American Red Cross building goes net zero with New Jersey rooftop PV deployment

Ecogy Energy, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based commercial solar developer, announced that the construction of a 120.1 kW rooftop solar system for the Red Cross in Tinton Falls, N.J. The installation will make the building net zero.

The Red Cross New Jersey region will reduce its own electricity needs, while also helping New Jersey reach its decarbonization goal of procuring 50% of its energy from renewable generation by 2030.

The solar array will provide on-site power for use by the nonprofit, while a future solar facility will utilize a community solar project located at an off-site location that will provide local subscription access to residents of the township.

The Red Cross’ first rooftop system will produce roughly 2.7 GWh of electricity over the next 20 years, the equivalent of powering 19 homes.

“The savings generated by building this solar system atop our roof will allow us to commit even more resources to providing quality support to communities and families in need,” said Rosie Taravella, regional chief executive officer of American Red Cross New Jersey Region. “As a humanitarian organization that serves families and communities impacted by climate disasters, our goal is to minimize our own environmental footprint.”

Ecogy will sell the power produced by the system back to the Red Cross through a power purchase agreement. In exchange, Ecogy will retain the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) generated for each MW of solar energy produced.

Formed in 2010, Ecogy develops distributed generation and community solar projects for small businesses, non-profits, municipal entities and places of worship in about 11 Eastern states, the District of Columbia and Caribbean market.

In April 2021, the American Red Cross made a climate pledge to lower its carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy systems across its operations network and assist in the production of clean energy assets in communities affected by climate change.