Creating Community Impact

Sol Systems works with customers, investors and partners to support the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the communities we work in, with a specific focus on under-resourced communities and those disproportionately impacted by climate change.

Guiding Principles

Environmental Impact

We are committed to a net-zero carbon economy and develop and construct projects with added environmental features, such as the planting of native pollinator habitats and utilization of materials recycling practices

Community Impact

We work with our partners and customers to engage with and invest in under-resourced communities and communities that are adversely impacted by climate change

 

Collective Action

We leverage the focus and expertise of our partners and peers to build the change we seek in the industry through collaboration with, and support for, organizations aligned with our mission

Impact Partnerships

Sol Systems is working with local leaders in under-resourced communities, communities of color, and communities disproportionately impacted by climate change to invest in organizations that support educational programs, job and career training, habitat restoration, and programs that support access to clean energy and energy efficiency.

Learn more our community partners:

So Others Might Eat (SOME)

So Others Might Eat (SOME)

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Black Owners of Solar Services (BOSS)

Black Owners of Solar Services (BOSS)

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Groundswell

Groundswell

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PowerCorps PHL

PowerCorps PHL

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Bright Solar Futures

Bright Solar Futures

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GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic

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Learn About Our Impact Partnerships

In late 2021, Sol Systems completed a 915 kW community solar installation on the rooftop of FedEx Express Eckington Place station in Washington, D.C. FedEx is allocating a portion of the electricity bill credits generated by the solar installation, along with supplemental cash donations to local nonprofit SOME (So Others Might Eat) to offset the annual electricity costs of two SOME facilities. 

Video Credit: FedEx Corporation

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Our Impact Work

Monroe County Water Authority

Monroe County Water Authority

Project size - Macedon, NY 6.1 MW
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FedEx Express Eckington Place

FedEx Express Eckington Place

Project size - Washington, DC 915 kW
View Project
University of Illinois

University of Illinois

Project size - Champaign , IL 12.32 MW
View Project
View More Projects

$41,950

In Committed Scholarships

  • Holliston High School (MA)
  • Northeast Community College (NE)
  • Brunswick High School (ME)
  • Croton-Harmon High School (NY)

$1,469,000+

In Partner Contributions

  • GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic
  • PowerCorps PHL
  • Bright Solar Futures
  • Groundswell
  • Black Owners of Solar Services (BOSS)
  • SOME (So Others Might Eat)
  • Capital Bank Food Drive
  • NAACP
  • Akshaya Patra Foundation
  • Central Texas Food Bank
  • Urban Alliance
  • Aiken Electric Cooperative
  • Santee Electric Cooperative
  • Roanoke Electric Cooperative
  • The Sustainability Institute of South Carolina
Adaora Ifebigh – Director of Impact

As leader of the efforts to implement Sol’s comprehensive Impact + Infrastructure strategy, I am passionate about building community partnerships and collaborating with local organizations who are driving positive change in their communities.

I feel a strong sense of responsibility, honed from growing up in a developing country with inadequate infrastructure, to do my small part in making life better for under-resourced communities. Our work shows that we do not necessarily have to move mountains to implement change and impact someone’s life. Sometimes, all it takes is an incremental change led by organizations who firmly believe in the mission such as Sol Systems, to start an avalanche of positive change.

Adaora Ifebigh - Director of Impact
Susanne Fratzscher – Associate VP, Strategic Solutions

Designing strategic renewable energy solutions to help our customers meet their organizational and carbon goals alike has always been a passion of mine. Inspiring our customers to rethink their solar procurements and investments for even deeper impacts beyond the megawatt is what highly motivates me at Sol Systems.

Together with our corporate and community partners and our team of passionate experts, Sol Systems gives me the extraordinary opportunity to design solutions that create co-benefits for communities and ecosystems and for a more just and sustainable energy transition.

Susanne Fratzscher - Associate VP, Strategic Solutions
Juliana Isaac – Performance Engineer

My passion for our impact work stems from dedication to seeing a broad vision of sustainability. I’m passionate about innovative solutions across all areas of ecosystem services, and large-scale solar projects offer a unique opportunity to restore soil health, build up pollinator habitat, and improve our food systems. Investing in habitat restoration initiatives gives us the opportunity to provide access to clean energy, restore our natural environments, and partner with local community members. We’re proving that making one decision during development of a clean energy project can have a far-reaching impact on our energy, agricultural, and food systems, communities, and natural world.

Juliana Isaac - Performance Engineer
Anna Toenjes – Senior Director, Business Development

As the daughter of a first-generation college student, I am passionate about our impact work because I feel as if it is my duty to pay it forward and uplift the next generation. Providing scholarships to high school seniors and job opportunities for local community college students gives us the opportunity to connect with the communities within which we work in a deeper way than the solar project itself. We’re establishing a commitment to drive change not only from an environmental perspective but from a workforce development perspective as well. I am proud to be a small part of that change and driving forward Sol’s mission.

Anna Toenjes - Senior Director, Business Development

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead

Infrastructure + Impact

Sol Systems and Google Announce Partnership to Invest in Solar Energy Projects and Community Organizations

In March 2023, Sol Systems announced a unique renewable energy procurement and investment strategy with Google that enables the development of new solar energy projects and supports local communities where the projects are built. Google and Sol Systems will deploy capital to seed critical investments into regional community organizations that serve under-resourced and minority communities. The investment will focus on reducing energy burden by enabling critical home pre-weatherization and safety upgrades to low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. 

Community Investment

Sol Systems Contributes an Additional $1.2 Million to Community Organizations in Partnership with Microsoft

In February, Sol Systems announced an additional $1.2 million in investments into community organizations focused on environmental justice, workforce training and climate resiliency. This investment builds on the initial $200,000 invested in 2022 and commits new funding to the original five partners while adding five new partners: Appalachian Voices, Virginia Environmental Justice Collaborative, Community Housing Partners, Climate Access Fund, and Rebuilding Together DC Alexandria.

Community Investment

Scaling Impact Through Community Partnerships

As an initial step in its Community Impact Agreement with Microsoft, Sol Systems has contributed $200,000 to four community-based organizations focused on communities in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC and one new national non-profit focused on increasing diversity in the solar industry.  Through the partnership, Sol will invest at least $50 Million in underserved communities across the US with approximately $1.2 Million in 2022.

Fostering Impact from Within

Employee Resource Groups at Sol Systems

Sol Systems’ company culture feels special. It’s a warm, inviting environment filled with passionate, intelligent individuals that share a common goal: to protect the environment and reinvest within the communities we serve while deploying renewable energy across the United States. Our employee resource groups, such as the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) team and the Sustainability Task Force (STF), highlight our internal efforts to create a work environment that reflects our outward-facing mission.

Fostering Impact from Within

A Groundwork for Solar Sustainability

As part of Sol Systems’ continued work with educational institutions, two groups of students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign presented findings to Sol Systems in their emissions audit for supply chain and land-usage for the university’s second utility-scale solar project, Solar Farm 2.0. a 54-acre, 12.3 MW dc system on the Urbana campus that Sol Systems developed in 2020. The presentation and partnership served as part of Sol’s sustainability initiatives and acts as the foundation for building Sol’s framework for future and current solar project developments.