Sierra Club Volunteers Join in Supporting a Brighter Future for Solar and Sustainable Affordable Housing
By Gonzalo Valdes, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Representative
Last month, Sierra Club Suncoast Group members stood in support of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and Green Housing provider Bright Community Trust’s efforts to make affordable housing truly affordable and sustainable.
Partners came together at one of the new solar-paneled homes to showcase this new concept of combining affordable housing with solar technology. During the event, key members of the community spoke to the need for more affordable housing as well as green solutions to help frontline communities deal with the effects of income inequality.
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Bright Community Trust staff with Mayor Kriseman accepting the Wells Fargo Priority Markets Grant |
The Sierra Club applauded the Bright Community Trust for being forward thinking and said it was extremely excited to see collaboration and support from local officials like Mayor Kriseman.
An inspiring coalition of community groups, corporate partners, and elected officials are collaborating on clean energy and community wealth building projects. The forward-thinking solutions emerging from this work give us all immense hope for a brighter future for the Sunshine State.
Wells Fargo has committed $80,000 to assist Bright Community Trust in acquiring solar panels to be installed on affordable housing units in the coming year.
NOTE: While the Sierra Club appreciates the contribution of Wells Fargo to making this solar project a reality, it still has serious concerns with Wells Fargo’s involvement in dirty fuels globally. Between 2014 and 2016, Wells Fargo invested at least $5 billion into the coal, oil, and gas industries that are driving the climate crisis. Wells Fargo has been a major financier of the Dakota Access pipeline, as well as TransCanada, the Canadian oil company behind Keystone XL.