Leasing the solar panels to the top of the townhouses costs money. However, over the course of the lease the University will be saving in utility bills for the townhouses while the students living in them continue paying whatever normal housing costs the university imposes. The savings from the solar panels that GUSA invests in would then be transferred to GUSA.

That is to say, the total amount of money they would be paying MINUS the money they have to pay to Pepco would = the money saved through use of the solar panels. Since GUSA paid for their installation etc it rolls back into GUSA, which can then allocate more money to student group etc.

One of the questions raised was: why not pay the students living in the townhouse directly? Their answer was simple and I think correct. If Endowment money is spent on the panels you’re giving a very concentrated group of students direct benefit from money that belongs to the student body as a whole. Not a fair idea. If it goes to the allocation process all students can benefit. Maybe it can finance a DECENT SPRING CONCERT

1. Pay $163, 399 to install solar on townhouses
2. The townhouses would generate 20% of electricity from solar (free), and generate 80% of electricity from PEPCO (not free). So, we save 20% on electricity bills.
3. Students in townhouses continue to pay same bill to PEPCO, Georgetown University pays same bill to PEPCO. All of these savings are given back to GUSA, to the tune of $458, 856 over 20 years.

This way, all students get to benefit. I heard they did a really good job answering questioning during their presentation.

With that said, over the life span of the panels, PEPCOs costs are expected to rise, while solar energy is going to stay the same rate (as the energy costs nothing for the company-only the machinery costs money). Georgetown will be saving more on a year-to-year basis.

Those savings will then be transferred from Georgetown to the GUSA Fund. Basically, utilities would have to write a check of the savings amount. The savings amount will be easy to track because Solar City tracks energy usage. If the University looks at the PEPCO rate and the Solar City energy usage, it can calculate the difference.

The students who live in the townhouses will pay their energy usage based on the PEPCO rates. as the Commission has the requirement to benefit all students, and not just a few; in turn, they want to make the savings go into the GUSA Fund to be open to the entirety of the student body and not just the students who live in the townhouses.

Your question is premised on GUSA actually giving a damn about this university or its students. All they care about is pushing their pet projects to build their resumes and dumping our money into them.