Gregory King

In 2022, a group of Boston residents were inspired to start a project to build a future powered by the sun AND owned by the community.

We knew that less than 2% of ratepayer-funded solar incentive programs in Massachusetts were creating projects that served low income communities, due to discriminatory program promotion and rebate policies. We also knew that the utility company Eversource had held the monopoly on power generation for years, profiting off of residents and controlling decision-making over our energy. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), we got our chance at changing this reality: new financing options embedded in the IRA unlocked opportunities for renters and low-income homeowners to work together to affordably install community solar.

Now, with the founding of the Boston Community Solar Cooperative (BCSC), we’re writing a new chapter in Boston’s energy story.

We’re putting local solar in community hands as a vital component in addressing the climate crisis via clean, renewable energy, and a tool to reduce energy burdens, improve resilience, create jobs and build the local economy in underserved Black and Brown neighborhoods. Now, after decades of disinvestment, community solar is not only a tool of energy democracy but also one of economic revitalization. Focusing on building projects in low-income Black and Brown communities in Boston like Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, the co-op is working hard to put people over profit, and ensure that community-members across class and race can participate in and benefit from the energy transition.

I love seeing the light bulbs go on for community members when they learn about community-owned power. (Who would not want to own an asset that generates income every day that sun shines?!) At our “We got the Power” workshop lunches, local residents get excited about opportunities available to them: by owning and managing local power, not only can BCSC subscribers access lower cost electricity rates, but also make their own choices about what to invest in. Rather than increasing shareholder profits, the co-op generates and shares revenue from the sale of electricity to provide financial support for basic needs like housing, food and education.

We know that when communities have the reins, better choices are made. Case in point, BCSC’s very first solar installation will be built on an affordable housing building, which is also the home of Dorchester Food Co-Op, combining the life-giving resources of housing, food, and energy to support the basic needs of everyday people.

This is Energy Democracy in action–solar providing benefits for people, not greedy corporations!