Clean Energy > Solar
Solar
Solar panels are a powerful grassroots tool to move our region to 100% renewable energy. Our region is a “sweet spot” for solar power — we’re blessed with the ideal combination of abundant sunny days and south-facing coastlines.
We make it easier and more affordable for homeowners, nonprofits, and businesses to install solar power and energy storage (battery) systems. We believe Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties can lead the nation in solar installations.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
Solarize Your Nonprofit
The Community Environmental Council’s Solarize Nonprofit program creates an affordable, accessible pathway to solar power. First, we help your nonprofit organization install a solar system so your business can run on clean energy. Within about six years, your organization will fully own the solar system, translating to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings on your electric bills over time.
Get Educated
Visit the Clean Energy Resources page to learn the basics of home solar, battery storage, and powering your electric vehicle, and subscribe to our email list to stay updated on the latest news, events, and opportunities to engage.
Learn more about solar on multifamily affordable housing
Solarize Your Multifamily Affordable Housing Unit
In Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties, more than 200 properties and 12,000 apartment units are eligible for financial and technical assistance provided by the statewide Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program.
Property owners and managers can access financial incentives and no-cost technical assistance. Find out if your property is eligible and fill out an application.
Tenants can receive direct financial savings on their energy bills. Find out if your property is eligible.
Job-seekers can access local paid job training opportunities to gain real-world experience working in the solar industry. See program eligibility requirements.
Contractors can bring customers into the program and grow their customer base. Learn more and apply.
Stakeholders can promote SOMAH to their constituents. Partner with SOMAH.
Visit the SOMAH website for a list of upcoming educational events, resources, and to sign up to receive the latest program updates. Still have questions? Contact CEC’s Energy and Transportation Projects Manager Michael Sarrassat. For Spanish inquiries, contact CEC’s Community Ambassador Ana Rico.
WHAT CEC IS DOING
Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing
California’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program is the biggest investment in solar in the nation, and it is designed to prioritize clean energy equity, reduce the burden of energy costs for low-income tenants, and promote local green workforce development. CEC serves as a community-based partner to bring the benefits of clean energy to renters in the Central Coast.
Policy
CEC advocates for critical clean energy initiatives in public, private, and social sectors. Our programs and policy advocacy make it easier to install distributed solar while encouraging responsible utility scale solar and wind projects and 100% renewable electricity procurement. All are needed to move the Central Coast region away from fossil fuels in one generation and rapidly achieve Zero Carbon.
Solarize
CEC makes it easier and more affordable for homeowners, nonprofits and businesses to install solar power and energy storage (battery) systems. Solar panels are a powerful grassroots tool to move our region to 100% renewable energy. Our region is a “sweet spot” for solar power — we’re blessed with the ideal combination of abundant sunny days and south-facing coastlines. We believe Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo Counties can lead the nation in solar installations.
Solar and Wind Farms
CEC advocates for responsible local utility scale renewable energy as a cost-competitive energy resource that builds resilience into our grid, while providing jobs and tax revenue. We could power a sizable part of our region’s energy needs with more solar farms like the ones in Carrizo and Cuyama, and wind farms like the one in Lompoc or the ones being planned offshore. Our advocacy has led to these wins:
550 megawatt Topaz Solar Farm
250 megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch in San Luis Obispo County
40 megawatt Cuyama Solar Farm – Santa Barbara County’s first utility-scale solar project in 2017
98 megawatt Strauss Wind Energy Project in Lompoc, which is now under construction and will power 43,000 homes once completed.
We recently advocated for the County of Santa Barbara’s utility-scale solar ordinance amendments that streamlines responsible development. We are also contributing to stakeholder meetings as developers plan the first floating offshore wind farms in California.
