By Emily Myers – Habitat Magazine
Published June 23, 2025
Major infrastructure upgrades can be especially challenging for small co-ops, where there are fewer shareholders to split the cost. But when it comes to solar, that smaller scale can also deliver outsized rewards. At 186 E. 111th St., a four-unit brownstone co-op in East Harlem, a new solar installation is expected to generate 75% of the building’s total electricity usage. “That’s a large percentage of our power,” says board treasurer Adam Benn.
Given the building’s size and low common area electricity usage, it made sense for the board to choose a community solar system. Instead of directly powering the building’s shared areas, the system feeds power to the grid, generating credits that are applied to shareholders’ individual electric bills. “It is an equally owned co-op so everyone will receive 25% of the solar credits,” says Ryan O’Hara, business development manager at Brooklyn SolarWorks, the company that installed the panels.
To maximize the generation of solar power, the board opted for a rooftop shade structure, known as a canopy. “With a canopy, you can fit three times the solar you would normally fit on the roof,” O’Hara says. The canopy has 39 panels and will generate 17,261kWh of electricity annually. Community solar rates are variable, based on factors like carbon emission reductions and benefits to the grid. The co-op expects to save $85,000 over the next 25 years.
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