Local solar power startup WeSolar has partnered with the University of Maryland Medical System to build a $25 million solar farm in Baltimore that will serve as a power source for both the health system and local residents.
UMMS will pay $10,000 per month for up to 18 months to help with the construction of the Baltimore City solar farm. UMMS has committed to purchasing up to half of the electricity generated by the projected 8-megawatt farm, which is set to be operational within two years. Health system employees who earn less than $67,000 a year will be eligible for a discount on solar energy.
“This collaboration allows us to continue to care for our patients not only inside of our buildings, but in the space in which they live,” said Richie Stever, UMMS vice president of real estate and property management, during an event announcing the project Friday.
Beyond the UMMS investment, the rest of the construction of the Baltimore solar farm will be funded through green banks and social impact investors, WeSolar CEO Kristal Hansley said.
“It’s easy to raise the money once you have a buyer,” said Hansley, whose company is based at the Emerging Technology Centers Baltimore.
WeSolar, founded in 2020 by Hansley, uses a community approach to solar power. Instead of having homeowners install solar panels on their home, WeSolar allows consumers to purchase solar energy without having to install new equipment or change their electricity provider. Instead, customers can lease or purchase a panel from a local solar farm. WeSolar customers then receive a credit each billing cycle for the electricity their panels produce.
The company currently has three employees and works with half a dozen contractors. WeSolar previously had a friends and family funding round, raising around $160,000. The company currently has 30 solar projects around the Northeast.
A location for the UMMS solar farm has yet to be determined.
Hansley, who has received write-ups in Vogue, Bloomberg and other publications as the first Black woman to found a solar company, said deals like this allow marginalized groups to be part of the development of renewable energy.
Hansley founded the company after she experienced the lack of diversity within the startup community, which creates a cultural gap between the startups and marginalized groups, she said. She chose to focus on low-income customers, hoping to use solar power to reduce their energy bills. Hansley said communities of color are often left out of the savings that can come from the use of renewable energy, while simultaneously often being the most impacted by climate change.
"We understand that community solar guarantees you savings," she said. "It's really important that economic resiliency is communicated to the communities of color, those who are traditionally marginalized from solar."
Monica Cooper, a Baltimore resident and an investor in WeSolar, said the company will give people like her grandmother in West Baltimore a chance to get involved in clean energy and see cost savings.
“The social justice aspect, the environmental justice aspect of what we’re doing reached my soul,” Cooper said.
