Lincoln Habitat And Lincoln Electric System Partner To Provide Low-Income Households With Renewable Energy Savings

(KFOR NEWS January 11, 2023) LINCOLN, NE – Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln and Lancaster County (Habitat) on Tuesday announced that two low-income households in the Lincoln area have been gifted subscriptions through their new Saving with Solar program. This program is expected to save each household $320 a year, reducing their electricity bills by nearly 25% and displacing 46% of their electricity consumption.

This program consists of a unique partnership between Habitat, Lincoln Electric System (LES) – Lincoln’s municipal utility – and the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, facilitated by World Resources Institute (WRI). Using grant funding from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Habitat purchased panels from LES’s community solar program and assigned them to two households in need. The credits from the solar panels’ production will provide electricity bill savings to these households without the upfront or monthly costs that such subscriptions typically require – providing these households with electricity savings on day one.

The National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP) has established a goal of providing at least 20% electricity bill savings for residential community solar subscribers. This partnership represents one more step towards this goal. As the spike in energy costs and the impacts of record inflation continue to disproportionately impact low-income households, this program helps alleviate the crisis of energy affordability for Lincoln-area households while supporting clean energy.

This pilot is a preview of the power of collaboration, partnership and innovative solutions. With more funding, Habitat will be positioned to help even more low-income Lincoln-area households save on their electricity bills.