With one in four SDG&E customers already behind on paying energy bills, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today passed Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s proposal that will help solar developers expand small scale affordable, clean power to customers in disadvantaged communities to lower their electricity bills.

The ‘California Public Utility Commission’s Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff’ program known in San Diego County as the ‘Solar Advantage’ program, is designed to equitably distribute clean energy to low-income residents and incentivize solar developers to bid for small-scale solar projects in disadvantaged communities. But even with strong incentives, many small-scale solar projects stall when developers can’t find eligible land, a challenge the County is uniquely positioned to solve

“All working families in San Diego deserve affordable, clean power and our County has an opportunity to broaden access by supporting the Solar Advantage program,” said Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer who also serves as board chair to San Diego Community Power that buys clean, renewable electricity for residents and businesses. “In recent years, the price of renewable energy technologies has dropped dramatically. Utility-scale solar costs have fallen by 88 percent since 2010, and wind costs have dropped by nearly 70 percent.”

The proposal, passed by the Board, directs the County to determine if any county-owned or leased properties are good fits for smaller scale solar power projects power so solar developers can consider those sites for solar installations. Currently, many solar developers want to participate in the Solar Advantage program but struggle to find leasable sites on county-owned land.