By Carey L. Biron for Context.
Broadcast version by Edwin J. Viera for Virginia News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

To hear Emil King tell it, the benefits of the 8,000-odd solar panels shimmering before him on an industrial lot in Washington D.C. go far beyond helping the U.S. capital city fight climate change.

The city-administered solar park was built on polluted land that had become an eyesore, and the power it produces has been used to halve the electricity bills of about 700 low-income local families, said King, a city environmental official.

"The community saw that they'd be getting money off their bills, but that it was also going to be about a vacant property getting some attention and getting cleaned up," he said.

Solar projects like the Oxon Run Community Solar Farm reflect part of a growing push by cities across the United States to include lower-income communities that are increasingly seen as vital to achieving emissions goals.

In Washington's case, that means reaching 100% renewable energy by 2032.

Part of that target involves supplying solar power to 100,000 low-income households from city-subsidized community projects, using the new electricity source to reduce their energy bills.

Unlike traditional rooftop units meant for a single household or business, community solar broadly refers to installations in which none of the electricity is used onsite, instead being fed into the grid but often earmarked for "subscribed" users.

That arrangement sets them apart from utility-scale solar projects, while community projects are also typically far smaller, able to fit into a variety of sites.

"Community solar is the keystone element," said King, a program analyst with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.

"We do a lot of rooftop (units), but this is the most efficient way to get a lot of capacity built fairly quickly," he said, standing amid the ground-mounted solar modules that make up the city's largest community project to date - even as new ones are regularly brought online.

Democratizing electricity

Across the country, similar projects are seen as a key way to expand access to solar energy for lower-income residents or those for whom traditional installations do not make sense such as renters, people who do not own their roofs, and those with roofs unsuitable for solar installations.

"Community solar becomes this democratizing element for electric customers," said Jeff Cramer, chief executive of the trade group Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), "especially those that have been most left out by the clean-energy revolution and the grid of the past."

As cities set ambitious renewable energy targets and with an unprecedented wave of federal funding set to start arriving this year, the initiative is picking up so much momentum in places like Washington that officials are grappling to find new sites.

"We're running out of space," King said.

Earlier this year, the federal government, which has a goal of increasing community solar output by 700% from 2020 to 2025, hosted a summit stating that it was community solar's "time to shine."

"We went from a handful of projects in 2015-16 to thousands around the country," Cramer said, amounting to nearly 5 gigawatts (GW) today.

The sector is currently growing by about 1 GW a year, equivalent to about 200,000 customers annually, and he expects that rate to jump in the coming years.

In January, the CCSA set a new target of providing community solar access to 10 million Americans by the end of the decade, or about 30 GW.

Community solar has no set definition, said Nate Hausman, who manages the clean energy markets program at the World Resources Institute, a think-tank.

"Unlike with rooftop solar, where it's clear what you're getting, subscriptions can be structured in different ways," he said.

Payments can come upfront or over time. Some projects are offered at a premium as a way to support clean energy, while others aim to provide savings to low-income customers.

Whatever the approach, they are likely to become increasingly important to satisfy cities and states' new sustainability goals.

"To reach the level of market penetration (cities) aim for, they're going to have to involve the low- and moderate-income markets. It will involve reaching beyond the standard customer base," Hausman said.

As in Washington, that is prompting local officials to look widely for potential sites, whether on roofs, parking lot canopies or on contaminated or other low-value land.

Federal legislation passed last year will create new tax credits for community solar projects, including money earmarked for installations on affordable housing complexes and in former fossil fuel communities, Hausman said.

Twenty-two states have some kind of program to incentivize or facilitate community solar programs, according to the CCSA, including a California law adopted in September.

States that have not passed these laws will find it hard to tap the new federal funding, while those with such laws could experience a potentially chaotic gold rush, Hausman warned.

Neighborhood cooperatives

Community solar is not the only way to expand solar energy's customer base: neighbors are also increasingly banding together to reduce prices by buying in bulk and sharing the often complex research and preparations required.

