Renewable Community Solar Energy - New Partners Community Solar

New Partners develops and operates solar arrays throughout the District of Columbia.

We’re committed to Solar for All, directing all of the economic benefits of our energy production to low-income residents.

Let us show you how to dedicate your unused rooftop space to create an environmentally sustainable future and support our most vulnerable residents.

Explore our project portfolio to see our work in action and how we help make the benefits of clean renewable energy available to all.

What Is Community Solar?

Creating a Truly Interconnected City

With solar projects in the District of Columbia’s NW, NE, SW, and SE quadrants and serving low-income households in NW, SW, and SE, New Partners has created an innovative program to provide solar energy benefits to residents who can’t afford their own solar arrays.

How It Works

What We Care About

Environmental Justice, positive social and community impact, innovative technological approaches, and strategic financial partnerships guide our work. Click on a focus area below to learn more.

Environmental Justice Advocacy

Environmental degradation does not affect communities equally. Disadvantaged communities have lower carbon footprints and contribute less to negative climate change, yet feel the burdens more acutely. A critical part of our work is to advocate and promote policies...

Resilience Against Climate Change

New Partners is committed to mitigating climate change through producing renewable energy and developing sound energy policy. Our innovative work in battery storage provides resilience strategies both for the electric grid and for people among us who may be least...

Renewable Energy Education

Renewable energy education is key to our mission. From elementary schoolchildren to graduate students, commercial building owners to policymakers, and returning citizens to housing managers, we support our communities by teaching about environmental issues, renewable...

Bringing Renewable Energy to Underserved Communities

Substantial upfront costs and complicated financial, economic, and legal hurdles prohibit many underserved communities from adopting solar. By working with affordable housing owners and managers, lenders, investors, and government partners, we offer the benefits of...

Creating New Real Estate for Solar

Washington DC is an urban area with tightly-confined borders and limited open space available for solar production. By identifying unused rooftop space and designing solar projects that co-exist with rooftop terraces, large equipment, and green roofs, our work expands...

Partnering for Innovation

In addition to our direct solar development and finance work, we leverage our experience by designing solar projects and programs for others. Working directly with affordable housing and commercial building owners, tenants, and property managers, we address each...

“[New Partners] were driven by mission – they took no developer fee and contributed all the legal work associated with the project pro-bono. And their model is replicable, particularly as it is scaled.”

~ Thom Amdur, Tax Credit Advisor, March 2017

“The savings that are coming from Jubilee Housing’s solar panels as well as solar panels throughout the city are going directly to our residents.”

~ Rebecca Ely, Jubilee Housing’s Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Our Impact

We measure our impact both by how we are benefitting the environment and by how we are benefitting the community.

1st

Community Solar Project in Washington DC

1st

Solar+Green Roof on a downtown DC office building

1st

Solar+Battery Resiliency Hub for affordable housing tenants

1st

Low-Income Community Solar in Washington DC

1st

Vertical wall-mounted arrays to maximize rooftop solar production

1st

Project qualifying for US Green Building Council’s pilot LEED credit for social impact

TONS OF CARBON OFFSET

FAMILIES BENEFITTING

2M+

kWh of CLEAN ENERGY

%

REDUCTION IN UTILITY BILL PAYMENTS FOR OUR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

%

OF OUR ENERGY CREDITS GO TOWARD OFFSETTING PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS’ BILLS

Recognition and Latest News

Nkechi Ogbue, our new Director of Operations

We are thrilled to welcome Nkechi Ogbue, our new Director of Operations! With her strong leadership background, Nkechi will help New Partners Community Solar create new programs and services – pushing the limits of making renewable energy accessible to everyone, regardless of income.

One of the Best Nonprofits 2024 – 2025

Spur Local (formerly Catalogue for Philanthropy of Greater Washington) has designated New Partners Community Solar as a “Critical Nonprofit,” joining a cadre of dedicated high-impact nonprofits working for the greater good.

Microgrid Greater Good Award

New Partners Community Solar, with Jubilee Housing, Simpliphi Power, Amidus, Pepco, and Clean Energy Group, received this award from Microgrid Knowledge in recognition of New Partners’ pioneering work in pairing battery storage with onsite solar energy production to develop DC’s first low-income resiliency hub.

DC Clean Energy Champion

The Clean Energy State Alliance recognized New Partners’ leadership in creating DC’s first community solar program exclusively for the benefit of low-income DC households and its advancement of clean energy solutions.

Community/Shared Renewables Project of the Year

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council presented New Partners with this award at the 2018 Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco, recognizing the national importance of New Partners’ work in fostering solar for all.

District of Columbia Sustainability Award

New Partners and Nixon Peabody were jointly honored by the District of Columbia as businesses making a significant impact toward a more sustainable DC, including the development of the first community solar project in the DC area.

District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment Working Group.

New Partners Community Solar is now part of the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment Working Group. At a recent meeting highlighted our development of DC’s first Resiliency Hub, providing Jubilee Housing’s Maycroft Apartments residents a shelter-in-place hub powered by batteries fed by the solar array on the building’s rooftop.

DC Sustainable Business Registry

New Partners Community Solar is proud to have been selected as a member of the DC Sustainable Business Registry, celebrating our commitment to sustainability and providing a model for other businesses to improve their sustainability and environmental footprint.

Solar Builder Project of the Year

New Partners received the Solar Builder Magazine Editor’s Choice Award for its visionary work with Jubilee Housing, PEPCO, and the DC Department of Energy and Environment to create DC’s first affordable housing resiliency center powered by solar + Battery storage: The Resiliency Center at the Maycroft Apartments.

Solar for All Task Force

New Partners Community Solar has been tapped to join the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment’s Solar for All Task Force. Solar for All aims to bring the benefits of solar energy to 100,000 low to moderate income families. New Partners’ initial community solar program was instrumental in the development of Solar for All.