Jose Landeros: Bringing clean, affordable energy to farmworkers

“Our agriculturally-rich area has some of the worst air quality and steepest utility bills in the state. 

Energy efficiency programs have been pivotal to farming communities, and their success is indicative of what further investment in renewable generation programs such as community solar with storage would mean for California, its grid readiness and its progress in the energy transition.

I have worked firsthand with farmworkers in Visalia and around the Central Valley to help folks reap the benefits from community solar and storage projects.

Community solar, which provides residents access to solar generation regardless of home ownership or socioeconomic status, would help to improve public health outcomes while providing consistent clean energy resilience to the state.

Community solar pilot projects have shown a huge financial relief to the families I work with daily in the Central Valley looking to make ends meet when it comes to utility bills.

I’ve seen customers receive bill discounts of up to $60, and an average of $40 per month. That’s enough to make big dents in hard-working families’ financial burdens.

We’ve toyed with the concepts, now it’s time to grow what we know works.

Despite being a leader in the solar market, California still lacks a true, statewide community solar plus storage program.

Finalizing and implementing a community solar program could help to position California as a true solar leader, expanding solar access to all and, when combined with battery storage, will also help to keep our lights on and our air clean as can be.

From my perspective, it’s critical that California supports a community solar program that not only serves the state’s clean energy plans, but also brings good new jobs to help the community and helps our local economies.

Families statewide are primed to participate and benefit from an equitable, scaled program.

I hope to see California make the right decision and prioritize enabling a community solar program, a choice I know first-hand will benefit our consumers, and improve clean air and affordable energy access outcomes in our state.”

Jose Landeros

Central Valley, California