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Author: Katie Nissen-  Researcher  Published: 8/23/2024  National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Community Power Accelerator Prize identity graphic

In the NCSP Community this week, we would like to extend a big congratulations 🎉 to the six teams moving on from Phase 2 to Phase 3 of the American-Made Community Power Accelerator Prize Round 2🥳!  The Community Power Accelerator Prize is a $10 million prize designed to fast-track the efforts of new, emerging, and expanding solar developers and co-developers to learn, participate, and grow their operations to support multiple successful community solar projects. The goal of this prize is to expand a robust ecosystem of community solar project developers that incorporate meaningful benefits into projects across the United States.

Winning teams from Round 2 will receive a $200,000 cash prize and begin working toward the Phase 3 goals. In the final phase of this prize, teams are challenged with securing 100% investment of their community solar portfolio of 2+ projects that equal in aggregate of at least 1 MW, and each of which include at least two of the Five Meaningful Benefits.

Check out a brief description of the six advancing projects 🤩!

1. Clean Slate Solar and Housing Initiative Partnership – Equitable Community Solar Alliance, Prince George’s County, Maryland

  • This project aims to expand renewable energy access to low-to-moderate-income (LMI) communities in Maryland, offering significant electricity bill savings and workforce training opportunities. This newly established, minority-owned company of experienced in solar developers, plans to scale their community solar efforts beyond Maryland.

2. Solar for Social Good – Hudson Valley – Ecological Citizen’s Project, New York

  • Focused on empowering LMI and underrepresented communities, this minority- and women-owned non-profit integrates solar energy with food sovereignty and agricultural workforce initiatives. Their unique approach of redirecting solar revenue into a food sovereignty fund showcases a unique community benefit which will provide an additional 1,200 meals.

3. Community Benefits Through Community Solar – Reactivate DevCo, LLC, Illinois

  • This joint venture between Invenergy and Lafayette Square focuses on increasing solar access for LMI households through distributed generation systems, primarily community solar, providing substantial electricity bill savings and workforce development training. The project proposes to serve disadvantaged areas in Illinois with a commitment to creating job opportunities and offering comprehensive wraparound services during training.

4. SolaRay Farms – SolaRay Farms, Inc., Oregon

  • SolaRay Farms, with a team experienced in solar and agrivoltaics, aims to bring community solar to rural Oregon, particularly in Klamath Falls, to benefit impoverished farming communities. The company’s first projects in community solar seek to deliver significant bill savings to LMI households while exploring scalable agrivoltaic solutions.

5. Scaling Community Solar for LMI in New Hampshire – Monadnock Energy, New Hampshire

  • Monadnock Energy, in partnership with the National Housing Trust, plans to develop community solar in New Hampshire, focusing on LMI households with affordable housing. Their strategy includes leveraging state programs to allocate solar power to low-income utility customers, with a goal of scaling up to 100 megawatts across the state.

6. Empowering Communities: Solar Equity for All – Aardex Corporation, Colorado and Arkansas

  • Aardex Corporation, a real estate developer with solar experience, proposes two community solar projects in Arkansas aimed at disadvantaged communities. Despite being new to community solar, the team has completed key feasibility studies and plans to engage local communities through tailored subscription plans, workforce training, and educational events.

As the NCSP grows, we’ll continue to use this weekly digest to help you stay informed of the many resources, opportunities, and events shared in the NCSP online community and beyond.

 

👋 Welcome New Partners!

NCSP grew by 10 new partners in the past week! Please welcome the newest NCSP partners:

Michael Brown, Urban Alliance For Clean Energy and M3L Solar Technologies (8/23/24)

JD Polk, Humane4Humans (8/23/24)

Rabia Khan, Washington State University (8/22/24)

Stacey Washington, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (8/22/24)

Alyssa Martin, Nelnet Renewable Energy (8/21/24)

Joseph Makyta, International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology (8/21/24)

Lekan Anlugbua, Leks Energy LLC (8/21/24)

Larry Arceneaux, Triaxios (8/21/24)

Michael Bio, unaffiliated (8/21/24)

Scott Franklin, Texas IE (8/21/24)

 

🔍 Resource Highlights:

See the NCSP Resource List, updated quarterly by NREL, in the Resources section of the online community, for an extensive list of publications, datasets, and tools related to community solar.

Webinar – Funding Strategies for Nonprofits: Making the Case for Energy Investments: Join the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of State and Community Energy Program (SCEP) and the Renew America’s Nonprofits on Wednesday, August 28th for the first webinar in a series designed to help nonprofits make the case to funders for energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy improvements. This webinar will provide strategies to present a compelling case for energy and infrastructure upgrades to Board of Directors, funders, and other stakeholders. Speakers will share insights on translating energy and financial savings into meaningful impacts and provide best practices for creating a strong proposal for desired building upgrades. Hear from leaders in the funding community on the current philanthropic climate, fellow nonprofits on creative approaches to translating building upgrades to impact, and tools to help quantify efficiency and tell your story. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 @ 2-3pm EST. Register here to join.