Such neighborhood cooperatives tend to be focused on single-family homes and occasionally small businesses, said Ben Delman, communications director for Solar United Neighbors, which helps communities set up such groups in a dozen states.

The group also works on community solar, and recently launched what Delman says is a first-of-its-kind platform to help people find and join such projects in their areas.

The priority for both approaches is stabilizing residents.

"Energy burden is a huge challenge for low-income homeowners," Delman said. "They might own a home but not have much income coming in, so by cutting their energy bills, this is a way we can keep families in their homes."

For more than 30 years, Carmela Thomas has lived in the single-family home that she inherited from her father in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In 2020, she participated in a solar cooperative and a city program for low-income residents, and had solar panels installed on her detached garage - a step she took "primarily to save money".

The setup saved her more than $550 on electricity bills last year alone, she said.

But what started out as a way to reduce her spending now brings her wider satisfaction.

"As I gained more information, I realized that I'm doing my part to conserve energy and try to reverse global warming," she said.

Carey L. Biron wrote this article for Context.


get more stories like this via email

This article was produced by Resource Rural.
Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Resource Rural-Public News Service Collaboration

Wholesale fruit and veggie distributor Four Seasons Produce in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania knew that efficiency all comes down to business. “Our journey started with, ‘We need to cut costs,’” said Randy Groff, Four Seasons’ director of facilities and energy. It didn’t take the company long to turn to their utility bill as a potential source of savings. 

Groff used to be “director of facilities,” but energy was added to his title in 2010. That’s how important energy costs are to the bottom line of a business that runs a 400,000-square-foot warehouse where fruits and veggies have to be kept cool. Storage temperatures range from 28 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the product.

America’s rural-based produce shipment companies like Four Seasons play a vital role in ensuring a steady supply of fresh food across the country, linking agricultural heartlands to urban centers. However, the sheer scale of agricultural production and distribution necessitates significant energy inputs — and plenty of hard work.

It’s a “low-margin, fast-paced” business. “You have to sell a lot to make a lot,” Groff said.

Groff is a 28-year employee for the family-owned Four Seasons, which started from the back of a pick-up truck at a farmer’s market and now has 900 employees. The company distributes organic and conventional produce to independent retailers and chains throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Its family of companies includes a logistics operation, a truck fleet, and imports.

Previously, Groff worked as an electrician, and he combines that experience with his “love of data” to determine how much energy and money the company is saving.

The company started with lighting retrofits and slowly worked up to larger and larger energy projects. Employees got excited about sustainability and formed a company-wide Green Team. “It just kind of took off,” Groff said.

Two solar projects now produce about 35 percent of Four Seasons’ energy use. Solar arrays cover the entire roof of the warehouse.

Four Seasons installed its first 1.3-megawatt solar array in 2018, utilizing a 26 percent solar investment tax credit. They recently added a second, 1.7-megawatt array, using the federal tax credit and depreciation at 37 percent. The tax credits that funded these upgrades were made available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

“Between those two, it’s over a million dollars of savings just in the tax depreciation and the tax credit,” Groff said. Four Seasons also received their utility’s maximum rebate, adding another half-million in savings.

Another energy efficiency project added VFDs (Variable Frequency Drives) in the thousands of motors used in warehouse refrigeration. VFDs control motor speed and torque by varying the frequency of the electricity coming into the motor.

Rebates on VFDs and solar panels help make the return on investment “a no-brainer,” Groff said. He suggests businesses pay attention to rebate line items on utility bills. “If you’re not taking advantage of the rebate program, you’re actually paying us to do it,” he said.

Groff also recommends that businesses talk up-front to their utility about interconnection requirements when considering solar. It took six months after installation for Four Seasons’ latest array to be fully interconnected.

During the day, the huge warehouse is totally “off-grid,” Groff said. Live stats on the company’s website show energy usage. “It’s exciting to be able to see that graph go to zero and stay at zero, for about six hours,” he said. “Come three o’clock in the afternoon, the sun’s starting to go down, and we start going back on the grid.”

