Large solar panel array for Greater Cincinnati nonprofits

Last year I proposed this idea to Green Umbrella’s Thrive Together Collective ideas for a major grant for the region.

The Inflation Reduction Act has funds for large community solar arrays which serve nonprofits. Typically nonprofits have been underserved by federal tax abatements because they don’t pay property taxes. The new Act allows for direct pay grants to create solar arrays and geo-thermal. With the cooperation of local, city, state and federal entities and NGOs we could provide electricity to these organizations and help them not use fossil carbon. I’ve already started to generate interest with the Center of Nonprofit Excellence and ArtsWave. The project will offer apprentice jobs in solar and be of prevailing wage rates. Already the City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden have shown how successful such projects can be. We invite more organizations to join hands in this sustainable journey, creating a powerful impact on our community and environment together.

Thank you again for submitting your proposal to the ThriveTogether site. We want to follow up to let you know how this proposal is incorporated into the overall list of Implementation Measures for the ThriveTogether Plan. This proposal is incorporated into Measure 2.B.1 Develop community solar to support local non-profits and community-based groups. You can view the ThriveTogether Priority Plan on the Preliminary and Comprehensive Plan Outputs tile (then click on the purple Key Deliverables box). We are continuing the planning process to produce the Comprehensive ThriveTogether Sustainability Playbook in June of 2025. Please stay engaged with the planning process through the Citizen Lab platform as we continue towards this goal. Your project idea was also included in the measures submitted in the region’s CPRG competitive Phase 2 grant application for funding. Measure #2: GREEN (Get Renewables & Energy Efficiency eNhancements for Nonprofits & Local Governments) incorporates this project idea. You can view a summary of the Cincinnati Region’s application on the Preliminary and Comprehensive Plan Outputs tile. We expect to learn the outcome of our region’s CPRG grant application by September and will share additional news at that time.