CESA to develop solar projects for underserved communities with $1.1M DOE funding

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award $1.1 million over three years to the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), to aid the development of solar projects for low- and moderate-income households and communities.

The project is being called the Scaling Up Solar for Under-Resourced Communities Project. With CESA leading it, the initiative will focus on single-family homes, manufactured homes, and affordable multifamily housing.

“CESA is committed to helping state governments and other stakeholders implement solar in ways that provide meaningful benefits to under-resourced communities,” CESA Executive Director Warren Leon said. “The new grant from the US DOE solar office will enable us to significantly expand our outreach and assistance.”

The focus on single-family homes will see CESA coordinate with Connecticut Green Bank, Inclusive Prosperity Capital, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and PosiGen Solar to analyze and promote the initiative and give state agencies opportunities to receive technical assistance and encouragement towards program adoption. On manufactured homes, CESA will work with the New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division to determine the possibility of using solar to power manufactured homes throughout the country. That examination will be based on housing stock, solar policies, geography, and the applicability of different technologies.

At the same time, the multifamily affordable housing operation will build off of work already underway from the Clean Energy Group and the Kresge Foundation, working with housing developers, owners, and community development leaders to replicate and expand loan guarantee and similar foundation program-related investment models specifically tied to solar and solar+storage projects. In the end, they hope to increase community resilience and reduce energy costs among low-income households.

These three initiatives will be led by CESA Project Director Nicole Hernandez Hammer and CESA project associate Laura Schieb.