In the Community: CHiPS

Brooklyn SolarWorks was founded in 2015 with the goal to make solar appealing and accessible for Brooklyn homeowners. But we understand that homeowners aren’t the only Brooklynites who want to reduce their use of fossil fuels. That’s why we look to support local non-profit organizations, like CHiPS, by providing solar energy for them. 

Last month, we installed a solar canopy on the rooftop of CHiPS’s building on 4th Avenue – right down the street from us! Continue reading to learn about the wonderful work that CHiPS does and how our organizations collaborated on this project.

What is CHiPS?

CHiPS (Community Help in Park Slope) has been serving the Park Slope-Gowanus community since 1971. The organization is committed to cultivating equity and resilience through its free-of-charge food distribution and housing programs. 

The CHiPS Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen serves hot, nutritious meals to around 150 New Yorkers everyday. Last year, the organization provided over 100,000 meals to those in need, along with clothing, toiletries, and other necessities.

The organization’s Frances Residence Program provides shelter to expecting or single mothers and their infants, as well as pre and postnatal care. The program offers year-long housing in fully furnished studio apartments. It also offers counseling and other services to help mothers secure permanent housing and employment and learn parenting skills.

Prior to the pandemic, CHiPS welcomed over 100 volunteers to support the Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen. The organization has also built a broad network of schools, churches, synagogues, organizations, and donors throughout the community.

How did BSW help?

For this project, we installed a six truss solar canopy consisting of 52 LG 380 panels. This is a 20 kW system that we expect will produce around 23,000 kWh of energy per year. This equates to electric savings of around $6,000 a year.

“We started Brooklyn SolarWorks because we wanted to build solar where we lived,” Brooklyn SolarWorks President and Founder Gaelen McKee said. “We’re a very community driven company and the community has been good to us, so we wanted to give something back. 

The CHiPS project was a great opportunity for us to help a local non-profit save some money on their power bill while also giving us the satisfaction of seeing an awesome solar canopy every time we drive down 4th Ave.”

How will CHiPS use its solar?

CHiPS will be using its new solar system as an independent energy source to power its facilities. This includes its soup kitchen and its transitional apartments for mothers and their babies. 

“In 2021, our focus has been all about ‘moving forward’ at CHiPS, in every possible way,” said the administrative staff at CHiPS. “We looked to solar as a way to update our operations to a greener, forward-thinking energy source that would also support our desire to be responsible stewards and citizens of the Park Slope and Gowanus communities.”

We’re incredibly proud of this project and so appreciative of the opportunity to continue spreading solar in our community. We look forward to continuing to connect with and provide solar to other community based organizations like CHiPS.

Questions? Reach out to our team at 347-318-4771 or schedule your free consultation here.