300 kW Solar System and Full Roof Upgrade Delivered with No Upfront Cost for Foothill Medical Center Association
Power Purchase Agreement provides clean power, lower energy costs and a warrantied roof solution without an assessment, reserve draw, or upfront check
The Foothill Medical Center Association has energized a 300 kW rooftop and carport solar system at its commercial property at 26700 Towne Centre Drive, completing a combined solar and roof modernization delivered with a fully-financed power purchase agreement (PPA).
The project was financed by Sunrock Distributed Generation, developed by WattHub Renewables, and built by SunRenu Solar. Under the agreement, the Association received both a fully operational solar system and comprehensive roof reconditioning across all solar-supporting buildings with no upfront cost.
The newly installed system is forecast to generate approximately 506,000 kWh of clean electricity annually, offsetting a substantial portion of the center’s Southern California Edison (SCE) load under the GS-2-TOU tariff. This is expected to reduce CO₂emissions by around 359 metric tons annually, equivalent to removing 78 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road each year.
A Smarter Solar Model for Commercial HOAs: Solar + Roof, No Check Written
For many commercial HOAs, going solar looks attractive on paper but is complicated in practice. The biggest obstacle is often the roof. Installing a solar array designed to operate for 25 years on a roof nearing the end of its service life forces an expensive sequence: strip the array, replace the roof, re-install the array. Foothill Medical Center Association was able to avoid this issue entirely.
WattHub Renewables structured the project so the economics of the PPA could support both the solar installation and roof reconditioning. SunRenu Solar then executed both scopes simultaneously, delivering a coordinated roof-and-solar project designed for long-termperformance. The result is a cleaner, lower-cost energy solution paired with a roof system under warranty, delivered without requiring the Association to fund the work upfront.
Ashley Cardo, Real Estate Manager with Pacific Coast Commercial Real Estate, the agent for Foothill Medical Center Association, says: “As a non-profit commercial HOA, every dollar of operating budget matters to our members. This project lowers our electricity costs immediately, protects us from utility rate escalation, and gives us a new roof with warranty – and we did not have to levy an assessment or draw on reserves to do any of it.”
Chris Leonard, Chief Revenue Officer of WattHub Renewables, comments: “Foothill Medical Center is exactly the kind of property that has historically been left out of the commercial solar market. It is a well-run HOA with a great roof that had reached the end of its useful life. By enabling the roof reconditioning alongside the solar array, we eliminated the single biggest obstacle to adoption for properties like this one.
“Our job at WattHub is to make clean energy work for real buildings with real constraints. The Foothill project is a template we are already applying to other commercial HOAs across Southern California: one contractor and one lower monthly bill – and a new roof included,” he adds.
John McDonnell, Principal of SunRenu Solar,adds: “Executing the roof reconditioning and the solar installation as a coordinated scope meant the Association didn’t lose use of its property to back-to-back construction campaigns. Our crews completed both workstreams on a tight timeline and handed back both a building envelope and a generation asset that will perform together for decades.”
“This project shows how the economics of a solar system can turn a capital challenge into an operating advantage,” concludesWilson Chang, CEO of Sunrock Distributed Generation. “We are grateful for the work our partners do to bring the benefits of clean energy to their local communities.”
Project Snapshot
- Site: Foothill Medical Center Association — 26700 Towne Centre Drive, Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
- System size: 300 kW (DC) rooftop and carport solar PV
- Estimated annual production: ~506,000 kWh
- Utility / tariff: Southern California Edison (SCE), GS-2-TOU
- Monitoring: Wattch
- Structure: Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) — zero upfront cost to the Association
- Bundled scope: Full roof reconditioning across solar-supporting buildings, included in the PPA
- PPA provider: Sunrock Distributed Generation
- Developer: WattHub Renewables
- EPC / builder: SunRenu Solar
- Status: Install complete; Permission to Operate (PTO) received; commissioning underway