Groff is currently exploring thermal storage as a method of capturing additional energy produced during peak sunlight and using it to offset the warehouse’s peak demand hours in the middle of the night.

Four Seasons has cut its electric bills by 60 percent since 2005. It was the first refrigerated warehouse in the country to earn an Energy Star and the company’s truck fleet plans to increase mileage through the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership. The result isn’t just a reduced carbon footprint for Four Seasons. The savings ensure the integrity of America’s food supply chain.

“It’s funny, because it didn’t really start as ‘being sustainable,’” Groff said. “But yet it turned into a sustainable practice, because we’ve been doing it for so long.”


This article was produced by Resource Rural.


get more stories like this via email

Florida environmental advocates are concerned about the future after President-elect Donald Trump named former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Announcing Zeldin's selection, Trump said Zeldin would "ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses." Known for his loyalty to Trump and strong deregulation, Zeldin's appointment has left Florida's environmental defenders worried about potential rollbacks in air, water and public lands protections.

Eric Draper, an environmental consultant and former director of the Florida Park Service, explained what could be in store.

"What we know about the Trump administration is that they are going to move quickly in the direction of more fossil-fuel production," Draper pointed out. "So, more oil and gas drilling on public lands and possibly off our coast."

For Zeldin, the new role aligns with his long-standing belief in strengthening U.S. energy independence as he said he will "seek to ensure that the United States is able to pursue energy dominance ... bring back American jobs to the auto industry and so much more."

Draper is especially worried about the possible effects on public lands in Florida, including the Everglades, a national treasure facing ongoing threats from climate change and development pressures, including oil drilling.

Zeldin, a longtime advocate for energy and economic policies aligning with Trump's vision, has reassured supporters his goal is to create a pro-growth regulatory environment while ensuring environmental protections remain intact.

Draper believes strong environmental regulations and a healthy economy can coexist.

"The problem is that there are too many industries that are dirty industries, that use that idea of jobs and economic growth to clean the air and water," Draper contended. "It's time that we stopped believing that."

As Zeldin prepares to take the reins at the EPA, Florida's environmental community is bracing for a significant shift in environmental policy, particularly in energy production and land use.


get more stories like this via email

The hills and hollers of Virginia are no strangers to hardship, but few were prepared for the devastation Hurricane Helene would bring.

Six weeks after the storm tore through Appalachian communities, some survivors face a daunting road to recovery. Roads and bridges were washed out, homes were destroyed and many residents were cut off, relying on one another to make it through.

Emily Satterwhite, professor and director of the Appalachian Studies program at Virginia Tech University, has worked closely with local aid groups since the disaster struck.

"People are trying to figure out whether or how to rebuild along the New River," Satterwhite observed. "They're hearing from FEMA that their house is considered totaled and they can either be bought out and move or they can rebuild from scratch, but that FEMA won't provide funds to remodel because the house is considered a total loss."

Satterwhite is involved with the mutual-aid initiative Holler 2 Holler, which began in response to severe flooding in Kentucky in 2022 and has taken on a crucial role in the current crisis. She is also part of Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, a network helping her to assess community needs across the region to help provide targeted aid.

In addition to the large federal response to help affected areas, Satterwhite highlighted the unique ties Appalachian people have to their land and each other, a social fabric that becomes a lifeline in times of crisis.

"These kinds of ad hoc networks that are customary in Appalachia, but they're generally much more local," Satterwhite explained. "We're seeing those same kinds of networks, but broadened out to figure out how to expand neighbors, helping neighbors, or holler to holler on a regional level."

Satterwhite describes the impact as "catastrophic" in parts of Southwest Virginia, Upper East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. She emphasized recovery will be a "really long haul" and stressed the assistance needed transcends politics, regardless of reactions following the presidential election.

Currently, Satterwhite noted while groups have enough small items, they are still accepting donations for big-ticket needs such as solar generators. She suggested following the social media pages of relief organizations to stay updated on specific needs.


get more stories like this via email