Jacksonville companies, others help apartment complex for veterans get solar power

With the help of various partners, one First Coast nonprofit will benefit from a solar power system at its new apartment complex.

The St. Johns Housing Partnership recently unveiled its new solar panels atop its apartment building that will be used to house homeless veterans in St. Augustine.

Patriots Place, which is expected to open this summer, has six units, three of which will be powered in part by solar energy.

The headquarters for the Housing Partnership also installed solar panels. So the expected savings are estimated to be $2,500 annually for the organization and $1,926 for the Patriots Place tenants.

Among the partners that helped make it happen were Everybody Solar, AltWays Solar, the JinkoSolar, Synergy Solar and various donors.

Being a responsible builder and keeping costs as low as possible for tenants are both goals for the Housing Partnership, said Executive Director Bill Lazar.

"We really need it to be as low maintenance as possible," Lazar said Thursday. "We built it out of concrete blocks so it would last longer. Being able to put solar on the roofs was just amazing.

"This is guaranteeing that (electricity costs) will remain affordable for a long time."

Each apartment unit contains one bedroom and is 630 square feet. Each veteran will pay about 30% of market rate with the help of subsidies through the nonprofit's fundraising efforts.

"Low-income populations often struggle to pay bills, making solar energy a valuable solution to reduce costs and increase access to renewable energy," Everybody Solar Executive Director Myriam Scally said. "However, limited resources, knowledge, and infrastructure often hinder the adoption of solar energy in these communities, creating an unjust energy transition.

"We are excited to partner with the St. Johns Housing Partnership to help both their operations and support veterans at Patriot Place."

Patriot Place will be certified Florida Green by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The FGBC Certification Program tailors’ carbon-reducing, green building standards to the Florida climate, allowing builders, developers and communities to meet green building standards while constructing sustainable properties best suited for Florida's ecosystem.

It was Jacksonville-based Synergy that completed the installation process, using panels made by the JinkoSolar factory in Jacksonville.

"On behalf of the veterans that I am fortunate to call friends and colleagues and the entire Jinko team, we are honored to contribute these solar panels and make a difference in our community," said Watson Occilien, Operations Manager of the JinkoSolar factory in Jacksonville.

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