As the solar industry continues its expansion to serve lower income communities, a New York solar leader, Quixotic Systems Inc. (QSI), has partnered with affordable housing developer Arker Companies to design and install rooftop solar energy systems for two low-income communities in the New York Cityarea.

The first project, Bay Street Senior Housing, is a six-story building offering apartments for low-income senior citizens located along Staten Island's Stapleton waterfront. QSI designed and installed a 35.3 kilowatt (kW) rooftop system that includes 108 high-performance SunPower ® 327-watt solar panels. The system offsets 87 percent of the building's energy use for shared-use areas that include computer facilities, a social services office and a fitness center. 

Bay Street Senior Housing was partially financed with a grant from New York's Low-Income Housing Credit Program(LIHC), which was established to promote private sector involvement in the retention and production of rental housing reserved for low-income households. The solar system helps reduce operational expenses and keep rents at an affordable level.

"QSI delivered a custom-designed, robust, aesthetically pleasing solar energy system that has performed extremely well and exactly as expected," said Alex Aker, principal of Arker Companies. "We are always looking for subcontractors who can do high-quality work conforming to our own rigorous building schedule. QSI met that standard."

The second project, also developed by Arker Companies, is currently under construction in Queens. Both projects will benefit from rebates from NYSERDA's NY Sun - Residential/Small Commercial program as well as the federal Investment Tax Credit for commercial solar energy systems.

Quixotic Systems | www.quixotic-systems.com

Arker Companies | www.arkercompanies.com