{"id":101313,"date":"2023-02-16T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/?p=101313"},"modified":"2023-02-16T08:18:14","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T13:18:14","slug":"community-solar-research-shows-policy-change-is-needed-to-meet-justice40-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/2023\/02\/community-solar-research-shows-policy-change-is-needed-to-meet-justice40-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Community solar research shows policy change is needed to meet Justice40 goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Zahra Thani and Abigail Despres, Energy Allies<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Biden Administration quickly announced the Justice40<\/a> Initiative<\/a> upon taking office in 2021, a program that set the goal of 40% of benefits from federal programs going to disadvantaged communities. As a step toward this goal, the Dept. of Energy (DOE) launched the National Community Solar Partnership with the objective of developing 20 GW of community solar by 2025 to provide up to $1 billion in energy bill savings. However, this program has raised questions about how to ensure Justice40 principles are met as community solar expands. With funding from the DOE\u2019s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), Energy Allies (formerly Solstice Initiative) sought to answer these questions and identify barriers and challenges associated with equitable access to community solar projects.<\/p>\n

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A 7.3-MW community solar project in Farmingdale, Maine, owned by Nautilus Solar Energy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Community solar, unlike other avenues for renewable energy, was intentionally designed and developed to be a more equitable avenue for energy access because of its low upfront costs, bill-savings and accessibility to renters. Yet, community solar hasn\u2019t come close to meeting Justice40 principles thus far. NREL estimated that as of the end of 2020, while 3,253 MWAC <\/sub>of community solar capacity has been developed, only 65 MW, or 2%, is dedicated to low-to-moderate income (LMI) subscribers. This discrepancy is further glaring when compared to the fact that 81% of the U.S. population is considered lower or middle class. Worse, individuals with low incomes have the highest energy burdens<\/a> \u2013 and should be a priority in community solar access.<\/p>\n

With input from community solar developers, community-based organizations, contract law experts, energy equity organizers, financiers, subscriber organizations, policy makers, researchers, other industry stakeholders and DOE SETO support, Energy Allies researched how members of climate-impacted communities feel about existing community solar programs commonly offered in this space. We sourced ideas from these communities on how these programs can be more accessible and valuable for different types of communities. Our research also looked into perceived risks associated with LMI subscribers and developer perspectives on barriers to including LMI participants in projects.<\/p>\n

Research findings demonstrated the need for policy solutions to create the conditions for utilities and developers to serve more LMI customers to advance just clean energy transitions.<\/p>\n

Our research demonstrated three key findings:<\/p>\n