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This year, our Solar Moonshot Program celebrates a significant milestone: supporting our 150th project! Since its inception in 2020, this initiative has been dedicated to facilitating the transition to clean energy for nonprofit organizations across the United States. Our primary objective is to empower nonprofits serving Communities of Concern to adopt solar, thereby reducing their environmental footprint and allowing them to allocate more resources towards their missions and the communities they serve. To date, a whooping 217,581.18 kW of solar power has been supported thanks to this program, offsetting dirty energy accelerating the climate crisis.
These grants play a pivotal role in funding solar projects for nonprofits, covering essential costs such as the equipment, installation and maintenance, often to organizations too small to secure traditional solar financing. Grant priority is given to organizations that are located in or serve Communities of Concern, which to us often means BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, women-led and other groups of people that have historically been underinvested in or marginalized. Over the past five years, the Solar Moonshot Program has successfully funded over 150 projects, totaling over $3.3 million in grants executed and $272,068 in tax credit bridge loans, spanning a wide range of sectors. From community centers, schools and homeless shelters to wildlife sanctuaries, Indigenous elders and educational institutions, each project represents a significant step towards a more just and livable future. We have projects across the nation, in 29 states, Puerto Rico and our first international project in Rwanda. These installations not only contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions but also serve as tangible examples of renewable energy adoption within communities while supporting local green jobs and stimulating regional economies.
We are proud that our 150th project grant was a local San Diego project. The Sherman Heights Community Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization celebrating their 30th year serving the community. They have a mission to foster community through education, cultural enrichment, health promotion and personal development. The community they serve is predominantly Mexican-American with many families facing economic hardship. They serve about 20,000 community members annually, mostly residents in Sherman Heights and the nearby communities of Grant Hill, Logan Heights, Barrio Logan, San Ysidro and other South Bay communities facing environmental injustices.
We had much more involvement with this grantee than usual, and it's been our pleasure to guide this project from concept through completion. Last year San Diego Community Power opened its first Community Clean Energy Grant Program application period. Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation wanted a community-led project so we reached out to the community asking for recommendations of nonprofits for a solar and storage project. The Sherman Heights Community Center came highly recommended and we were thrilled to support such an impactful organization. The Solar Moonshot Program grant was funded by BQuest Foundation, our philanthropic partner that has supported the program since 2020, and also provided a low-interest tax credit bridge loan for this project.
The 24kW solar power and 19.2kWh energy storage system was designed and installed by Aloha Solar Power, an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 569 contractor, supporting local, union jobs while providing on-the-job training for apprentices.
It's exciting that the solar and storage project is slated to offset 99.6% of the community center’s energy usage, which should result in over $400,000 in electricity bill savings during the lifetime of the system! These substantial savings will be reinvested into the community center and the Communities of Concern it serves. In addition to the clean energy system reducing CO2 emissions, it can provide electricity to the community during power outages, offers clean energy education and supports regional economic growth.
The Sherman Heights Community Center’s clean energy project was made possible thanks to the organizations and individuals whose financial contributions totaled over $89,000 through our Solar Moonshot Program: BQuest Foundation, San Diego Community Power’s Community Clean Energy Innovation Grant Program in partnership with the San Diego Foundation, Futures Unbound, Greentech Renewables San Diego, IBEW Local 569 and Ann Dynes. To help the community center secure the final portion of funding needed for the project to proceed, we offered to host our first-ever fundraiser: the Pickleball Fundraiser for the Sherman Heights Community Center Clean Energy Project. The fundraiser was a success and a lot of fun! Thanks to all of the participants who helped us raise an additional $14,000 for this project. We’d like to give a shout out to the La Jolla Pickleball Club as well as the companies that donated food and auction items, which made it possible for 100 percent of the funds raised to go towards this clean energy project.
As we reflect on the achievements of the Solar Moonshot Program over the past five years, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, supporters and the inspiring nonprofits who are driving positive change in their respective communities. We are so thankful to our generous philanthropic funders that have made this program possible: Left Coast Fund, BQuest Foundation and an anonymous donor through the San Diego Foundation. We appreciate the support from Palomar this year as well.
We currently have funding for solar grants and loans available! To learn more about the Solar Moonshot Program, including previous grantees, we encourage you to visit our website.
