NAACP Equitable Solar Policy Principles Aim to Increase Solar Adoption for Underserved Communities | Article

Installing solar panels reduces high energy burdens and alleviates energy insecurity by reducing energy costs. However, many families, particularly those that would benefit the most from solar, cannot afford panels due to high upfront costs. There is limited access to clean energy and its benefits across racial and income lines.

A Berkeley University study revealed that while holding for income, African-American majority census tracts have 69 percent fewer solar panels installed in respect to no-majority tracts. In contrast, predominantly white neighborhoods have 21 percent more solar panels installed in comparison to no-majority tracts.

Increasing solar adoption for communities of color and low- and moderate-income (LMI) households creates energy equity and justice by offsetting fossil fuel-generated electricity with solar energy, resulting in lower carbon emissions and a healthier environment. This is one of the main tenets of the NAACP-led Solar Equity Initiative, which was launched in 2018 to boost solar installations in communities of color and connect them to solar job training.

On July 20, 2021, the NAACP Solar Equity Initiative unveiled the Equitable Solar Policy Principles to increase solar adoption in communities of color and dismantle the systematic abuses and barriers that these communities have experienced. EESI is a member of the Solar Equity Initiative, and is a signatory organization to these equitable solar principles.

The Equitable Solar Policy Principles are meant to be inclusive, holistic, and crosscutting with other issues affecting communities of color, such as affordable housing and workforce development. They are not to be understood as principles in a silo, but rather integrated with energy efficiency, beneficial electrification, and battery energy storage.

Historically, fossil-centered power and transportation infrastructure have greatly harmed communities of color. Pollution-producing industries tend to be built near poorer communities, which have fewer resources and less political power to stop their construction. Past redlining policies—the practice, now illegal, of denying entire Black and immigrant neighborhoods access to federally-backed housing mortgages and other credits—made it more difficult for residents of communities of color to leave neighborhoods blighted by polluting industries. On average, African-Americans are exposed to 1.54 times more hazardous pollution than white people—regardless of income—and African-Americans breathe 56 percent more pollution than they emit through their activities.

Toxic emissions pollute the air and water, make people sick, and shorten lives. Recent research has shown that people of color, and particularly Black people, are disproportionately affected by emissions from coal electric generators, industry, gasoline vehicles, construction, and agriculture.

Housing structures within these communities do not fare much better. Decades of disinvestments have led to poorly insulated and leaky homes that often mean high energy bills for LMI families. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Black and brown families disproportionally experience higher energy burdens than white households, meaning they spend more than six percent of their income on energy bills. As a percentage of their income, Black households pay upwards of three times more than white households for energy. Black and brown households are also more likely to experience energy insecurity—defined as the inability to meet basic energy needs—than their white counterparts. Lack of access to affordable energy leads to health issues or forgoing other basic needs, such as food and medical care.

Extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, such as droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, and flash floods, place additional burdens and hardships on LMI households and Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Pairing solar energy with battery storage and electrification measures increases resilience (at the grid, individual, and community levels) and makes families less vulnerable to power outages created by extreme weather events. The NAACP equitable solar policy principles can be used as a guide for state and federal policymakers when crafting energy solutions for the communities most impacted by climate change.

In addition to EESI, the equitable solar policy principles are endorsed by the following NAACP Solar Equity Initiative members: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), PosiGen Solar, RE-volv, Solstice, Solstice Initiative, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Solar Stewards, Solar United Neighbors, Sunrun, United Methodist Women, and Vote Solar.

The NAACP Equitable Solar Policy Principles

Principle 1: reflect an inclusive and community-driven theory of change guided by the Principles of Environmental Justice and the Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing.

Principle 2: address past, current and future impacts of climate change by fostering the development of solar energy policies that move us toward a resilient and just transition. Solar energy policies should exist as part of a suite of policies to direct a Just Transition towards a decarbonized economy.

Principle 3: result in measurable improvements in solar adoption rates and whenever possible ownership and control of solar with strong consumer protections in place.

Principle 4: increase and advocate for resilience (grid, community, and individual).

Principle 5: be cross-cutting, so that they address water quality, housing affordability, community development, clean air, workforce equity and jobs, contracting equity, economic development, education, food access and affordability, transportation, utility regulation, community engagement, and other concerns.

Principle 6: be integrated with energy efficiency, grid upgrades, other renewables, building and transportation/transit electrification, storage, etc.

Principle 7: drive both economic and political benefits of solar to reduce energy burdens, make energy more affordable, increase ownership opportunities, create jobs within these communities, and support entrepreneurs and minority and women-owned businesses. Policies should also foster the creation of an inclusive solar energy workforce and business community.

Principle 8: strive for equitable, accessible solar that also delivers net positive impacts or benefits, educates consumers, and empowers them to make their own, informed decisions. Companies and organizations should operate at the highest ethical standards and not engage in deceptive or abusive acts or practices.

Author: Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo

EESI Senior Associate Miguel Yañez-Barnuevo participated in the drafting and workshopping of the Equitable Solar Policy Principles as part of the Solar Equity Initiative (SEI) Policy Committee. EESI is a member of SEI, and is a signatory organization to the equitable solar principles.