SUCCESS STORY
SOMAH Helps Holt Family
Apartments Go Greener and Save with Solar

Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing

PROPERTY INFO
Holt Family Apartments, owned by Holos Communities
LOCATION
Pomona, Los Angeles County
YEAR BUILT
2017
UNITS
49 affordable apartments,
1-3 bedroom
ENVIRON. LEADERSHIP
LEED GOLD certification
RESIDENT PROFILE
Family & Permanent Supportive Housing
SOLAR CONTRACTOR
Sunrun
SYSTEM SIZE
73 kW DC
OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE
Solar Services Agreement
EST. TENANT SOLAR SAVINGS
~$25 per month per unit
EST. COMMON AREA SAVINGS
~$3,500 per year
SOLAR CREDIT ALLOCATION
90% tenant, 10% common area
SOMAH INCENTIVE
$132,432
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
~23 metric tons of CO2 avoided annually

Bringing environmentally conscious upgrades and energy-cost savings to its properties and residents is central to the mission of Holos Communities, an affordable housing developer in Southern California.
Through its Theory of Change, Holos strives to develop each of its 20 properties to do more than provide a safe home and supportive services for residents. Its properties also have a variety of green and eco-friendly features that help reduce air pollution, lessen the impacts of climate change, preserve and recycle water, provide open space and lower energy use.
As part of that commitment, Holos is partnering with the Solar   on Multifamily Affordable Housing Program and solar provider Sunrun to add solar photovoltaic systems to its properties. The first project in this effort was Holt Family Apartments in Pomona, a five-building community that is home to 49 households, half of them designated as permanent supportive housing.
Built with a variety of sustainable features, Holt Family Apartments earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, placing it among California’s high-performing affordable housing communities.

“As a nonprofit affordable housing developer, we didn’t have capital funds to install solar energy. So, the value of having a program like SOMAH that can provide the funding and has the technical services needed to help navigate the solar process is simply immeasurable.”
— John Yoon, Director of Asset Management, Holos Communities

How SOMAH makes a difference
With its solar panels in operation since April 2025, Holt Family Apartments is turning Holos Communities’ sustainability goals into direct benefits for residents and the property alike.
Ninety percent of the solar energy credits are directed to residents, providing an estimated savings of $25 per month or more, depending on the utility programs   the household may be enrolled in. For families and individuals living on fixed or limited incomes, those savings can help ease monthly expenses and create a little more room in household budgets.
The remaining 10% of solar production helps offset electricity use in common areas, including outdoor lighting, hallways and the laundry room.  According  to  Yoon, those savings will be reinvested into the community through resident services, property improvements and new programs.
Yoon praised SOMAH’s technical assistance team for its customized, one-on-one help evaluating solar feasibility, navigating program participation and assessing project economics and incentives.

John Yoon, Director of Asset Management, Holos Communities

The Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program provides financial incentives for installing photovoltaic solar energy systems and delivers clean power and energy bill credits to residents.
To find out how to bring solar to your community, visit CalSOMAH.org
858-244-1177 ext. 5  |  contact@CalSOMAH.org

SOMAH-052026

“The support from SOMAH has been fabulous. They walked us through every step in the process—I don’t know that we could have done our first solar installation without it,” Yoon said.
Holos has also committed to outfitting future properties with solar plus storage now that SOMAH provides incentives for solar paired with battery energy storage systems. The organization is planning to add storage to a second project currently underway with Sunrun at a 29-unit apartment building in Barstow.
“Other asset managers have told me they have looked into solar panels at their multifamily affordable properties, but they just could not afford it,” Yoon said.
“When I tell them about working with SOMAH and Sunrun where the cost of solar is near zero out of pocket, they ask me if I can make an introduction—of course, the answer is a wholehearted yes.”