Lucy Hernandez: Looking out for the community
Lucy Hernandez emerged as a community leader when her new community, West Goshen, CA, faced a major water quality and accessibility crisis. As an aging and unsanitary public well and skyrocketing water bills threatened the low-income members of the community, Lucy mobilized her neighbors through a door-to-door campaign. Her efforts to address a potential 500% increase in water costs led her to a newfound role spearheading the community’s efforts in Sacramento and with federal agencies to resolve West Goshen’s water challenges. She then saw another need in her community, affordable and reliable energy, and true to her character, she jumped right in.
“I think a lot of people sit back and they complain, but they won’t do something about these sorts of issues. That’s what drove me to do water outreach and then community solar outreach.
I’m a doer. When I say I want to do something, I really push everything I can because we can’t just hope for the best.
I knew that community solar projects were good from the beginning because we were already participating in the San Joaquin Affordable Energy Program.
In the winter, we noticed that our children were missing school because they were getting sick a lot. They were too cold because families didn’t want to turn on the heaters because it was too expensive.
A lot of times when we start talking to residents right away they think that we are selling solar panels, and it takes time to explain to residents that that’s not what we’re doing and that’s not what community solar means.
Once we get to talk to them, they understand. We all want discounts, especially with the energy prices increasing so much.
People would say with the savings, I’m going to have extra money to buy my cleaning supplies, to buy my children’s shoes and clothes for school, or have a little bit more money to buy my kids something.
Most of the people there, they need stuff for the family. People needed shoes, people needed clothes, blankets, jackets. There’s a big need in those communities and that was going to help them.
To me, this becomes personal because it makes me feel good to be able to support our families.
It’s important for communities to educate residents because like I said, a lot of people, they hear solar, and they think that we are selling solar panels.
We need to start by educating people that this is what community solar means and these are the benefits to you without having to have solar panels at your house.
Each community needs people who want to help their communities. I think it takes somebody that’s involved in something to talk to their community and tell them about the benefits.
I don’t think that PG&E and Edison should be the ones to decide or be the ones making all the decisions. To me, those are big companies that they’re looking out for themselves, not for the community.
I think that it’s important to have private companies like Dimension participate and be part of the solution for community solar.
It’s important to have other companies involved in community solar, and not just the utility companies.
The CPUC should take that into consideration and if they’re planning to expand these programs, make sure that there is funding to go back to the communities and listen. It’s important to hear from the residents, not just what the utility companies have to say. They think that everything is good, but the residents say other things.”
Lucy Hernandez
West Goshen, California