Boston-based WinnCompanies has completed solar power installations at seven affordable housing locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, in what the company says is one of the largest such efforts in the country.
 
The two featured Massachusetts properties are Whaler’s Place, 75 units of senior housing in New Bedford, and Stony Brook Village, 98 units of family housing in Boston. 

Whaler’s Place was once a part of the historic waterfront Whitman Mill. Originally built in 1894, the property has housed a garment and textile factory, a wholesale store and is now home to 75 one- and two-bedroom apartments and townhouses for residents age 55 and older. Stony Brook Village, located in Hyde Park, offers 98 units of affordable rental housing consisting of 69 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom apartment homes.
 
Locations in Connecticut include Mill Pond Village in Broadbrook, a 360-unit affordable housing apartment community; Schoolhouse Apartments, a senior apartment community located near downtown Waterbury (Wilby and Webster buildings); Sunset Ridge, a 312-unit affordable rental community located in New Haven; and Rolling Ridge Apartments, a 180-unit affordable apartment community located in West Haven.  
 
The solar panel systems combined will generate almost a million kilowatt hours of renewable electricity annually. This electricity would otherwise have to be purchased directly from utility companies.
 
"By installing solar energy at these locations, we are preserving the long-term affordability of the developments, and also allowing residents to reduce their carbon footprint," said WinnCompanies Director of Green Building Heather Clark.
 
The projects were made possible in part through funds from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and Connecticut Innovations, as well as the Federal Renewable Energy Tax Credit.