"Build a Longer Table"

Commonwealth Kitchen blew us away last week. The Dorchester-based incubator for food-based businesses – whose facility hosts a Sunwealth 60 kW solar installation that helps power the building – has put together a powerhouse partnership to feed Boston families in need. Recognizing the economic impact COVID-19 was having on their member food businesses and their Dorchester community, they sprang into action. Together with neighborhood restaurants, farm partners, and community-based organizations, they launched CommonTable, a program to provide 10,000 delicious, culturally diverse prepared meals per week to households facing food insecurity due to unemployment and lack of access to school meal programs.

The program provides a good example of the ingenuity, collaboration and willingness to roll up your sleeves and work differently it takes to tackle the toughest challenges we’re facing. As Commonwealth Kitchen Executive Director Jen Faigel cites, “When you have more need, you build a longer table, not a taller fence.”

Sunwealth is applying that mantra these days as we push to bring solar access and energy savings to new communities through creative new collaborations, expansion of long-term partnerships and targeted policy advocacy.

LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY SOLAR INCLUSION

Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton, MA wanted to go solar; they also wanted to give something back. This spring, working with Sunwealth and local solar developer and installer 621 Energy, they’ll be able to do just that. A 239 kW community solar installation over the synagogue’s parking lot will provide shade and savings for the temple; through Sunwealth’s low-income community solar program, it will also provide energy savings for low-income Wayland residents, allowing them to purchase net metering credits at a discounted rate.

Community solar agreements are a key tool for increasing solar access. For the estimated 77% of U.S. households unable to go solar – renters, people with low credit scores, and homeowners with shaded roofs – they provide an opportunity to purchase clean energy generated somewhere else. Historically, however, low-income households have been underrepresented among community solar customers.

We’re looking to change that, partnering with trusted community partners like the Wayland Housing Authority (WHA) to raise awareness about community solar and the benefits it can provide to low-income households. In February and March, we hosted “pizza parties” in WHA buildings to get the word out about the program, and help residents sign up. We were also able to help eligible residents sign up for the utility companies' R2 rate program for low-income residents, which entitles them to purchase power at a reduced rate.

In the meantime, construction is underway at Congregation Beth Elohim; the project should be up and running in early summer.


GROWING THE MARKET FOR LOW-INCOME AND COMMERCIAL SOLAR

In April, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) issued an emergency rulemaking for the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program intended to support and strengthen the Commonwealth’s solar industry. The proposed changes are designed to spur investment in solar and to help protect the over 110,000 workers employed in the clean energy industry in Massachusetts, while keeping the state on track to meet the clean energy goals that are part of its plan to combat climate change.

The proposed changes double the capacity of the program from 1,600 to 3,200 MW. Thanks to advocacy efforts by Sunwealth, local development partners like Resonant Energy and other solar justice advocates, they also reserve capacity for projects that benefit low-income communities and small and medium commercial solar projects.

The DOER will be holding a virtual public hearing about the rulemaking on May 22, 2020 and finalizing it later this year. We will continue to work with our partners to encourage regulators and policymakers to ensure that SMART and other state and federal solar programs are about both investing in solar growth and inclusion.

Team Sunwealth continues to work from home these days, paying close attention to Massachusetts advisory and requirements around how and when we can safely return to the office and working with our partners in eight states to safely continue to develop, build, and manage our projects. In the meantime, we celebrate longer days, warmer weather and the community of partners who make our work possible – regardless of where we are doing it.

Thank you for your partnership.

Best,
Jess
 

P.S. We want to hear from you. Let us know what you’re thinking by emailing, or continue the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram!