How does rooftop solar make communities more resilient?

Johanna Neumann, the Senior Director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy at Environment America, spoke about solar and resiliency on a panel at the PACENation Summit 2023 held in New York City.

“PACE financing can be a great way to reduce energy costs, cut pollution, make spaces more comfortable and make our homes and communities more resilient in the face of increasingly extreme weather,” said Neumann.

Across the United States, communities are working to make buildings more resilient to natural disasters, extreme weather events, and volatile energy prices. One of the tools in the toolbox to finance these types of projects is PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy).

Holly Edinger, a program manager at Slipstream facilitated the panel and explained which states have adopted resiliency standards. Johanna Neumann, Senior Director, Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy at Environment America spoke about the resiliency benefits of rooftop solar. Abby Johnson, Executive Director, of the Virginia PACE Authority & President of Abacus Property Solutions explained that ASTM is working to develop standards around resiliency and Erin Deady, an urban planner who works with communities throughout Florida on climate resiliency shared stories of PACE-funded resiliency projects and lessons learned.