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Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation has had the privilege of running its Solar Moonshot Program for three consecutive years now. To date, the Solar Moonshot Program has had a $1,000,000 budget per year, which has made solar and storage projects possible to over 100 nonprofit organizations across 27 states, deploying 5,458kW of solar and offsetting 136,049 metric tons of carbon dioxide. These projects are reducing emissions, offering solar education to the community, supporting green jobs and allowing nonprofits to save money on utility bills that are reinvested into their missions.
In 2022 alone we have supported over 20 solar projects across nine states. The solar and storage projects range from educational facilities, food pantries, affordable housing complexes, schools and more. Collectively, these projects are deploying 853.25kW of solar and offsetting 21,266.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide that otherwise would be accelerating the climate crisis. This is the equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from 24,585 passenger vehicles per year and carbon dioxide emissions from 23,436,242 pounds of coal burned.
The following organizations have received grants this past year and are collectively helping combat the climate crisis:
We are extremely thankful for the generous support of Left Coast Fund, BQuest Foundation and an anonymous donor who have funded these grants and share our passion of combating the climate crisis and prioritizing communities of concern. The Solar Moonshot Program would not be where it is today without their support.
We are happy to announce funding for the 2023 Solar Moonshot Program! If you are part of a nonprofit organization that is interested in applying for a Solar Moonshot Program grant, please find the application here: www.solarmoonshot.org. We encourage you to follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter) to check out our weekly #SolarSaturday posts that highlight grant recipients, the nonprofits’ inspiring missions as well as how solar positively benefits communities and the globe.
If you know of a foundation, philanthropist or company interested in supporting the Solar Moonshot Program, further expanding our impact, please reach out to maya@hammondclimatesolutions.com.
As 2022 comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on all we have accomplished this year as well as share what we have in store for 2023. From fighting for the equitable and sustainable expansion of the rooftop solar industry to successfully advocating for comprehensive and legally-binding climate action plans to managing clean energy initiatives, this year has been packed with local, statewide and national climate action alongside many amazing partners. Thank you for supporting our work!
Hammond Climate Solutions’ 2022 highlights:
We publicly changed our operations from a social enterprise to Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3), which is allowing us to broaden our impact!
Our climate policy efforts helped:
Push for a solar-friendly net metering agreement
Provide feedback for the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan update and the County of San Diego’s Regional Decarbonization Framework
Launch the Fossil Fuel Free Pledge!
Provide input for San Diego County’s District 3 Environmental Roundtable
The programs and projects we manage continued to make a positive impact in communities across the country:
We helped over 20 nonprofit organizations go solar this year through our Solar Moonshot Program and passed the $1,000,000 per year fundraising goal
We managed $8,387,418.01 in recoverable grants, which helped nonprofits nationwide afford the switch to clean energy and energy storage
We continued managing two e-bike pilot programs and assisted our client BQuest Foundation in supporting an e-bike program for De Anza College in Cupertino, California
We oversaw the installations of an EV charging station at a San Diego-based nonprofits serving communities of concern with two more underway
Four more California Electric Vehicle Incentive Project (CALeVIP) rebates that we had applied for were given the green light to proceed, totalling $52,000
In Q1, we accepted two awards - the first was the San Diego Green Building Council’s Sustainable Organization award, and the second was for our founder and executive director, Tara Hammond, who was one of the San Diego State University Alumni’s Rising Aztec winners
Our team proudly served in leadership roles on a number of boards and committees including:
California Alliance for Community Energy (Steering Committee)
GRID Alternatives (San Diego Board of Directors)
SanDiego350 (SouthBay Eco Justice team)
San Diego Green New Deal Alliance (Steering Committee)
San Diego Community Power (Community Advisory Committee and Executive Ad Hoc Committee)
Climate Defenders Action Fund (Board of Directors)
San Diego Climate Hub (Hub Manager)
As 2022 comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on all we have accomplished this year as well as share what we have in store for 2023. From fighting for the equitable and sustainable expansion of the rooftop solar industry to successfully advocating for comprehensive and legally-binding climate action plans to managing clean energy initiatives, this year has been packed with local, statewide and national climate action alongside many amazing partners. Thank you for supporting our work!
Net Energy Metering
After a two and a half year battle, the California Public Utilities Commission made a final decision on the future of rooftop solar and approved a new net energy metering tariff. Unfortunately, the decision benefits the investor-owned utilities and will slow California’s advancement towards 100 percent clean energy, using fossil fuels for a longer duration, which accelerates the climate crisis and worsens climate injustices. The tariff makes drastic cuts to the credits customers receive for sharing excess energy with neighbors and makes solar more expensive for everyone, including low-income Californians who are currently paying a disproportionate amount of income towards skyrocketing energy costs.
Although we are outraged that the commission has sided with the investor-owned utilities and has disregarded the thousands of letters and public comments from climate organizations, nonprofits, schools, cities, elected officials and climate justice organizations urging them to keep rooftop solar growing, we want to take a step back celebrate what our coalition was able to accomplish throughout the course of the proceeding.
In mid-2020 we were asked by the Solar Rights Alliance to gather San Diego climate leaders to help build a statewide coalition, which became the Save CA Solar coalition, and we are so proud of the coalition’s work. San Diego was a leader in addressing this issue with the most public comments in opposition coming directly from San Diegans. This is undoubtedly due to the amount of work local organizations poured into organizing public comments, giving presentations, meetings with elected officials, organizing rallies and speaking with the media (read more about one of our successful solar rallies here). Although this decision is far from a win, we were able to:
Stop the solar tax
Prevent changes to existing customers
Defeat Assembly Bill 1139, the “anti-solar bill”
Build a diverse statewide coalition of over 600
For now, we will celebrate what we were able to change but this decision serves as a reminder that there is still a lot of work to do to dismantle the fossil fuel industry's influence on politics and to achieve true energy and climate justice. For more background on this topic, check out www.HelpCleanEnergy.org.
Local Policy Highlights
While our team fought endlessly for good policy change at the statewide level, we also helped effectively bring some big changes at our local level in 2022. The City of San Diego passed a comprehensive Climate Action Plan update, which included bold targets for the region to meet in the coming years. More importantly, it came with a promise of an implementation plan and funding plan to be released in early 2023, something the last Climate Action Plan was lacking and resulted in little to no progress on the plan.
At the San Diego County level we helped provide important feedback for the Regional Decarbonization Framework. While the final plan has not been approved, local climate organizations are committed to ensuring this framework is not only comprehensive but provides a path for implementation and includes how we will transition workers from our current gas infrastructure as we decarbonize. We were also invited and participated in the San Diego County District 3 Environmental Roundtable strategy meetings.
Finally, our team was proud to serve as technical stakeholders to help with the development of a number of local programs and climate boards, most notably, the development of the City of San Diego’s new Climate Advisory Boards, which will advise the city on numerous issues ranging from energy and land conservation to building electrification and stormwater issues.
Fossil Fuel Free Pledge
The Fossil Fuel Free Pledge, which was launched by SanDiego350, Surfrider San Diego, BikeSD, San Diego Coastkeeper and Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation, disrupts the fossil fuel industry’s anti-climate agenda by celebrating and providing transparency regarding where nonprofit organizations, elected officials and candidates receive funding. Those who take the pledge commit to not accepting money from fossil fuel companies, demonstrating dedication and seriousness to combatting the climate crisis, dismantling the local fossil fuel industry’s influence and prioritizing a healthy, equitable, ethical, just transition and sustainable world.
Since the pledge’s soft launch during Earth month, there have been nearly 35 pledgees and we plan to expand the pledge categories in the coming months! To read more about the August launch event, click here, and to take the pledge, please fill out an application on the campaign website: www.fossilfuelfreepledge.org.
Solar Moonshot Program
Our Solar Moonshot Program continues to effectively make positive change by assisting nonprofit organizations across the country in adopting clean energy. To date, the Solar Moonshot Program has secured $3,150,000, which so far has assisted over 100 nonprofits, deploying 5,458kW of solar and offsetting 136,049 metric tons of carbon dioxide. These projects are reducing emissions, offering solar and energy storage education to the community, supporting green jobs and allowing nonprofits to save money on utility bills that are reinvested into their missions.
In recent months we have supported over 20 projects across nine states. The projects range from educational facilities to food pantries, affordable housing and more. Collectively, these projects equate to 853.25kW of solar power, have supported countless green jobs and will reduce the use of dirty energy contributing to climate racism and the climate crisis for decades to come.
There are always more solar projects to fund. If you know of a foundation, philanthropist or company interested in supporting the Solar Moonshot Program, further expanding our impact, please reach out to maya@hammondclimatesolutions.com.
