Renew300 Federal Renewable Energy Target

Renew300 is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Initiative that sets a goal of reaching 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy through onsite and community scale renewable energy installations at federally assisted housing.

The President’s Climate Action Plan called for a target of 100 MW of installed capacity of renewable energy on-site at federally subsidized housing by 2020. In July 2015, HUD and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an expansion of the goal, tripling the target to 300 MW of renewables for low-and-moderate income housing by 2020, and broadening the goal to include community and shared solar installations. Federally assisted housing includes HUD’s rental housing portfolio (Public Housing, Multifamily Assisted) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Multifamily Programs, as well as rental housing supported through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

The 300 MW target aims to make use of millions of federally subsidized roofs with on-site generation potential. Due to the nature of the target, solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will be the primary renewable energy source utilized under this initiative. However, other types of renewable energy – including solar thermal, wind, geothermal, biomass, combined heat and power, and small-hydro projects – are also included.

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