On Dec. 22, Washington Hebrew Congregation (WHC) flipped the switch on the new solar array atop their temple building on Macomb Street. New Columbia Solar developed the 414.9-kW array that’s expected to produce 45% of the building’s needs and save close to $50,000 per year on the temple’s electric bill.
“One of our core values is to stand together in the face of life’s challenges,” said WHC executive director Steve Jacober. “There is no bigger challenge to life than climate change, so for us to play a part in slowing that change down is something we felt we had to do.“
WHC has been striving to implement solar options for many years, and in 2021, it became clear that the technology and the District’s solar policies and incentives made it possible to receive the financial benefits.
“This really wouldn’t have been possible without the incentives from the D.C. and federal governments,” said WHC director of engineering Mohan Mistry. “With them, this project is a win-win for everyone.”
Mistry added that plans are in place for solar at Julia P. Bindeman Suburban Center (JBSC) as well, should the state of Maryland introduce its own incentive package.
News item from New Columbia Solar
Solarman says
Up to 45% of the building’s electricity needs. I’m suspicious of the $50K electricity savings claim a year, is the inevitable rising costs of electricity included in this savings over the lifetime of the system? No mention of energy storage or microgrid in this project. It has been found that in commercial operations that onerous emergency energy charges can increase a monthly electric bill by 50%. Having a smart ESS that can dispatch energy and clip or remediate these emergency charges can also reduce the monthly electric bill another 25% to 50% a month over grid tied solar PV alone.