Brooklyn Community Solar Investment Provides Free WiFi

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In Brooklyn, New York, there's a neighborhood called Crown Heights. In this neighborhood, nearly 40% of all low-income households don't have any internet access. This problem is further compounded by ongoing world events, such as the pandemic, where children need reliable internet access, especially for a decent distance learning experience.

Plus, some peoples' parents and relatives might be working from home as well.

As you can imagine, many children had to be loaned laptops for distance learning, but without an adequate internet connection, they wouldn't be able to log on and use any website, module, or video program connected to the internet.

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How it Works

Some of the more affordable apartment buildings in Crown Heights will begin offering free WiFi that is generated by the solar panels on rooftops.

Workforce Housing Group is an affordable housing development organization that is launching this new program. They are first starting with Crown Heights and then veering into nearby areas like Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York.

The principal of the program is John Crotty. John reportedly stated,

“We wanted to do a big solar install, and at the same time, others were talking about WiFi. I thought, Why don’t we put the savings into WiFi?"

These solar panels will be funded partially by a loan from NY Green Bank. The NY Green Bank is a state-sponsored investment fund that focuses on adding clean energy. There are other state green banks that can provide similar loans for solar installation.

In addition, the New York State Housing Finance Agency is also providing funds.

In total, Workforce Housing Group will likely install solar panels on 18 buildings. Plus, they also manage those buildings too.

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How It Helps Families Financially

As one can imagine, rooftop solar helps with generating local and renewable forms of energy while helping families cut down on their local energy bills. If you live in an apartment, it will be much trickier to enjoy solar power (while also saving money), but in some cases, it is possible.

For example, solar share programs can help address the problems associated with low-income families living in apartment buildings. In this case, Workforce Housing Group is clearly going above and beyond by offering free WiFi.

Plus, if you're worried about the loan from the NY Green Bank, the savings from the solar investments will cover the costs (with extra money still leftover to do other things like providing the free WiFi for a large area).

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Implications of This Program

As mentioned earlier, since solar energy is being used, the savings from the electric bills, especially in the common areas, will be more than enough to cover the costs of the loan payments. Plus, there's a little extra for some high-speed broadband access in 22 buildings.

For those tenants that are low-income, they will now have reliable internet. Children will be able to log into different websites, attend online classroom meetings, and many more. Plus, adults can pay bills online, work remotely, and do so many other things too.

Plus, the new offerings will eliminate the need for a monthly bill. If you're low-income, this will be a huge sigh of relief since the extra savings could be used for necessities like food on the table.

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Optimism for the Future

John Crotty hopes that the program will inspire others, including other affording housing organizations. He hopes that others will copy this idea, especially over the years.

“There’s no point in doing this in a vacuum. Everyone should go do this. They should know about it."

Hopefully, in the future, more people will be able to utilize solar power and use the savings from it to install reliable WiFi, especially for our children who are studying at home, and for the adults working from home. In due time, many more places will benefit from initiatives like this.

For now, let's hope that this initiative will help out the people living in Brooklyn, New York. If it works out, then it's a win-win situation for everyone. Maybe this program can continue in other areas too.

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