Full Title: Meaningful Household Savings: Best Practices for Achieving Equitable Solar Development
Author(s): Vero Bourg-Meyer, Warren Leon, Allie Garrett, and Cici Xu
Publisher(s): Clean Energy States Alliance
Publication Date: January 8, 2025
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
There is a strong consensus among a wide range of stakeholders that it is absolutely essential that Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) households achieve meaningful savings from solar projects. Because those households have few financial resources and limited ability to take on additional financial risks, they need to be assured that they will benefit financially if they are to participate in the solar economy. In addition, as a matter of equity, LMI households’ participation in the clean energy transition is essential. However, there is no universally accepted definition for what qualifies as “meaningful” in terms of household savings from solar. Moreover, solar programs administered by states, municipalities, and utilities have difficulty measuring their programs’ savings at a household level, and it is also hard to guarantee or verify savings. For many stakeholders, it is not even clear how the mechanisms for achieving savings work for different types of solar projects.
The meaningful household savings Community of Practice and this report focus on electricity bill savings, other household savings, wealth-building opportunities, and other benefits such as tenant services provided to residents in master-metered buildings. The project team collected information about ways meaningful household savings have been achieved; researched best practices to define, achieve, and quantify meaningful household savings; and identified strategies to scale the adoption and implementation of successful methods. The report examines different types of solar projects, including residential-serving community solar, rooftop solar, and installations serving multifamily affordable housing. It includes six case studies and information about savings verification.
This report will be helpful to those who need a clearer understanding of the different ways solar savings are currently achieved in the market by practitioners. It will also be helpful to those developing solar programs and who wish to learn about, apply, or build upon a set of principles delineated by the project team to increase the likelihood of meaningful solar savings in the long run. This includes teams designing Solar for All programs across the country. Lastly, it will be helpful to those who wish to understand research gaps and opportunities to advance the field in areas where progress can have profound impact on the most vulnerable energy-insecure households.