Portsmouth Housing Authority gets solar panels grant for Atlantic Heights senior housing

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Housing Authority is the recipient of a $140,000 state grant that will cover most of the cost of installing solar panels at the Atlantic Heights senior housing development. PHS worked with ReVision Energy to submit the successful grant application to the New Hampshire Department of Energy.

The property is located at 40 Bedford Way in the historic Atlantic Heights neighborhood. In 1996, after the city of Portsmouth closed the Atlantic Heights School, the PHA worked in partnership with the city to redevelop the property into 30 units of housing for senior citizens.

The state-funded community solar projects are designed to benefit low and moderate income residential electric customers. PHA Executive Director Craig Welch said, “This project will help lessen our reliance on fossil fuels and will enable us to harness the power of the sun to create a more sustainable and cost efficient way to generate electricity. We are grateful for ReVision Energy’s leadership and for the New Hampshire Department of Energy’s forward-thinking approach. All the money saved on our electricity bills at Atlantic Heights will go back into the complex, specifically by funding air quality improvements and new accessibility features to allow seniors to continue to live independently.”

Jude Nuru is the director of community solar initiatives at ReVision Energy. Nuru anticipates the installation will be finished and operational by the beginning of 2025, supporting PHA in obtaining permits and working with Eversource to connect the system to the grid.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth Housing Authority gets solar panels grant for Atlantic Heights senior housing