Brightwell’s Post

Solar is not just an idea, it’s a way to give back! We are honored to be a conduit of positive, impactful change in communities. With the power of solar, organizations can use the savings for their mission rather than a bill. Read more from The Oklahoman on how solar is making futures brighter!☀️ https://bit.ly/4cyNb9n

Interesting article highlighting the challenges ahead on the path to Energy transition in Kern County, CA. https://lnkd.in/dynv8c-z

Advocating for community solar means equitable access to clean energy, affordability, environmental benefits, grid resilience, and job creation. Here's how you can support community solar in CA:

♨️❄️ Community heating and cooling projects allow the replacement of fossil fuel heating for citizen-owned renewable thermal energy installations. Find out in our briefing how it can help municipalities, social housing providers and policy makers fulfil the heating and cooling planning obligation arising from the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. Download it here ⤵️

“We cannot have change occur only on the pocketbooks of those early adopters, those people who can most afford it and benefit most. That’s just not the way that we can do this in an equitable fashion.” That’s Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, co-founder of a St. Paul based clean energy nonprofit, talking about community solar in Minnesota. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is a national leader in community solar, second only to New York. But per MPR News, “while about 86 percent of the subscribers to the hundreds of community solar projects around the state are residential, about 86 percent of the solar power actually being produced goes to larger commercial subscribers.” That’s a huge disparity. And unfortunately, it’s not an isolated occurrence. Too often, the communities that stand to benefit the most from clean energy solutions are the ones forgotten or excluded from them. And that’s why the recent move to incorporate equity into Minnesota’s electrification plans is so encouraging. From grassroots groups putting electric rideshares in low-income neighborhoods to J40 commitments, community and government leaders are stepping up to make sure nobody gets left behind. https://bit.ly/3RKmFSG

In the latest Boston Globe article, Professor of Public Policy & Urban Affairs at Northeastern University and C2C Fellow Joan Fitzgerald and Managing Director of TSK Energy Solutions Greg King shed light on the role of community solar in addressing energy inequality. Read their perspectives and discover how initiatives in Boston are making a difference. #SolarEnergy #Equity #CommunitySolar #C2CImpactEngine #NortheasternUniversity

Today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a historic investment of $7 billion to fund seven Hydrogen Hubs around the country. These Hubs have the potential to create a pathway to reduce long-standing environmental burdens and harms in communities on the front lines. But they must be done right. To ensure that communities have a seat at the table on day one, and that these tax-payer funded Hubs are grounded in the highest principles of the Biden-Harris Administration, today my office announced a $1.5 million community capacity grant to Texas Southern University (an HBCU) and the HBCU Consortium to support community benefits plan development in communities housing DOE-funded projects. We've never done this before, but we know that the only energy transition that will endure is one that centers community. Onward. https://lnkd.in/gSMcQhKr

Hi Folks, I am excited to invite folks to another HYBRID deliberative conversation around climate equity in Kern County on Monday, October 16, 2023, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm PDT. This event is the third collaboration between RAND’s Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy (CAREP), RAND’s Pardee Center for Longer Range Policy, and California State University Bakersfield. The event is FREE and open to the public. IN-PERSON: CSU Bakersfield, Stockdale Room9001 Stockdale Highway Bakersfield, CA 93311. Parking details will be provided in a confirmation email following registration. VIRTUAL: A Zoom link will be provided in the confirmation email following registration. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gGK3BYDX   Event Description: Energy is central to Kern County’s livelihoods and economy. Among the many changes affecting Kern in today’s tumultuous times, the county’s energy sector faces emerging technologies, shifting markets, and new state and federal policies. Kern County supplies much of California’s energy as a leader in oil, gas, solar, and wind, creating jobs and tax revenues for the region. Given its leading role and natural and human resources, changes in the energy sector offer opportunities for Kern County and its people. However, realizing these opportunities will require setting ambitious goals and ongoing discussions among government, business, and community members on achieving them. Thus, to fully embrace the opportunities, provide broadly shared benefits for all members of the Kern community, and avoid adverse impacts on its people, environment, and economy, Kern needs to ensure that all residents’ hopes and concerns are heard, respected, and considered in the discussions and actions taken by government, businesses, and local organizations.    California State University, Bakersfield, is assisting RAND, a non-partisan policy research organization, with the facilitation of equity-centered deliberative conversations around this question. To learn more about our ongoing work in Kern County, check out our website here: https://lnkd.in/g9jN8vg8   #kerncounty #climateaction #equitymatters #deliberativeconversations

Good public policy endures many challenges over many years I turn 40 tomorrow and this proposed decision was a downer of a birthday present from the California Public Utilities Commission. Maybe it's a sign of age- I'm not phased. This proposal is a product of 10 years of effort, including 5 years of advancing this specific proposal. The Net Value Billing Tariff (NVBT) community solar + storage proposal has nearly died on at least 6 occasions in just the three and a half years since it was formally introduced at the Commission. Each time it has come back stronger, with more supporters and a new twist. Good policy ideas solve multiple problems and achieve benefits for a broad set of groups. Good policy ideas are malleable and adapt to accommodate the concerns and needs of others, especially opponents. Good policy ideas made sense last year, they make sense today, they'll make sense five years hence. They grow stronger as they grow older. Over the years, the NVBT has enabled- and then been built by- diverse set of supporters including ratepayer advocates, environmental justice, Labor, and others. One of the most fulfilling experience of my professional career has been working with folks like Marc Joseph, Alexis J. Sutterman, matt freedman, Merrian Borgeson, Jennifer Dowdell, Lauren Kubiak, and Bob Raymer to evolve and push this proposal. Many of us have been on the opposite sides of lots of issues over the years, including on past community solar proposals! Teaming up required a lot of back and forth, building trust and a shared understanding, and having the humility and courage to challenge our own positions and compromise. Especially as distributed renewables debates have become more contentious we need to build these relationships and find common cause. The end result of this collaboration is a proposal that can achieve utility bill savings for millions of Californians, close out the polluting power plants that still exist in our most disadvantaged communities, create family-supporting union jobs, build the capacity of civic organizations, and lower the cost of housing, including meeting the California Energy Commission's nation-leading building energy standard. The public policy process chews up and spits out thousands of ideas every year in the legislative process and through subsequent multi-year rulemakings. The good ones survive the journey better and stronger when they arrive at the finish line. We're nearly at the finish line and I relish one more challenge in what has been a guantlet for this idea and the coalition of people who have built it and pushed it. https://lnkd.in/g6d_wEkY

We're at the precipice of leveraging billions of dollars of federal incentives into tens of of billions of investment and electric bill savings for customers left out of the clean energy transition over the coming decade with local community and rooftop solar. It's an exciting moment after years of design, development, and tailoring public policy ideas into reality. Both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Solar for All and Low Income Bonus Credit programs received multiples of their available funding - from states across the political spectrum. If Congress if looking for a good place to leverage private capital to build public infrastructure - all while tackling climate change and investing in local communities - no better place than these two programs.