Arcadia Power is looking local as it expands into community solar

Arcadia Power is looking to provide buy-in for community solar projects in D.C. through a new partnership.

The D.C. company that makes a platform allowing residents to link their power bill to clean energy options is working with New Columbia Solar, an energy contractor that is building systems around the city for residents and businesses.

Through community solar, residents can sign up to back the clean energy option, even if they can’t install solar panels on their own roof – which remains the cast for most people in the U.S. The panels could be anywhere.

“With Community Solar, anyone can sign up for a solar panel that is then hosted somewhere else,” Arcadia Power Director of Energy Services Joel Gamoran said via email. “This includes homeowners, renters and even those that live in apartments. By simply signing up for a share in a Community Solar project — for free — in your local area, you then receive credits on your monthly electricity bill depending on how much that project generates in a given month.”

Arcadia Power already rolled out a program that provides support for solar projects in other areas. The new partnership allows the startup to offer an option that backs D.C. projects for the first time.

“Our Arcadia Power member community in D.C. has grown rapidly, and we now have enough local members to drive demand for new, local Community Solar projects right here in D.C.,” Gamoran said. “The clean power you will be supporting through Arcadia Power will be generated right here in your city.”

It allows residents to sign up for the projects from New Columbia Solar through the startup’s platform. The company says this eliminates the need to sign up for an additional energy bill.

“D.C. residents will be able to sign up for the projects on their Arcadia Power dashboards, and monitor the monthly activity of their solar panels online through their Arcadia Power account,” said Gamoran. “As more people in D.C. create Arcadia Power accounts, we will be collaborating with New Columbia Solar to ensure that new projects are developed for our D.C. members.”

The initial community solar project available through the partnership will be on the roof of a Celestial Church of Christ in Northeast DC. A roof replacement is also part of the project, which is expected to be completed in the coming months. Additional projects are also in the pipeline for this year, Gamoran said.