Parade
By: Kathleen McCleary
April 9, 2021
SELF was featured in Parade Magazine who picks for The 5 Greenest Cities across the US. To read the full article, click here.
Here is an excerpt:
“Orlando has been a rock star,” says NRDC’s Firestone. The City Beautiful (also known as “O-Town”) is taking full advantage of its 230-plus sunny days a year to become a leader in solar power. Orlando launched its second solar co-op in 2020, helping residents band together to get bulk pricing on installing home solar systems. And its Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) offers low-cost loans to people in low-income communities so they can make earth-friendly home improvements, from solar water heaters and attic fans to a roof full of solar panels. More than 4,000 people have benefitted from SELF loans since 2012, leading to a 25 percent savings on home energy bills (and a reduction of more than 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide). Solar energy now powers more than 10 percent of the city’s municipal electricity demand.