At their December board meeting, our partner the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) approved two 15-year power purchase agreements with Pivot Energy (TEC’s implementation partner!) to develop community solar projects as part of our Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) project.
The new solar installations will become operational by December 31, 2023 and will serve approximately 340 low income residents in Bassett and Avocado Heights.
Pivot Energy, Clean Power Alliance, TEC, and many other partners including local community-based organizations ActiveSGV and Day One, are working together on the BAAEC project, using funding awarded from a California Energy Commission (CEC) grant to accelerate the deployment of Advanced Energy Communities (AECs). The Bassett Unified School District sponsored the projects and also supported community outreach alongside TEC’s other project partners.
The BAAEC project is demonstrating how disadvantaged communities can be part of a decentralized, clean, and affordable clean energy future.
As part of BAAEC’s community solar feature, ActiveSGV has successfully enrolled over 400 local residents into CPA’s Power Share program. This program has provided income-qualified customers in Bassett and Avocado Heights 100% renewable energy and a 20% or more discount on their energy bills. Qualified customers that ActiveSGV helped to enroll in CPA’s Power Share program will be transferred to BAAEC’s Community Solar project once it becomes available, so customers can get their electricity from a local renewable source while continuing to get their 20% energy discount.
“The Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community is very happy to see both the ‘Beverly’ and ‘San Gabriel’ Pivot Energy projects coming to fruition,” said Craig Perkins, President and Executive Director of The Energy Coalition. “These projects are examples of the state of California and Clean Power Alliance working together to ensure hundreds of residents in disadvantaged communities have affordable access to clean renewable energy.”
The BAAEC project addresses structural, cultural, and social-economical barriers to clean energy technology and the electrification of home equipment and transportation. One goal of the project is to ensure that the combination of strong community engagement and utilizing the latest in technological and business innovation helps disadvantaged communities leap into the clean energy future instead of potentially being left behind.
Read the full press release here.
Learn more about the Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community here.
