Salt Lake City, UT has partnered with Solar Stewards to fund solar, air quality, and community resilience projects in historically underserved areas of the city.
“Salt Lake City is not only investing in solar energy to power our municipal operations and reduce pollution,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall, “we have also formed a unique partnership that will help us invest money from that solar back into the community.”
The City will exchange renewable energy certificates (RECs) produced on its solar array at the Sorenson Multicultural Center through a Social REC® model with Solar Stewards for financial contributions. RECs allow renewable energy generators to connect with clean energy buyers, regardless of where the energy is generated or used. Solar Stewards has taken that model and added a social mission focused on restorative justice commitments from private-sector leaders. Their Marketplace aggregates solar sites into portfolios of scale to attract Social REC® buyers.
Okta – the first identified buyer of Salt Lake City’s Social REC® via the Solar Stewards’ Marketplace – will be contributing over $10,000 per year for three years with an opportunity to invest more as additional solar projects are identified or the agreement extended. Those contributions will be used over the next three years to support a number of projects, including: providing gap financing or grants to increase access to rooftop solar for under-served homes or businesses; supporting research into and mitigation for poor indoor air quality in Salt Lake City homes and schools; and helping city microgrant programs do more to further environmental justice.
The City expects to increase distributed solar installations through other federal grants in the coming years, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All and the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG).
“We know that the impacts of climate change disproportionately affect underserved communities, including many communities of color,” said Alison Colwell, Senior Director of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Sustainability at Okta. “We are actively taking steps to reduce our environmental footprint and to respect the right to health and clean air. Salt Lake City understands the urgency of this work and we congratulate their staff for embracing innovative funding models.”