UMassFive College Federal Credit Union (UMassFive) has been an early and continuous supporter of green initiatives, as evidenced by their suite of sustainable loan products ranging from Bicycle and Farm Share Loans to Energy & Fuel Conservation Loans. In fact, the Credit Union was honored with the title “Sustainable Business of the Year” for 2020 in their category by the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts for their work towards a local, green, and fair economy.
With this institutional commitment to sustainability, it came as no surprise that when the state of Massachusetts—in a joint effort between the Department of Energy Resources and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center—rolled out the Mass Solar Loan program in 2015, UMassFive jumped at the opportunity to add Solar Financing to their product offerings.
Following six years of involvement in the state program, the Credit Union’s participation has been labeled a tremendous accomplishment. When the program sunset at the end of 2020, UMassFive finished as its top lender, financing more than double the next highest volume lender. “We successfully financed 1,961 solar installations totaling over $62.5M through the state program, and built lasting relationships with solar installers statewide. What we are most proud to report, though, is that 72% of those projects benefited households that qualified for Income Based Loan Support through the program,” said Rich Kump, President and CEO at UMassFive.
“The success of Mass Solar Loan was driven by committed lenders—like UMassFive—who enabled thousands of households across the Commonwealth to install solar, including over 3,000 low- and moderate-income residents.” said MassCEC CEO Stephen Pike. “The MassCEC/UMassFive public-private partnership has been a resounding success, culminating in UMassFive continuing to offer its solar finance product to lower income households and other underserved residents.”
UMassFive is proud to continue offering Solar Financing through their own MySolar Loan. Built upon their experience with Mass Solar Loan, the MySolar Loan features more options for interested homeowners—like higher maximum loan amounts, more flexible terms and conditions, and a streamlined financing process that solar installers already understand. In fact, UMassFive’s MySolar Loan has already financed and installed 620 projects, totaling over $20 Million in successful installations.
To learn more about UMassFive and their MySolar financing option, email solarloans@umassfive.coop, contact their Consumer Lending team at 413.588.5889 or visit their MySolar webpage at umassfive.coop/solar. Solar installers looking to partner with UMassFive can get more information at umassfive.coop/solarinstaller.