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Gladys Cruz, a Massachussets homeowner, was able to make the clean energy transition thanks to CDFI support
2nd
February
2024
Lawrence, MA

Massachusetts Homeowner Able to Make Clean Energy Transition with CDFI Financing

February 2, 2024

Client: Gladys Cruz

Client Location: Lawrence, MA

CDFI: Mill Cities Community Investments

CDFI Service Area: MA

CDFI Services Provided: 

Financing, with support from OFN’s Renewable and Energy Efficiency Financing Grant Program

Financial and Social Impact

  • MCCI’s Solar Plus loan program provided Gladys with the funds she needed upfront, enabling her to own her solar panels and retrofit her home, making it more energy efficient and sustainable. The loan program consisted of a low-interest loan with fixed payments and additional subsidies to help reduce the cost of the project.
  • Gladys’ solar installation is estimated to cover 119% of the property’s current electrical usage, significantly reducing both her and her tenant’s electricity bill.

Old homes offer a unique opportunity to step back in time and explore centuries that have shaped the nation’s history. However, they are often less energy-efficient than new ones. As a result, homeowners, particularly those in low-income communities, experience higher energy burdens, and this disproportionately affects Native communities and communities of color.

A study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows that “low-income, Black, Hispanic, and Native American households all face dramatically higher energy burdens – spending a larger share of their income on energy bills – than the average household.”

Low-income households face higher energy burdens, affecting their transition to clean energy.

Image: In 2020, ACEEE published a research report that examines how household energy burdens — the percentage of household income spent on energy bills — varied among specific groups, considering factors like income, housing type and age, tenure, race, ethnicity, and occupant age.

In Massachusetts where Gladys Cruz lives, homes are among the nation’s oldest and have one of the highest electricity utility prices in the country.

Gladys Cruz is a Massachussets homeowner who made the transition clean energy thanks to MCCI Support

Gladys has owned an 1890 two-family home for the past seven years in Lawrence, MA. When the roof on her house needed to be replaced, she began shopping around for a roofing company to support her home improvement project. She was also exploring the possibility of a rooftop solar system.

However, most of the companies offered various solar products at high rates or with escalation clauses.

Low-Income Households Still Face Barriers to Clean Energy

Although solar product prices have decreased over the past few years, homeowners in low-income communities continue to face many challenges when it comes to the clean energy transition.

In addition to energy burdens, some of the challenges include the lack of upfront costs, low credit scores, lack of awareness about available energy programs, policy issues, and more. These impact their ability to finance their energy efficiency retrofit projects.

Yet, these are the communities CDFIs have served for decades and currently, 83% of OFN member CDFI clients are low-income rural, urban, and Native communities.

CDFIs at the Forefront of Advancing Energy Justice

One of the contractors Gladys connected with suggested she contact OFN member Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI) to support with financing her home improvement project, as the CDFI did several years ago with her home’s windows.

Gladys Cruz's new CDFI financed roof with clean energy efficiency

Enthusiastically, Gladys contacted MCCI to learn about their residential product offerings including the new holistic Solar Plus loan program, an affordable solution for homeowners to own rooftop solar panels and make energy-efficient home improvements. 

The Solar Plus loan program offered Gladys a competitive interest rate of 2%, which is rarely found in this high-interest market, and subsidies to help her reduce the cost of the project and make any improvements needed to transition to solar energy. As part of the program, Gladys completed a MassSave energy audit and a decarbonization assessment, which identified building envelope improvements and provided her with guidance on how to fully decarbonize her home.

It also helped that she had a trusting, standing relationship with MCCI.

MCCI has built deep trust and relationships in the surrounding communities it serves, making Gladys feel secure that the organization had her best interests in mind throughout the process and she didn’t have to worry about predatory practices.

The CDFI also has built a reputation for understanding the linguistic and cultural needs of the Spanish-speaking community in Lawrence and surrounding towns, filling a gap not met by mainstream financial institutions in the area.

“I am forever grateful for MCCI and their loan products. I am excited to own solar and share the benefits with my tenants,” said Gladys. “MCCI has always been there when I needed them. First, I received a loan for my window replacement, and now I can add solar and replace my roof.”

Did you know that 55% of OFN members offer green lending products? OFN has called on the CDFI industry to increase that number to 100% in the next five years. 



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Tags: Affordable Housing, Energy Efficiency, Green or Climate Finance

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