OUR PROCESS
Community-Led Solar
Energy Allies began designing a process that would defer all decision making power to a dedicated group of paid community stakeholders. Once convened, this group has met regularly to make key project decisions via ranked choice voting to determine the final outcome of the project. Energy Allies facilitated this process along the way, sharing presentations and leading active discussions on topics including solar siting, workforce development, and project finance. The following key decisions have been voted on by the Boston Community Advisory Board and will be components of the project once completed:
- The established solar array will be locally owned and controlled
- The established solar array will maximize benefits for climate-impacted communities in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan
- A solidarity fund will be established to ensure that ownership costs are not prohibitive
- Establish the Boston Community Solar Cooperative to enable and maintain local ownership of projects via a cooperative structure
- Engineering, procurement, and constrction phases will be completed by diverse, local companies that meet our voted on contractor scoring matrix
- The project will be sited on a rooftop or parking lot in Dorchester, Roxbury, or Mattapan
