{"id":2310536,"date":"2024-04-16T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energynews.us\/?p=2310536"},"modified":"2024-04-17T16:28:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T21:28:15","slug":"illinois-gives-1-6-million-boost-to-justice-focused-community-solar-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energynews.us\/2024\/04\/16\/illinois-gives-1-6-million-boost-to-justice-focused-community-solar-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois gives $1.6 million boost to justice-focused community solar projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thanks to a new infusion of state funding, three projects benefiting traditionally under-resourced Black, Brown and Indigenous communities in the greater Chicago area have taken one important step closer to fruition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, the Illinois Climate Bank unanimously passed a resolution to authorize loan funds of up to $1.6 million for three community-based solar projects owned by Green Energy Justice Cooperative, launched in 2022 by Blacks in Green (BIG). This increases the total funding to $2.9 million for GEJC\u2019s community solar projects, a portion of which is privately funded.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money will be devoted to the pre-development phase of the project, including public outreach, an interconnection study, and a deposit for renewable energy credits awarded through the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of Blacks in Green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur $2.9 million in predevelopment costs include payments to our electric utility, ComEd \u2014 fees to connect our solar system to their grid and a 5% down payment for our renewable energy credits \u2014 like buying a house, you have the financing and the down payment,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sweet spot of this pre-development funding is what we invest in building relationships, educating them about the power of cooperative ownership and management, and collaborating with them to build a clean energy economy right where they live,\u201d she said. \u201cWe’ve got two years before we flip the switch and start monthly savings and clean energy comfort\u2026 and between now and then we\u2019ll be enrolling thousands of community subscribers in conversations for organizing, training and hopefully inspiring them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A community stake in clean energy\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Energy self-sufficiency is one of the eight key principles of BIG\u2019s Sustainable Square Mile<\/a> concept, which the organization aims to replicate around the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe say communities should own, develop, and manage their land and energy, and with our $10 million EPA Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) award<\/a>, BIG is offering free\/open source access to our energy justice portfolio, which includes this 9 MW solar project and community geothermal and wind,\u201d said Davis in a news release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith our energy affordability bill before the Illinois General Assembly, and our energy auditing workforce launching this summer, we aim to connect the dots of community-driven, community-scale energy solutions for low and moderate-income communities across America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2023, the Illinois Power Agency recommended awarding the three solar projects, valued at $25.7 million, with $12.5 million in renewable energy credits<\/a>. The three projects, located in Aurora, Naperville, and Romeoville, Illinois, would each generate 3 megawatts. Once completed, they will provide the dual benefit of lowering the disproportionate energy burden in BIPOC and low-income households, while providing a community stake in clean energy generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen this project is completed over the next couple of years, it will be the largest non-governmental, non-utility, minority-community-owned solar project in Illinois. And as such, it will be the fulfillment of years of dreams and work by our Green Energy Justice Cooperative, to share middle-class jobs and wealth-building with historically deprived and distressed individuals and families throughout this area.\u201d said Rev. Tony Pierce, GEJC board member and CEO of Sun Bright Energy, in a news release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn doing so, it will be the beginning of lifting these kinds of individuals and families from the bottom of our economic pyramid into the middle class,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cAnd it will therefore be the beginning of bringing some closure to the Black and White wealth gap that exists in metro Chicago; in addition to reducing the carbon footprint in our area, to reduce climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Davis, this level of recognition and financial support reflects more than a decade of advocacy and effort to ensure energy independence for her community of West Woodlawn on Chicago\u2019s South Side \u2013 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cooperative (GEJC) that we organized and funded fits in with our overall mission because we have, as a stated pillar of our work [intend] to increase the rate at which neighbor-owned businesses are created and sustained,\u201d Davis told the Energy News Network in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe understand that the number one employer of Black folks in America is Black folks in America. And we are very committed in our understanding of the whole-system problem common to Black communities everywhere, that we are committed to being a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Backers see the projects as a key tool to expand economic opportunities to BIPOC communities while supporting the growth of clean energy in the Chicago 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