Hacienda Communities Receive Support from Portland Clean Energy Fund

Hacienda CDC is proud to announce funding from the Portland Clean Energy Fund—the first ever climate fund in the country created and led by people of color.

This investment in Hacienda’s MEE Casa initiative will provide cleaner air, increased comfort, better health, reduced financial burden, and improved social outcomes by upgrading six multifamily affordable housing communities with a total of 243 units.

These upgrades will positively impact over 1000 low-income residents in our communities, 92% of whom are people of color. The project includes removing gas-powered heating, installing solar arrays totaling 849.5 kW, heat pumps and cooling devices where needed, as well as LED lighting, and new bathroom fans. An average energy savings of almost 70% is expected for residents.

This MEE Casa initiative aims to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and related greenhouse gas emissions, improve indoor air quality, and support the well-being of over 1,040 members of our resident communities, including 473 children. The vast majority of our residents identify as black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and all households earn 60% of Area Median Income and below.

The MEE Casa initiative will directly benefit these historically underserved communities and give them the opportunity to directly benefit from climate action investments that will build a stronger Portland.

This $9.4 million investment is critical to providing green and healthy affordable housing in North and NE Portland and includes solar power installation; new cooling and heating units; transition to all energy efficient electrical systems and appliances; heat pump water heaters; LED lighting and bathroom fans.

Hacienda CDC will implement the project over a four-year period with our strategic partners Neil Kelly Company, International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology (ICAST), PAE Engineers, and the Oregon Environmental Council.

“We are thrilled the PCEF Committee is recommending Portland City Council fund this investment which will improve the lives of over 1,000 people. We feel strongly that this is the exact type of investment the Portland Clean Energy Fund was created for– improvements that will measurably decrease energy consumption and increase the quality of life for Portland’s community members.”- Ernesto Fonseca, Chief Executive Officer of Hacienda CDC.

Residential buildings account for one-third of Oregon’s climate emissions. Retrofitting existing buildings is critical to meet decarbonization goals and create green and healthy homes and communities.

Low-income and underserved communities bear the burden of rising temperatures and climate-driven events such as heat domes and wildfires associated with a warming planet. As a Latino-founded and led organization that is an owner and steward of affordable housing and community building, Hacienda CDC is a leader on this front and is committed to increasing the well-being and resiliency of our communities.

Hacienda CDC places the health and well-being of residents front and center, especially now as the warming climate becomes a threat to their well-being. Investments made through the MEE Casa initiative will improve their safety and comfort, resulting in healthier and more resilient households. The implementation of this initiative will allow residents to not only feel supported and secure enough to successfully navigate their day-to-day lives but to also advocate and champion preventative climate-related investments after feeling the benefits of such policies firsthand.