bECOME A sOLAR aDVOCATE FOR YOUR cOMMUNITY
Local non-profit and community-based organizations can express their interest in becoming a Community Sponsor of a new, local solar project and help bring clean energy to Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) in San Francisco.
By partnering with a solar project developer, eligible organizations can receive a 20% discount on their electric bill in exchange for raising awareness about the Community Solar program in their community and helping eligible customers enroll into the Community Solar program.
Next Steps
Learn More: Download a one-page summary of the sponsor opportunity (available in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog and English)
Submit Your Organization’s Information: Show your interest and submit your organization’s information via our Community Solar Sponsor interest form.
Share With Your Networks: Forward this opportunity to other non-profit and community-based organizations.
New Community Solar Program
CleanPowerSF believes all San Franciscans should have access to affordable, clean electricity. Our Community Solar program will provide eligible customers 100% renewable energy from a new solar project and a 20% discount on their monthly electricity bill. The new solar project for the Community Solar program will be built within a CalEnviroScreen Disadvantaged Community (DAC) in San Francisco.
Sponsor ROLE
The Community Solar program requires a local non-profit or community-based organization to provide outreach and community engagement in partnership with the developer of the solar installation. The Community Sponsor will help the developer advertise the project and recruit eligible CleanPowerSF customers to enroll in the Community Solar program. The Community Sponsor will enhance the project by:
Soliciting community input on the project (including preferences for where the solar installation is located)
Demonstrating substantial interest of community members in subscribing to the project (through a letter of commitment)
Enrolling eligible customers in the program
The Community Sponsor may also offer to host a solar project (i.e. the solar project is sited on their building roof or property), though it is not required.
If selected by a project developer, we expect the Community Sponsor to begin initial work in Fall 2021.
SPONSOR BENEFITS
A Community Sponsor benefits from the Community Solar program by:
Bringing affordable community solar to their community
Being a leader in San Francisco for advancing progress toward a clean energy future
Receiving a 20% discount off their electric bill (if the organization meets certain qualifications, see below)
BILL Discount for QuALifying Sponsors
A Community Sponsor can qualify to receive a 20% discount on their electric bill for up to 20 years by meeting the following requirements:
You are a non-profit or community-based organization
Your CleanPowerSF service address is located in a CalEnviroScreen Disadvantaged Community (DAC) and within five miles of the sited solar project
At least half of the project’s capacity is subscribed by low income customers (customers that qualify for CARE/FERA discount programs)
See if your organization or community is located in a DAC: Go to the CalEnviroScreen Map and enter your address.
How to Express Interest in Becoming A sponsor
If your organization is interested in becoming a Community Sponsor, please complete our Community Sponsor interest form.
We will provide a list of all interested organizations that submit responses to this form to potential project developers via the CleanPowerSF website as part of CleanPowerSF's Request for Offers for the Community Solar program. This Request for Offers is expected to be issued in September.
Questions?
Have questions about becoming a Community Sponsor? Email us at CleanPowerSF@sfwater.org or call (415) 554-0773 for more information.