Is your building eligible for the new Multifamily Solar Roofs Program?
Only 1% of solar in California can be found in environmental justice communities but now the Multifamily Solar Roofs Program will invest $1 billion for solar for low-income renters across the state! In 2015, a groundbreaking new policy was passed that created the largest solar program for low-income renters of multifamily affordable housing across the state.
CEJA was a proud co-sponsor of AB 693 (authored by Assembly Member Susan Eggman) which is currently in its implementation phase and we look forward to seeing environmental justice communities who fought to win this bill finally receive the direct environmental and economic benefits this program will bring. That’s why we worked with Kevala to develop a new interactive mapping tool that shows exactly where the eligible housing units are located.
Multifamily affordable housing in California has been a largely untapped solar market and the Multifamily Solar Roofs program was created to make solar energy systems more accessible to renters in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Our communities are on the frontline of the environmental and economic crises in our state and it is long overdue that we find better ways to integrate affordable housing into the green economy.
With this new mapping tool, we can now see exactly the areas of the state where this market lies. This new map shows that now more than ever, we can bridge the green divide by ensuring low-income tenants of multifamily affordable housing units can access an equitable energy economy with increasing opportunities for rooftop solar.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently undertaking a public proceeding, which will determine the final program design expected to launch by June 2017. We expect it will facilitate the installation of over 300 MW of new solar capacity serving over 150,000 low-income renters at over 2,000 affordable housing properties.
You can find the maps here: keva.la/ceja
