A new association will reinvigorate a viable community solar and storage program in California. Californians for local, affordable solar and storage (CLASS) will work to expand access to local, affordable clean energy, lower electric bills for families and small businesses, and create new income opportunities for farmers and landowners across the state.
Founding members of the new association include Chaberton Energy, Dimension Energy, ECA Solar, Fieldworks Power, Nexamp, Renewable America, Renewable Properties and White Pine Renewables. While California has historically been at the forefront of distributed energy projects, significant investments in community solar have left the state for more favorable policy environments such as Illinois, which recently passed a comprehensive energy package to support community solar and storage.
CLASS aims to reinvigorate California’s leadership through a viable community solar and storage market that could bring the state tens of billions of dollars in new investments. Former senior statehouse staffer and Sacramento veteran Derek Chernow is the executive director of CLASS.
“Community solar is already reducing bills and expanding access to clean energy in states across the country,” Chernow said. “It’s time for California to catch up and provide real relief to renters and other families struggling with high energy bills.”
Despite legislative guidance and strong bipartisan support, the California Public Utilities Commission has yet to adopt a workable program that would allow community solar and storage to be developed at scale. As a result, California lags far behind other states that already deliver lower bills, grid resilience, and local economic benefits through locally generated solar energy.
In the coming months, Californians for Local, Affordable Solar and Storage will work with legislators, regulators and community leaders to advance legislation and regulatory reforms that finally deliver on the promise of community solar and storage in California.
“Through pilot projects in the Central Valley, we have proven that community solar can bring local, cost-effective clean energy to the Californians who need it most, while creating quality jobs and meaningful income for farmers with deteriorating water supplies,” said Brandon Smithwood, Vice President of Policy, Dimension Energy. “We are ready to make statewide investments in local, affordable solar and storage once the state creates a real, workable community solar and storage program.”
“California’s energy transition must be built from the community level,” said Ardi Arian, founder and CEO of Renewable America. “CLASS is creating a platform that supports locally located solar and storage, strengthens the reliability of the electric grid and helps keep energy affordable for Californians. Renewable America is proud to support this effort and join an organization that understands the importance of local energy solutions.”
“Renewable Properties is proud to call California home, and our company is committed to building local renewable energy projects. However, most of our current investments flow to other states that have workable community solar and distributed generation programs,” Aaron Halim, CEO of Renewable Properties. “We want to invest more in our home state, but that will only happen if lawmakers, the governor and the CPUC can create and implement a program that really works for developers, the public and utilities. That’s why we’re proud to support CLASS and its ideas to reinvigorate California’s leadership in distributed solar.”
News item from CLASS
