Small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities throughout the state will be able to go solar through Pennsylvania BRIGHT with no money down, saving an average of 25% in electricity costs each year for the next 25 years – and will do so in time to take advantage of the soon-expiring federal tax credits.
“The PA Solar Center is so proud and grateful to be partnering with the Capital Good Fund in this revolutionary approach to lowering energy bills across Pennsylvania,” said Sharon Pillar, Founder and Executive Director of the PA Solar Center. “Our nonprofit’s GET Solar program has been offering trusted, unbiased guidance to hundreds of entities for the past eight years by helping them decide whether solar is right for them, as well as connecting them to financing options and qualified solar developers.
“It’s a dream to help nearly 70 of them go solar in one fell swoop with Capital Good Fund, especially since many of them were too small to get this type of financing on their own.
“Our organization has curated many of these projects for several years in collaboration with other groups such as the Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT) in Pittsburgh and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Those long-standing and pivotal relationships facilitated a large number of these projects.”
Capital Good Fund will oversee the construction and operation of the entities’ new solar arrays under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), which will help lock in dramatically lower and more predictable monthly energy rates.
A PPA is a tool used by organizations to gain access to solar energy with little to no financing upfront.
In a PPA, a third-party investor (in this case, Capital Good Fund) owns and maintains the solar array, and the host site pays for the energy generated by the solar system, typically at a significantly lower price than what the host was paying before.
The nonprofit is offering PPAs across projects, which range in size from 20kW to 1,500 kW.
PPAs are typically only available to large projects of 500 kW or larger, but by grouping these projects together, financing can collectively benefit them all.
The program plans to deploy 19,400 kW of projects statewide.
“Energy costs have risen by an estimated 50 percent over the past five years alone, placing enormous strain not only on Pennsylvania homeowners, but the small businesses and community organizations that serve them,” said Anika Wistar-Jones, Executive Vice President of America BRIGHT at Capital Good Fund. “We are delighted to be able to help ease that burden through Pennsylvania BRIGHT so that vital community organizations can focus on their core work and reinvest thousands of dollars in annual energy savings back into their missions.
“By combining pooled investor capital for PPA financing with the PA Solar Center’s established project pipeline, this partnership creates a unique opportunity to expand access to solar where it’s needed most.”
This program is made possible by initial support from The Reinvestment Fund and The Kresge Foundation, which allows Capital Good Fund to safe harbor the equipment that will be utilized across projects.
“Clean energy is fundamentally an investment in community strength. Through our work with Capital Good Fund, we’re helping mission-driven organizations reduce costs and redirect resources where they matter most,” noted Elizabeth Friend, Director, Clean Energy & Sustainable Finance at The Reinvestment Fund. “This partnership with Capital Good Fund ensures that the financial benefits of the energy transition reach the organizations that power local resilience.”
More details about individual projects will be released in the coming months.
The PA Solar Center is a nonprofit organization with the mission to expand the benefits of solar to all Pennsylvanians through technical assistance, public education, and advocacy.
The Center offers technical assistance to non-profit organizations, businesses, schools, faith communities, farms, and communities to help them go solar through their keystone GET Solar program.
It also provides media communications, resources, and programming to educate all solar stakeholders.
The PA Solar Center also advocates for robust solar policy and provides an online directory of qualified solar developers, a map of notable solar installations, a monthly solar webinar series, and a listing of solar events happening across the state.
Capital Good Fund is a nonprofit, U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a mission to create pathways out of poverty and advance a green economy.
The organization offers financing, low-interest loans, and one-on-one financial coaching for the lower-income residents of Rhode Island, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.
Since their founding in 2009, they have financed more than 17,000 loans totaling over $62 million with a 97% repayment rate and graduated over 2,000 people from their Coaching program.
PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:
-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Feb. 28 to March 6 - Abandoned Conventional Wells Hit 100; Investigating Seismic Event Near Wastewater Injection Well; Well Transfer Violations [PaEN]
-- DEP Investigating Seismic Event Near Penneco Environmental Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In Plum Boro, Allegheny County [PaEN]
-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - March 7 [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Permit For MarkWest Harmon Creek Natural Gas Processing Plant In Washington County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For 8 Mile, 24-Inch EQT ARO LLC Water Pipeline To Support Shale Gas Development In State Forest Land In Lycoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP Invites Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For A Double 16-Inch Expand Operating LLC Water Pipelines To Support Shale Gas Development In Standing Stone Twp., Bradford County [PaEN]
-- DEP Accepting Comments On Chapter 105 Permit For Double 16-Inch Expand Operating LLC Water Pipelines To Support Shale Gas Development In Forkston, North Branch & Windham Twps., Wyoming County [PaEN]
-- DEP Posted 74 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In March 7 PA Bulletin [PaEN]
Related Articles This Week:
-- PA Shale Gas & Public Health Conference: Dr. Gary Allison - 75% Of Shale Gas Chemical Disclosure Listings Hide What’s In 200 Million Pounds Of Materials Used In PA Fracking; A Colorado Law Would Fix That [PaEN]
-- Protect PT To Hold Workshops In Plum Boro March 12, Monessen March 19 On How To Protect Your Community From Environmental Threats Caused By Shale Gas Development [PaEN]
-- Environmental Quality Board Meets March 10 On Final Stream Redesignations Package; Report Due On DEP Review Of The Petition To Increase Setbacks From Shale Gas Wells, 4 Other Petitions [PaEN]
-- DCNR House Budget Hearing: House Republicans Propose More Shale Drilling In State Forest Land, Under State Parks; Gas Drilling Has Caused The Loss Of 30,000 Acres Of Core State Forest Land So Far [PaEN]
-- Senate PUC Budget Hearing: PUC Chair Says PJM Market Auction Not Designed For Data Center Demands; PA Needs To Diversify Fuels Used To Generate Electricity; Bring Your Own Power Critical [PaEN]
-- House Committee Reports Out Bills To Require Data Centers To Disclose Energy, Water Use, Direct DCED To Develop Model Data Center Ordinance [PaEN]
-- New Comprehensive Report Lays Out Case For 3-Year A.I. Data Center Moratorium To Be Introduced In Pennsylvania [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts April 7 Webinar On Data Centers - State And Local Regulation [PaEN]
-- Sen. Yaw Urges FERC To Allow PJM To Keep Charging Pennsylvania Ratepayers Record High Capacity Auction Prices For Power, But Charge Other States Even More [PaEN]
-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - March 9 [PaEN]
-- PUC Issues Cybersecurity Advisory To Electric, Natural Gas Other Utilities Amid Growing Global Tensions [PaEN]
-- PA Solar Center, Capital Good Fund Partner On Pennsylvania BRIGHT To Deliver Nearly 70 Solar Energy Projects Worth Up To $40 Million [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Needs To Act Now To Prevent A New $700 Million Increase In Electric Costs For Ratepayers - By Steve DeFrank, Chairman, Public Utility Commission [PaEN]
-- Energy Efficiency Alliance: March 12 Webinar - How Virtual Power Plants Strengthen Our Grid, Protect Ratepayers [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts April 13 Webinar On Geothermal Energy Opportunities [PaEN]
-- Pittsburgh Penguins Reduce Carbon Footprint By Buying Carbon Credits Supporting 272 Acres Of Green Space In Allegheny County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- WESA/The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: MarkWest Spills Over 1 Million Gallons Of Drilling Fluid Into Abandoned Coal Mine During Pipeline Construction In Washington County
-- Bradford Era: No Injuries In Overnight Fire At American Refining Group Refinery In Bradford, McKean County
-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio - Water Districts, Municipalities Join Call For Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well Moratorium
-- Utility Dive: US Warns Energy Companies To Increase Security In Response To Potential Threats From Iran; Utilities Lack Tools To Guard Grid From Drone Attacks
-- Morning Call/AP: Iran Strikes Amazon Data Centers In Middle East Highlighting Industry’s Vulnerability To Physical Disasters
-- The Derrick: War In Iran To Cause Massive Disruption In Oil Industry, According To Oil City Native & Middle East Expert Andrew Tabler [PDF of Article]
-- War Profits: Windfall Profits Tax On The Oil & Gas Industry? Household Rebates To Offset Spiking Energy Costs
-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: How Will President’s War On Iran Affect Your Utility Bills?
-- Financial Times: Coal Prices Jump As Utilities Seek Alternative To Spiking Natural Gas Prices Due US President’s War With Iran
-- Reuters: There Is Little LNG Producers Can Do To Immediately Replace Lost Qatari Cargoes
-- Bloomberg: Oil Market Chaos Set To Deepen As More Gulf Giants Cut Output Because Of President’s Iran War
-- TribLive/AP: Energy Prices Surge As Tanker Disruptions And Facility Shutdowns Rattle Global Supply [US Natural Gas Prices Linked To World Markets Thanks To LNG]
-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Hit 3-Year High As Qatar LNG Halt Rocks Markets [US Natural Gas Prices Linked To World Markets Thanks To LNG]
-- The Economist: The Nightmare Iran Energy Scenario Is Becoming Reality [PDF of Article]
-- Bloomberg: President’s War On Iran Has Traders Staring Down An Energy Crisis [War-Caused Price Spikes Good For Oil & Gas Companies, Bad For Consumers]
-- Financial Times: US Shale Drillers Resist Quick Ride To Rescue For Iran War Oil Disruption [PDF of Article]
[Posted: March 3, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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