New Electric Bike Program
We are excited to be taking part in our fourth electric bike (e-bike) program. This program, in partnership with De Anza College, Cupertino Rotary and BQuest Foundation, will benefit low-income students at De Anza College. The e-bike loaner program will allow students to get to and from the college more easily and provide them with a reliable form of transportation while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint. The college will be launching this loaner program with 23 e-bikes and we look forward to seeing how the student body benefits as well as how many vehicle miles are offset by the e-bikes!
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
While there are many public funds available for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the process of applying for them and ultimately securing them can be daunting and burdensome for nonprofit organizations with little resources.
We have helped the BQuest Foundation secure rebates from the California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (CALeVIP), which when paired with the foundation's grants, brings EV charging stations to nonprofit organizations serving communities at zero cost to the nonprofit.
Our efforts this year have helped secure $42,000 in rebates for nonprofits serving communities of concern across the region and EV charging installations for three nonprofits have been installed or are close to being installed.
Looking Forward
In addition to continuing our climate advocacy and policy efforts, climate advising and existing climate programs like the Solar Moonshot Program and our e-bike programs, we plan to expand the Fossil Fuel Free Pledge to other focus areas as well. We’ll be sharing details on other programs for 2023 in the coming weeks, some of which will serve as pilot programs and proof of concept to lay the foundation for bigger programs for cities, community choice programs and legislation.
On December 1, hundreds of Californians across the state rallied, presumably one last time, to show their support for rooftop solar ahead of the California Public Utilities Commission's December 15 meeting, where they will vote on an anti-solar proposal.
On December 1, hundreds of Californians across the state rallied, presumably one last time, to show their support for rooftop solar ahead of the California Public Utilities Commission's December 15 meeting, where they will vote on an anti-solar proposal.
Over the course of two years, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has had a proceeding open to make changes to the state’s net energy metering (NEM) program, with the investor-owned utilities and their surrogates on one side of the isle advocating for drastic cuts to the benefits rooftop solar customers receive while environmental and climate justice organizations, schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, unions, Community Choice Energy providers, consumer protection groups and others on the opposite end advocating to keep rooftop solar growing in California and to make it more accessible.
In December 2021, the CPUC released a proposed decision that included a fee for solar which essentially taxed solar customers simply for having solar interconnected to the grid (and providing local clean energy) and included retroactive changes to current solar customer agreements. Thankfully, our coalition of over 600+ organizations across the state representing millions of people put enough pressure on both the CPUC and Governor Gavin Newsom, which caused the governor to publicly tell Californians that the proposal needed more work. Since then, our coalition has continued to hold numerous rallies, call in to several CPUC voting meetings to make public comments (with some public comment periods lasting over seven hours), hold meetings with elected officials and submitting letters to Governor Newsom.
Finally, last month, the CPUC released their anxiously awaited revised proposed decision, which is still way too extreme and would send solar off of a cliff. The proposal includes a dramatic 75 percent reduction to the credits customers receive for sharing their excess energy with their neighbors. Cutting these credits means solar will not pencil out for nonprofits, schools, churches and working class families across the state. In San Diego where we pay the highest rates in the nation for energy, rooftop solar is the only way for working class families to alleviate the burden of skyrocketing energy costs. Solar and storage is a clean way to provide reliable backup power when the utilities cut off power, which is happening more and more frequently, helping families maintain needed medical equipment while avoiding potentially wasting perishable food.
At the San Diego solar event today, one of 10 in the state held at 11 a.m., activists and solar installers who are concerned over their jobs rallied in front of St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ, a church that has been a pillar of the community that has just recently installed solar panels to help with the cost of energy bills and be able to reinvest money back into the community. Pastor Glenn McKinney spoke to the CPUC and state leaders directly, “We should be gathering at churches like ours to celebrate going solar, not having to ask state leaders to halt their efforts to make solar less accessible to everyone, especially communities of concern and nonprofit organizations.” He continued by sharing why it's important for rooftop solar to remain an option for communities of concern. “We do not have a robust tree canopy like some communities and it’s getting hotter and hotter here in San Diego where we pay the highest energy rates in the nation. Without rooftop solar, we have no other options than to pay for expensive energy that’s making fossil fuel companies and their shareholders a lot of money while San Diegans are forced to choose to pay their energy bill or medicine or food”.
The CPUC will vote on the proposal on December 15 and our coalition knows the power we have when we stand together and make our voices heard. Please visit helpcleanenergy.org to see how you can help!
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