” said Bruce Stewart, CEO
of Perch Energy. “This effort will bring at least one bill down for
working families, especially at a time when the cost of everything
else is rising. Community solar is making good on the promise that
solar can benefit everyone, including renters and not just those
with the resources to install solar panels on their roof.”
Perch’s new community solar capacity under management has
increased by 133% since 2021 in New York alone, with the company
currently managing over 150 solar farms nationwide. Each MW of
capacity Perch manages in New York is enough to subscribe 280
average households.
The New York campaign is the first step in bringing lower
electric bills to affordable housing residents and renters in every
state with a community solar market.
About Perch EnergyBoston-based Perch Energy is
an industry-leading community solar servicer that’s helped renters,
homeowners, and businesses save nearly $30 million cumulatively in
total energy discounts since its founding in 2021. Recognized as a
2022 “Company of the Year” in The Cleanie Awards®, Perch’s clean
energy technology platform makes it easy for businesses,
municipalities, residential customers to sign up for community
solar and save. Perch offers a suite of services to solar farm
developers and owners to maximize the ROI of their assets, from
customer acquisition, onboarding, lifecycle management, and
billing, to regulatory and policy expertise for navigating
community solar program rules. Perch is the largest pure-play
community solar servicer in the U.S. To date, Perch has provided
services for solar projects which have generated over 1.7 billion
kWh of power across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maine,
Maryland, Minnesota, and Illinois—with expansion plans into
Colorado, New Mexico, California, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
For more information, please visit www.perchenergy.com.
Media Contact:FischTank
PRperch@fischtankpr.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5947964-e9e1-4786-8d37-bcf7085c2f9c