Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partners Bringing Clean, Affordable Energy to Hilltop Businesses and Homeowners

photo credit: EIS Solar

Community projects in Pittsburgh’s Hilltop neighborhoods are harnessing the power of the sun while saving money with the help of nonprofits in the region.

Through initiatives supported by partners at New Sun Rising and Hilltop Alliance, once abandoned buildings are becoming gathering spaces and residential homes are being made more affordable. The collective investment across three commercial and four residential properties will produce 85 mWh of solar energy each year.  When combined, the boost to these projects’ financial and environmental resilience is substantial. Each year it will save business owners and residents $12,000 in energy costs while keeping 27 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere – the equivalent of growing 447 trees for 10 years.

“Energy is one of the most important systems to consider in our communities as it impacts everything, particularly in places with old building stock like Pittsburgh,” said Scott Wolovich, Executive Director of New Sun Rising. “Decisions about how we produce and use our energy affect local issues like affordability and job creation, as well as reducing climate-related threats like extreme heat and flooding that affect us all.”

At 600 Beltzhoover Avenue stands a former bodega and social hub that fell into vacancy and disrepair. Initially acquired by Hilltop Alliance for sale to South Hilltop Men’s Group and New Sun Rising for redevelopment, it is being transformed into the solar powered Beltzhoover Institute for Arts & Sciences, a 10,000 sq. ft. hub for STEAM learning, green workforce training, and food production. 

Just down the hill at 120 Millbridge Street, an 11,500 sq. ft. former woodworking studio has been transformed into a sustainable creative industries center for cultural production, artist residencies, skill building, and community events. With reclaimed materials, modular construction, and solar power at its core, the Urban Homestead project is a low-impact, high-value asset designed to evolve with the Allentown neighborhood. The American made solar panels and inverters are housed on the flat roof, and projected to produce 29.7 kWh of clean, renewable electricity while saving $4,400 in the first year, said Ian Smith of EIS Solar, who installed the system.

The Hilltop Alliance is incorporating solar into its 209 Bausman Street headquarters. In addition to a 24 kW solar system, the building’s resilience features include an EV charging station and battery storage for approximately 60 hours of emergency power, saving $3,500 in electrical costs in the first year alone. The project benefitted from technical assistance of the PA Solar Center, a one-stop shop to manage the solar procurement process that began as a fiscally sponsored project of New Sun Rising.

“We are very excited to be a part of this collaborative, broad-based effort advancing community benefiting solar power and will continue developing opportunities and funding for future installations,” said Bill Shimko, Executive Director, Hilltop Alliance. 

Another project operating with the support of New Sun Rising’s shared nonprofit management umbrella is Energy Efficiency Empowerment (E3). As experts in residential energy efficiency improvements, they worked with nonprofit developers like Hilltop Alliance and the URA’s Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation to implement energy and cost saving strategies, like insulation and heat pumps, that reduce emissions and to make home ownership more affordable. For some homes, benefits are amplified by rooftop solar leases developed with the support of Fairshake Environmental Legal Services, allowing financial savings to flow to future homeowners while New Sun Rising retains tax credits to support future E3 projects.

“It was a privilege to work with passionate leaders at Hilltop Alliance and PHDC on projects in Beltzhoover and Allentown and to be part of the effort to turn the tide for these neighborhoods,” said Lucy de Barbaro, Energy Efficiency Empowerment (E3).

Learn more about how Energy clusters are growing a more resilient and diversified Active Economy in this regional report.

This blog was a collaboration between New Sun Rising and Hilltop Alliance.