Equitable Community Solar: A Sense of Ownership

Charged with exploring sense of ownership strategies for economically-disadvantaged communities in California, Cutting Edge Capital worked in partnership with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) to identify strategies and business models that encourage the development of equitable community solar projects in West Oakland, California. WOEIP is a resident led, community based environmental justice organization dedicated to achieving healthy homes, healthy jobs and healthy neighborhoods for all who live, work, learn and play in West Oakland. 

As a result, Cutting Edge presented three strategies: cosponsorship and development of a project awarded to participate in the Community Solar Green Tariff Program; cosponsorship and development of a large-scale solar project that provides electricity to a site host or municipal utility (e.g., Port of Oakland); and development of a solar commons model in which a cooperative owns and develops a solar project on a host site and shares in the utility savings generated. 

Watch the full presentation above or download the presentation file below to learn how the framework presented promotes equitable community solar projects that support a “just transition” to a regenerative economy in alignment with WOEIP’s mission. 

Equitable Community Solar Presentation