When SolShare Energy established as BC’s first community solar investment fund, partnering with Cedar Cottage co-housing project was a perfect fit. 

The co-housing model allows a group of people to come together to form a community — each living in private homes clustered around shared spaces such as community gardens, a community kitchen and recreational areas. In the case of Cedar Cottage in East Vancouver, the community also shares access to solar energy on their rooftops.

The residents of Cedar Cottage were already committed to making their new homes 

energy-efficient, and SolShare Energy offered the opportunity to install a solar system with no up-front cost to them. This is because SolShare brings another community together — a community of investors who want to support solar projects — and earn a reliable rate of return on their investment.

Real estate development in Vancouver is expensive, yet by partnering with SolShare Energy, Cedar Collage residents were not faced with the capital cost of installing solar. Additionally, as the City of Vancouver required their homes to meet energy performance targets in order to be approved for re-zoning — solar was an ideal solution. If they had not installed the solar array (with zero capital costs to them), the residents of Cedar Cottage would have had to spend $200,000 on other equipment.

With SolShare’s operating partner, VREC responsible for solar installation and maintenance of the system, the co-housing residents have enjoyed a reliable source of renewable energy since the co-housing neighbourhood opened their doors in 2015.

In January 2021, SolShare Energy paid dividends to our community of investors for the seventh year in a row. With the long-life of solar equipment, SolShare Energy and our investors look forward to celebrating this community solar project for years to come.

To see current production data, click below: