DOE Scaling Up Solar Overview
Solar power is now the cheapest form of power worldwide, but not all households are able to access it. CESA’s Scaling Up Solar is a wide-ranging initiative to help states bring the financial, environmental, economic, and health benefits of solar to all Americans, regardless of income.
Supported by a multi-year award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, CESA convened, informed, and assisted states in developing solar programs for three distinct subsets of the Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) solar market: single-family homes, manufactured homes, and community institutions.
- Single-family homes. Learn more about an initiative that brought solar to 4,400+ LMI homeowners in Connecticut from 2015 to 2021 and explore tools, templates, information, and research for states to replicate and adapt this initiative here.
- Manufactured homes. Learn more about CESA’s research and innovative state and utility-run pilots exploring solutions in this challenging solar sector here.
- Community institutions. Learn more about CESA’s work with foundations, lenders, and community service organizations to explore models for philanthropic investment in solar and solar+storage in LMI-serving community institutions, including multifamily affordable housing here.
The Scaling Up Solar for Under-Resourced Communities Project was supported by an award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. The project began in 2019 and ended in the fall of 2023.