The Energy Coalition (TEC), a California-based non-profit organization that designs and implements community-based programs to break down barriers and build a resilient clean energy future, has secured financing to deploy affordable energy storage in low-income homes. This financing is part of the development of TEC’s Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community (BAAEC) project in partnership with Perl Street and Urban Us Capital. As part of the project, Swell Energy and GRID Alternatives are installing solar and battery storage systems, bringing both energy savings and resilience to low-income homeowners.
Perl Street, a financial technology company that supports the development of distributed assets, is the financing partner for the program, which provides immediate access to state incentive programs, closing the financing gap to accelerate deployment. Urban Us Capital, a long-time supporter of both distributed technologies and equitable infrastructure, will provide the funds for the facility. TEC also received representation from law firm Winston & Strawn LLP.
This financing marks the launch of BAAEC’s Advanced Homes program, which offers free energy technologies and services to eligible homeowners. “Securing this financing was a key milestone in ensuring residents in disadvantaged communities have affordable access to clean, renewable energy. Through residential solar plus storage and electrification measures, we are improving residents’ comfort and safety, and ensuring everyone participates in the transition to our clean energy future,” remarked Genaro Bugarin, Director of Energy Innovation at TEC.
Homeowners within the unincorporated communities of Bassett and Avocado Heights and the surrounding areas who are interested in upgrading their homes can submit an interest form through the program website here.
The BAAEC project addresses structural, cultural, and socio-economic barriers to clean energy technology and the electrification of home equipment and transportation by providing free and low-cost renewable energy systems and smart energy appliances. These aspects of the clean energy transition are relevant in every community but are even more critical in disadvantaged communities (DACs), which suffer from a combination of economic, health, and environmental burdens and where relatively few resources are available for clean energy improvements.
Perl Street and Urban Us Capital see this as the first of a growing suite of available financing programs for distributed energy resources in both California and the broader U.S. markets to provide immediate access to energy savings, rebates, tax incentives, and opportunities to earn grid services revenue, reducing the effective cost barriers and accelerating the deployment of these technologies. "This program is an important step towards enabling resilience in the target households, and as the program grows, we hope to see homeowners in Bassett, Avocado Heights, and the surrounding neighborhoods benefitting from these technologies. We see this program as an evolution of our other incentive financing programs for distributed energy resources, creating a cleaner, more resilient, and more equitable energy system for all,” said Arvind Vermani, Perl Street’s Chief Operating Officer. For more information on upcoming opportunities for incentive financing for developers, installers, and technology providers in California or other geographies, reach out to Perl Street.
