Last month, GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles unveiled the Los Angeles Energy & Equity Policy Series (LEEPS) with our first symposium on multifamily solar. Here in a series of blog posts, we're excited to share three important takeaways from our rich conversation on maximizing the benefits of solar to affordable housing tenants and the organizations that operate such housing. See Part 2 and Part 3 of the series. Our study with UCLA's Luskin Center for Innovation provides more data on multifamily solar potential in Los Angeles.
Takeaway #1 from LEEPS: Solar on affordable housing is a critical component to an equitable clean energy economy.
Background: Low-income renters face the greatest barriers to solar access in Los Angeles, even when it's these households who stand to benefit most from utility bill savings. Of course, low-income renters are confronted with financial barriers, such as insufficient access to capital or financing alternatives. But these individuals and families also face unique non-financial barriers, including an uncertain length of tenancy and thus a lack of investment motivation for equipment they may relocate from in the near-term; a shared rooftop that makes it difficult for any one resident to install large equipment; and a complex electrical and structural configuration that can result in a more challenging and expensive installation when compared to a single-family home.
Key Ideas: GRID Alternatives' inaugural LEEPS event, Maximizing the Impact of Solar on Affordable Housing, took aim at the barriers that continue to challenge low-income renter solar adoption and convened experts and advocates for an all-day discussion on how to circumvent such barriers while expanding solar access through the development of solar on affordable housing. The day started with J.R. DeShazo, Executive Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, describing the timely opportunity provided by solar on affordable housing in Los Angeles County.
In 2018, California will launch the largest solar on affordable housing rebate program to date, and Los Angeles happens to be home to the most rebate-eligible properties of any county in the state. Professor DeShazo, who co-authored an upcoming GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation report (Golden Opportunity: Affordable Housing in the Solar Metropolis), quantified the suite of benefits for the audience. In total, Los Angeles County can:
- Install more than 68.1 MW of rebate-eligible geographically distributed rooftop solar capacity, including 43.0 MW in Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) territory
- Save affordable housing residents up to $11.6 million annually on utility bill expenditures, which can be spent on other life necessities such as food, healthcare or transportation
- Save affordable housing property owners up to $4.9 million annually in operating costs, which can be reallocated to tenant services or much-needed additional housing
- Leverage up to $220.6 million in external state solar investment
- Create more than 800 job years for the local commercial solar industry
- Provide 3,815 job training opportunities and nearly 31,000 job training hours to individuals seeking a career in the rapidly growing solar industry
In light of all these potential benefits, it was clear to LEEPS attendees last month that not only was solar needed in Los Angeles' clean energy future, but that the time to act on solar investments is now.