Addressing Regulatory Challenges to Tribal Solar Deployment
Addressing Regulatory Challenges to Tribal Solar Deployment is a project that seeks to address policy challenges or barriers that affect solar projects differently or disproportionately because they are located on Tribal land. This three-part guidebook presents significant regulatory challenges and associated solutions, case studies of Tribal solar deployment projects, and briefs highlighting issues that are uniquely or specifically relevant to solar deployment on Tribal land.
What is Building Decarbonization?
Building decarbonization, also known as building electrification, is the process of reducing or eliminating the emissions that contribute to climate change from a building’s energy sources. This video from Elevate describes the four main steps toward building decarbonization.
Tutorials for the SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Roadmap
The Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Roadmap allows portfolio owners to use results from the SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator to set targets for decarbonization and develop a list of priorities for portfolio segments or decarbonization strategies. These videos walk users through the Carbon Roadmap.
Solar Success: How the IRA Will Help Community Solar Gardens Power Affordable Housing
For low- to moderate-income residents in multifamily housing who do not have access to a roof, do not own their property, or live in shaded areas, community solar creates an opportunity to access renewable energy and lower utility costs. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) presents an extraordinary moment to invigorate this growing area of solar while prioritizing communities with the greatest need. This blog post explores the opportunity presented by community solar and strategies for increasing residents' access to the benefits of solar power.
IRA Bootcamps
National Housing Trust (NHT) hosted a series of sessions for Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) and multifamily affordable housing providers to offer peer support and personalized learning opportunities for leveraging IRA funding. The virtual sessions ran from May - December 2023, and users can access the content from each session on NHT's website.
Salem Heights Apartments: Deep Energy Retrofit Case Study (Massachusetts)
Salem Heights Apartments, an affordable multifamily property in Massachusetts, recently underwent a deep energy retrofit to achieve passive house performance. This case study highlights the retrofit design strategies that enable 60% energy use reduction and show the integrated benefit of efficiency improvements, electrification, and solar. Specific strategies are described for the building envelope, exterior insulation, HVAC, and solar energy.
Energy Service Agreements for Deep Efficiency and Electrification Retrofits of Affordable Multifamily Housing in California
Over half of California’s 3.2 million multifamily units were constructed before energy efficiency standards, resulting in poor performance and high greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, affordable multifamily housing must improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and lower tenant utility bills while enhancing quality of life. Yet building owners face many challenges to improving the performance of their buildings. This report covers the role certain types of energy service agreements, combined with federal incentives, can play in scaling affordable multifamily retrofits.