Denver Nonprofit Protects Vulnerable Residents with Solar and Battery

Volunteers of America (VOA) Colorado is a nonprofit, faith-based organization serving some of Colorado's most vulnerable individuals. This includes families, children, veterans, and older adults. VOA Colorado works with over 100,000 people every year to provide emergency shelter, hunger and nutrition services, and other community support programs.

The Bill Daniels Veteran Services Center is one of VOA's facilities, working to connect Veterans and their families with the services and assistance they need to thrive. The Center also provides 24/7 shelter access to senior women experiencing homelessness. This means that at any time, the Center is helping and housing populations who rely on it for basic needs. Losing power during a grid outage would be dangerous; losing power in an extended outage could be catastrophic.

VOA needed to ensure that it could maintain operations even during emergencies and power outages. They worked with Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency to participate in a program focused on adding clean energy systems to Denver's nonprofit buildings. The program helped VOA install a rooftop solar array in 2024 and a battery storage system in 2026. The solar array produces 133,747 kWh annually, which covers 45% of the building's electrical use. That means fewer dollars are being spent on electricity. That saved money can instead be directed to serving the women and veterans who rely on the Center.

More than that, the battery storage system allows the shelter to continue operations during a power outage. It will provide additional time for residents of the Center to be relocated if an extended outage impacts operations. Critical electrical loads - items that cannot afford to lose power in the event of an outage - are now connected to the battery, which means they will continue to operate even if power to the rest of the building goes out. The battery system can now power the refrigerator, fire system, lighting, several outlets, and a fan box for air circulation. This means that key functions - like feeding residents and keeping the building cooler - can still take place if there are power outages.

For this installation, VOA partnered with GRID Alternatives. GRID is a nonprofit solar installer that facilitates hands-on job training to help income-eligible trainees and interns train for careers in the solar industry. Their programs help individuals gain the competencies needed to secure long-term, good-paying jobs that can grow with the industry.

The process was not without its challenges. As VOA sought to understand the scope and price of their battery storage system, they found it challenging to nail down a price with several vendors. However, the extra time they spent getting the price estimate set meant the organization was able to find the best location for the battery, identify the most critical loads to connect to the battery, and find the right organization to complete the work.

The Bill Daniels Veteran Services Center can now better meet the needs of veterans in Colorado. Their utilities bills were cut nearly in half, which means more funding can go towards providing services. Plus, the battery storage system gives everyone at the Center peace of mind that a sudden power outage will not immediately knock out their ability to serve and house Denver's vulnerable populations.