 

Four new reports from CESA and MIT highlight the importance of community-based organizations for low-income solar development: Community-based organizations (CBOs) play an essential role in helping low-to-moderate-income (LMI) communities access the benefits of solar energy by bridging the gap between regulators, policymakers, and the needs of the community. Programs developed in partnership with CBOs are more likely to be responsive to community needs and be able to overcome the distrust that some residents feel towards utilities, energy companies, and the solar industry. Additionally, CBOs are uniquely positioned to know the best way to engage and communicate with local residents. This month, the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) released a series of reports based on the findings of a nationwide survey of CBOs. The survey, which included dozens of questions, yielded rich, nuanced information about the landscape of CBOs, their attitudes and experiences. The two main reports are:

To make the findings more accessible to people who may not have time to read the full reports, CESA has produced two shorter summary documents:

 

Income Verification Strategies for Income-Based Solar Programs: This new report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) reviews various strategies for income verification of participating customers in low-income energy programs. The report discusses each strategy’s pros and cons, risk of errors, examples of how they are used, and how programs address administrative issues, audits, or other quality control measures. As a growing number of federal and state energy programs seek to reduce energy burdens and create energy justice opportunities for low-income households and disadvantaged communities, verifying the income of participating customers is an important component of these programs. Program managers are seeking ways to verify a large number of subscribing customers that are accurate, timely, and cost-efficient. Check out the full report from LBL here:  https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/income-verification-strategies-income.

 

☀️ Open Opportunities:

Job Opportunity! Community Workforce Readiness Accelerator for Major Projects (RAMP) Initiative Fellowship Opportunity: DOE’s Office of Energy Jobs (OEJ) is excited to announce a short re-opening of recruitment for the Community Workforce RAMP Initiative Fellowship Opportunity. The OEJ is looking to build additional capacity in certain regions or ensure a match with an excellent host organization. They are considering new applicants on a rolling basis and will close the recruitment when positions are filled. Fellows will receive professional development, technical assistance, training in effective workforce practices, and the opportunity to participate in peer learning with other community leaders and RAMP fellows across the country. Fellows will participate full time out of Host Organizations located in a Target Geography during the two-year fellowship. The OEJ has a goal of selecting 10 or more Fellows this cycle. Fellows will be assigned to host organizations that serve as community conveners, offering physical workspace and on-site support for the Fellows. To apply for this fellowship, check out the application here.

 

Notice of Intent: $30 Million To Support Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs (Office of Indian Energy) issued two Notices of Intent (NOIs) to release a combined $30 million in Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) later this summer. The first NOI will support Tribal clean energy planning and development, and the second NOI will support Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) planning to transition to clean energy. Through these planned FOAs, the Office of Indian Energy will continue its effort to advance Tribal energy sovereignty and maximize the deployment of clean, reliable, affordable, and local energy solutions. Find more information about these funding opportunities here: https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/tribal-energy-projects-database.

 

The DOE announced a $36 million Enhancement & Innovation (E&I) competitive grant program: The goal of this grant is to expedite the nation’s shift to clean energy through demonstration projects, lowering heating and cooling bills for American families. Projects that receive funding through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) will not only support low-income homes by making them safer and more comfortable with the latest cutting-edge weatherization techniques, but also serve as an opportunity to showcase best practices that could be adopted across the country. DOE plans to issue multiple awards, each with a maximum amount of $2 million. Eligible entities include existing WAP grantees, subgrantees, and other nonprofit organizations. Applications will be accepted in three categories: Multifamily, Single Family & Manufactured Housing, or Workforce Development. Applications are due by September 27, 2024, and you can find more info here. DOE intends to announce E&I selections in late February 2025.

 

NCSP Rolling Technical Assistance Program: The NCSP continues to offer no-cost technical assistance on a rolling basis to support more partners! The NCSP Technical Assistance program is intended to support you, our partners, to swiftly and successfully implement community solar projects that ensure access to meaningful benefits for all. Any NCSP partner is eligible to request free technical assistance at any time. Additional eligibility details can be found in the application – check it out today!

 

📅 Upcoming Events:

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program Blueprints Cohort Meetings:

Funding Strategies for Nonprofits: Making the Case for Energy Investments Webinar: August 28, 2024 @ 2-3pm EST

NCAP Annual Convention, August 28-30, 2024, Seattle, WA

RE+ 24: September 9-12, 2024, Anaheim, CA

Clean Energy Group Webinar – An Introduction to Solar+Storage: September 19, 2024 @ 1-2pm EST

 

Have an event, opportunity, or resource to share? Consider posting to the discussion forum, or email katie.nissen@nrel.gov for it to be included on the weekly digest.