HRI Properties installs solar panels at its properties

To cut down on the high upfront price that some say have kept solar panels out of reach for many households, local developer HRI Properties has installed the equipment at six of its developments in the New Orleans area as part of a $10 million project, taking advantage of federal and state tax credits and covering the initial investment to lease the equipment and help tenants spread the costs out over a decade. The equipment, which went into operation at several of the properties at the beginning of the year, is expected to generate 1.05 megawatts of solar energy, which is enough to power about 250 apartments, said Hal Fairbanks, vice president of acquisitions for HRI Properties.

Residents at those properties, including River Garden, which replaced the St. Thomas public housing complex, the American Can Company apartment complex in Mid-City and soon the loft-style apartments at the Blue Plate Foods building, will lease the equipment with a monthly fee, paid for from money saved on electricity bills, Fairbanks said.

He expects units to save about $50 a month on average in utility costs. The leasing fee is generally about 75 percent of the savings realized through net metering, which lets customers generate their own electricity and then send extra electricity back to the utility for a savings.

"What we try to do is use existing incentives to make it economically feasible to lease at an attractive rate to an end user at no upfront costs," Fairbanks said.

Under the arrangement, HRI purchases the equipment and takes advantage of the available tax incentives, which cover up to 80 percent of the cost of the panels. The company has also received a $2.1 million grant from EmPower Louisiana, a program administered by the Department of Natural Resources that was funded with federal stimulus money.

The installations are complete at all of the units except American Can and the Blue Plate building, which Fairbanks said will be finished soon. Other properties include a new apartment complex in Houma and a renovated historic building in Shreveport.

"We're trying to be as sustainable as possible," he said, adding that the buildings are designed to be energy-efficient, from the insulation to the appliances. The energy generated from the panels will reduce utility costs for residents and lower the operating costs of the buildings by offsetting individual units and common electrical loads, he said, like hallways and community rooms, and in large part, the air conditioning.

So far, residents have reacted favorably. "I think they're interested, and they're excited about it not only for the savings but just knowing that they're contributing to some of the energy being sustainable and using resources wisely," he said.

In some ways, the effort is similar to one undertaken in recent years by Make It Right, the Brad Pitt-led push to rebuild the storm-ravaged Lower 9th Ward with affordable, energy-efficient housing.

The nonprofit has established a separate entity that worked with local housing development agencies to lease out the equipment over a 10-year span.

Pierre Moses, a project manager with Make It Right, said Thursday that the solar program recently worked with Volunteers of America on a multiunit, multifamily development in Covington, which is different from the single-family units that the initiative has become known for.

Make It Right has set out to build 150 homes in the Lower 9th Ward loaded with green features like solar panels and rainwater collectors, with half completed so far.

Moses called this latest project "a natural progression for us" to start looking at other opportunities and expanding the effort.

"We're sort of exploring options on how to expand our program," he said. "I think that there's certainly just a vast amount of demand for a solar solution that doesn't require an upfront capital outlay. We understood that a while ago, but we were still focusing on organizations that had synergies with Make It Right."