www.seia.org

Local community-based low income solar projects

Bruce Konewko, Solar Operations and Marketing Director, Cooperative Energy Futures

Pouya Najmaie, Chair, Board of Directors, Cooperative Energy Futures

Juan Parra, Community Solar Program Manager, Solar One

Gretchen Bradley, Senior Solar Program Associate, Solar One

Summer Sandoval, Energy Democracy Coordinator, Uprose

Ernesto Cruz, Director of Community Outreach, Co-op Power

Moderator: Melanie Santiago-Mosier, Vote Solar

Co-host: Sara Birmingham, SEIA

September 2019 |SEIA Webinar

Core Project Team

Brooklyn’s oldest Latino

community-based organization

promoting environmental and

climate justice focusing on

climate resiliency in Sunset

Park.

Environmental nonprofit

running diverse programs to

help New Yorkers adopt

Clean Energy. Here Comes

Solar provides

comprehensive technical

assistance to homeowners,

community groups, and

renters.

Consumer-owned energy cooperative based in Massachusetts with regional energy councils throughout the Northeast.

Community

engagement, outreach

& co-owner:

Technical assistance &

subscription support:

Co-op operations,

billing & co-owner:

Sunset Park Neighborhood

31% below poverty line

50% linguistically isolated

High rates of respiratory diseases

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012-2016

American Community Survey 5-Year

Estimates; New York State Department of

Health, Statewide Planning and Research

Cooperative System, 2012; NYC DOHMH,

Bureau of Vital Statistics, 2009-2013

Transportation Energy Industry

Local Pollution

2%

Environmental Justice

Inequity

Climate

Demographics Infrastructure

Location

Pollution

The Just Transition Model:

➢ Circular

➢ Cooperation

➢ Equity

➢ Linear

➢ Exploitation

➢ Disparity

Sunset Park Solar: Project Origin

● Superstorm Sandy 2012

● UPROSE organizing on renewable

energy in Sunset Park

● RFP released by NYC Economic

Development Corp

● Project team prepared to take

advantage of opportunity

Sunset Park Community Solar Project Benefits

● 685 kW solar energy system on the roof of the Brooklyn Army Terminal ○ 80,000 sqft of previously unused rooftop space

● 200 homes and small businesses will benefit from 15%-20% savings in monthly

energy bills, most from Sunset Park community

● Job training and employment opportunities for local residents.

Aerial Rendering of Brooklyn Army Terminal

(BAT)

● NY’s first

cooperatively-owned

solar developed,

owned and operated by

the local community

through the New York

City Community Energy

Co-op.

● Energy Democracy:

Ownership options for

UPROSE after the

ownership flip

The Sunset Park Solar Community Benefits

Challenges &

Solutions

Financing

1. Project Dev Risks

2. Capital Financing

Structure (Partnership Flip

model)

CapitalDevelopment

● Mobilization

● Outreach

● Installer

● Interconnection

● Tax Equity

Investor

● Long-term

debt

provider

Outreach

Concepts Trust

Communication

UPROSE Outreach

Sunset

Park Solar

Timeline

Fall 2019 Winter 2019 5-7 Years 25 Years

● Finalize legal documents

● Sign-up subscribers

● Permits & approvals

● Complete construction

● Fill subscriptions

● Commissioned by Con Ed

● Ownership flip

● Tax equity investor 5%

● UPROSE gains ownership

● Model for communities

● Key element in Just Transition

● Community benefits

Solar for us by us!

Thank You!

Contact Information

Summer Sandoval, UPROSE

summer@uprose.org

Juan Parra, Solar One

juan@solar1.org

Gretchen Bradley, Solar One

gretchen@solar1.org

Ernesto Cruz, Co-op Power

ernesto@cooppower.coop

Community-Powered Energy

Pouya Najmaie

Bruce Konewko

Cooperative Energy Futures

• Energy cooperative currently concentrating on development of Community Solar Gardens

• Mission to provide no-barriers-to-access solar energy to LMI and disaffected populations while hiring at least 50% POC

• Consumer-centric subscription terms in contracts

• Board of Directors comprised of cooperative members

MN Community Solar Program

➢ Legislation passed in 2013

➢ Primarily meant to serve residential customers that could not access solar on their roofs (for a variety of

reasons)

➢ No limit on capacity per year

➢ Community Solar Gardens (CSGs) must be in Xcel territory and subscriber must be in the County or an

adjacent County to the CSG being subscribed to

➢ Must have at least 5 subscribers to each CSG with not more than 40% of a CSGs capacity being

subscribed to by a single subscriber and a subscriber cannot receive more than 120% of their average

usage.

➢ CSGs may not exceed 1 MW AC

Source: Institute for Local Self Reliance, (https://ilsr.org/minnesotas-community-solar-program/)

Source: Institute for Local Self Reliance, (https://ilsr.org/minnesotas-community-solar-program/)

How It Works

Host Site

Solar Array located on host site and owned & managed by facility manager and financed by subscribers. Electricity to utility.

Bill credits

Electric Utility(Xcel Energy)

Community Subscribers

Electricity

Facility Manager (eg. Cooperative Energy Futures)

15

90%

(~221MW) of

“Community”

solar is

commercial

10% (~25MW)

is residential

Problem➢ High barriers to access for Community Solar Program participation

➢ Credit score of ~760 or better

➢ Large upfront payment

➢ Lack of community equity/ownership of CSGs

➢ CSGs are owned by financial institutions that are typically out-of-state

➢ CSGs owned by these institutions are not responsive to the questions or concerns of local

subscribers

➢ The contracts are not consumer-centric

➢ Non-transparent and non-democratic

➢ Economic value of the electricity being produced by CSGs (VOS)

➢ VOS is insufficient

➢ VOS is unjust

Solutions➢ No credit checks and flexible contracts

➢ We also focus on serving LMI and disaffected populations

➢ We have built in a mechanism to account for people having to sell there subscription or even default

➢ CEF’s CSGs are 85-90% residentially subscribed by capacity

➢ Less profit-taking on front end for more consumer-centric and inclusive terms

➢ Develop financing that allows long-term ownership of the CSGs by the members of the cooperative

➢ Flip model of ownership

➢ Backup subscriber model

➢ Dividends go back members

➢ Change the laws and attempt to influence the PUC and DOC

➢ Developed a Community Access Bill and attempted to pass it this past spring

➢ Pressuring PUC on different issues (residential adder) and meeting with DOC

What makes CEF unique?➢ Cooperative Ownership

➢ No credit checks or other barriers to access (outside of program rules)

➢ Democratically and community operated with the ability to participate

➢ Economic and operational transparency

➢ Consumer-centric contract terms and contract flexibility

➢ Concentration on LMI and disaffected populations

➢ 50% POC hiring/training

➢ Focused on building coalitions and partnerships with local nonprofits, and community organizations

CEF Community Solar Gardens

Annual Member Meeting

Annual Member Meeting

Learn More:www.cooperativeenergyfutures.com

Timothy DenHerder-Thomas

General Manager

timothy@cooperativeenergyfutures.com

Or Call Us: (612) 568-2334

Thank You!

Community-Powered Energy

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