06/06/2024
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has just released a study confirming what we have known to be true for years — is one of the best ways to increase equity in our energy system.
https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/evaluating-community-solar-measure
Key Takeaways:
+ It inherently expands access to more people.
Community solar subscribers are 6x more likely to live in multifamily housing, 4x more likely to rent, and earn 23% less than rooftop solar adopters.
+ Reaching populations living in multifamily and rental housing is the biggest strength of community solar because "rooftop solar remains nearly inaccessible" to these populations.
+ There are options to reduce financial barriers to rooftop solar (leasing, grants, etc.), but no options to reduce inherent housing barriers (shared roofs, non-ownership, split incentives).
+ Policy interventions can grow low-to-moderate income (LMI) subscriptions even more. That’s because low-income policies encourage developers to go even further towards reaching those who otherwise would not participate in community solar and therefore achieve more equitable outcomes, particularly in
reference to income and race.
+ Policies supporting LMI adoption account for 67% (2/3rd) of the incomedifferential between CS and rooftop adopters in the examined states (IL, NY, OR).
+ LMI carve-outs increase the equity benefits of CS and appear to be critical in expanding access to racial minorities.
