Ground has broken for California’s largest community solar project for low-income Fresno residents.
The Fresno Disadvantaged Community （DAC） Solar Farm is slated to be the largest shared solar project for disadvantaged communities in the state and the first utility-scale solar farm within Fresno.
The project, initiated by former Fresno City Councilmember Larry Westerlund, is being developed through a collaboration with the City of Fresno; project owner AB CarVal in Minnesota; renewable energy development company White Pine Renewables in San Francisco; and GRID Alternatives, a solar non-profit based in Oakland.
According to a news release from White Pine Renewables, the 10-megawatt system will provide direct energy cost savings to qualifying low-income residents under PG&E’s Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff （DAC-GT） Program.
The Fresno DAC Community Solar Farm is expected to begin operating by the end of 2023. It will be located on land near the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility near Jensen and Cornelia avenues, according to a Fresno Bee report, which also states it will be funded by $20 million in private investment.
“The Fresno DAC Community Solar Farm is the perfect case study of ensuring equity in the new green economy through public-private partnerships that benefit all Fresno residents. In short, it’s the type of solar development where everyone wins,” stated Councilmember Miguel Arias, whose district the solar farm is located in.
Once fully built out, the system will consist of more than 25,000 solar panels producing enough energy to power 2,700 homes.
PG&E will automatically subscribe qualified low-income residents who will save 20% on their energy bills through the Fresno DAC Community Solar Farm.
The plant will cover a 76-acre parcel owned by the city, with revenues from the parcel expected to increase due to higher rents from the facility’s operators.
Nearly 70% of the participants in GRID’s solar installation program have secured jobs with AB CarVal and White Pine’s regional installation subcontractors and other local solar companies.
Several recent graduates are now employed at the Fresno DAC Community Solar Farm, receiving a local prevailing wage.
“We are tremendously grateful to our many partners for their support and creativity in this deeply collaborative, multi-faceted initiative,” said Evan Riley, co-founder of White Pine Renewables. “The Fresno DAC Community Solar Farm is the first project of its kind in California, but it will not be the last. Our collective success has yielded a blueprint for White Pine to develop equitable utility-scale community solar projects across the state.”
In 2021, White Pine Renewables completed the largest floating solar farm in the U.S. The 4.78-megawatt installation was sited on wastewater treatment ponds for the City of Healdsburg in Sonoma County.
The Healdsburg Floating Solar Project will provide about 8% of the city’s total energy demand through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
