A California-based non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean energy to communities has secured financing to deploy affordable energy storage in low-income homes.
The financing is part of The Energy Coalition’s (TEC) development of the Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) project, in partnership with Perl Street and Urban Us Capital. As part of the project, Swell Energy and GRID Alternatives are installing solar and battery storage systems, bringing both energy savings and resilience to low-income homeowners.
Perl Street, a financial technology company that supports the development of distributed assets, is the financing partner for the program, which provides immediate access to state incentive programs, closing the financing gap to accelerate deployment. Urban Us Capital, a long-time supporter of both distributed technologies and equitable infrastructure, will provide the funds for the facility. TEC also received representation from law firm Winston & Strawn LLP.
This financing marks the launch of BAAEC’s Advanced Homes program, which offers free energy technologies and services to eligible homeowners.
“Securing this financing was a key milestone in ensuring residents in disadvantaged communities have affordable access to clean, renewable energy,” said Genaro Bugarin, director of energy innovation at TEC. “Through residential solar plus storage and electrification measures, we are improving residents’ comfort and safety, and ensuring everyone participates in the transition to our clean energy future.”
The BAAEC project addresses structural, cultural and socio-economic barriers to clean energy technology and the electrification of home equipment and transportation by providing free and low-cost renewable energy systems and smart energy appliances. These aspects of the clean energy transition are relevant in every community but are even more critical in disadvantaged communities (DACs), which suffer from a combination of economic, health and environmental burdens and where relatively few resources are available for clean energy improvements.
Perl Street and Urban Us Capital see this as the first of a growing suite of available financing programs for distributed energy resources in both California and the broader U.S. markets to provide immediate access to energy savings, rebates, tax incentives and opportunities to earn grid services revenue, reducing the effective cost barriers and accelerating the deployment of these technologies.
“This program is an important step towards enabling resilience in the target households, and as the program grows, we hope to see homeowners in Bassett, Avocado Heights and the surrounding neighborhoods benefitting from these technologies,” said Arvind Vermani, chief operating officer of Perl Street. “We see this program as an evolution of our other incentive financing programs for distributed energy resources, creating a cleaner, more resilient, and more equitable energy system for all.”
Tags: Community Solar, Financing, Grid Alternatives, LMI, Swell Energy
