Multifamily Solar

On Feb. 14, a lawsuit was filed against the city challenging the language of the ballot question that council approved Feb. 10, saying it does not conform to state law.

The city has responded to the suit, saying that in order to keep the May 5 election date on track it is willing to use certain ballot language proposed by the plaintiffs — although the city doesn’t agree with the plaintiffs that the original ballot language isn’t in compliance with state law. The City Council would have to approve the amendments that are made.

“Clean energy should be for everyone, and with a few strategic shifts, it can be,” said report co-author MeLena Hessel, a senior policy advocate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Too often, low-income communities receive the brunt of pollution and the effects of climate change, but are left out of the solutions. This report lays out realistic, common-sense guidelines for utilities to share those solutions — and the clean energy future — with all.”

GRID Alternatives is dedicated to advancing solar in the Navajo Nation and throughout Indian Country through its National Tribal Program, established in 2010. The goal of the program is to inform tribes on the possibility of solar and then assist with implementation, from educating on net metering and how to work with utilities to construction safety and installation practices. GRID recruits community members to volunteer to build grid-tied solar projects on homes and community buildings on tribal lands.

This legislation expands the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create new financing programs, provides Section 8 homeowner’s interest free loans and much more. In Virginia, the solar industry employs nearly 4,000 people and produces enough solar energy to power over 87,000 homes.

In March 2018, the city purchased the 10-acre plot of vacant land for $192,500. Per the adopted resolution, the land has been leased to Grid Alternatives Colorado — selected by Black Hills Energy as the solar garden operator — for 20 years.

As part of the arrangement, Grid Alternatives Colorado will enter into solar subscription agreements with the Housing Authority of the City of Pueblo, allowing multi-family affordable housing units and low-income qualified single-family residential customers to benefit in the form of electric bill credits.