We get to enjoy this green energy, but there are so many more like us
For generations, the promise of clean energy has shone brightest over the rooftops of the affluent, leaving low-income communities to bear both the burden of pollution and the weight of rising utility bills. California's Somah program represents a deliberate effort to rebalance that equation, channeling one hundred million dollars annually toward solar installations on affordable housing complexes across the state. In Oakland's St Mary's Gardens, elderly residents like eighty-seven-year-old Joseph Wang are beginning to feel the first warmth of that shift — not from a heater they could not afford to run, but from panels on a roof that cost them nothing. The question now is whether justice, once demonstrated at the scale of a single building, can be made to travel.
- Low-income seniors in Oakland spent last winter choosing between warmth and financial survival, layering blankets instead of turning on heaters they could not afford.
- Solar energy's decades-long tilt toward wealthy, white homeowners has left disadvantaged communities breathing the worst air while receiving the fewest clean energy benefits.
- California's Somah program is pushing back — committing $100M per year to install solar on affordable multifamily housing, targeting 150,000 tenant families by 2030 at zero upfront cost to residents.
- St Mary's Gardens in Oakland stands as proof of concept: a $345,000 state-funded installation now promises residents $30–40 in monthly savings, with building-wide electrification upgrades already following.
- Scaling the model faces real friction — technical gaps among building managers, upfront costs for owners awaiting rebates, and utility grid connection timelines stretching eight months or more.
- Advocates and residents alike are looking past their own rooftops, framing each installation as a stepping stone toward regional, national, and climate-systemic change.
Joseph Wang is eighty-seven years old. Last winter, he and his wife kept the heater off as long as they could bear, piling blankets against the cold of northern California nights. When their electricity bill reached one hundred thirty dollars, they chose to shiver rather than risk financial ruin. Within months, that calculus may shift by forty dollars — because solar panels now sit on the roof of St Mary's Gardens, the Oakland affordable housing complex they call home.
St Mary's Gardens is one of more than one hundred California properties to receive installations through Somah, the state's Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program. Launched in 2019 with a commitment of one hundred million dollars per year, the program aims to generate three hundred megawatts of solar power across low-income rental buildings by 2030 — enough to serve roughly one hundred fifty thousand tenant families. The goal is explicit: reverse the long-standing pattern in which solar's benefits have flowed almost exclusively to affluent, predominantly white homeowners, while disadvantaged communities absorbed the environmental costs.
The installation at St Mary's Gardens cost three hundred forty-five thousand dollars and took three and a half years to complete, covered entirely by the state through a contract with solar company Sunrun. The building sits beside freeways and a port diesel corridor — exactly the kind of overburdened community the program was designed to reach. Ayesha Abbasi, a state organizer who helped write the original Somah legislation, had identified it as an ideal candidate. Once the panels connect to the grid, each unit should see monthly savings of thirty to forty dollars. Encouraged by the results, building owners have already upgraded to electric heat pumps and replaced gas water boilers.
Obstacles persist. Many building managers lack the technical capacity to oversee major construction. Some owners must absorb upfront costs while waiting for rebates. And after contractors finish, utility companies can take eight months or more to inspect and connect systems to the grid. These are not small frictions when the communities waiting are already stretched thin.
Still, the residents of St Mary's Gardens are thinking beyond their own bills. Meng Rou Lan, eighty-four, knows what the panels mean for her neighbors — and for the many low-income seniors elsewhere who have yet to benefit. Energy advocates speak of scaling the model from a single rooftop to a region, a state, a country. With seven billion dollars committed nationally through the Biden-Harris Solar for All program, the infrastructure for that ambition exists. Whether it travels depends on whether what worked in Oakland can be replicated — carefully, equitably, and fast enough to matter.
Joseph Wang is eighty-seven years old, and last winter he and his wife bundled themselves in blankets to survive northern California's cold nights. They layered clothing during the day, piled two blankets on the bed at night, and kept their heater off as much as they could bear. When their electricity bill hit one hundred thirty dollars, they made a choice: stay warm or stay solvent. They chose to shiver. But that calculation may soon change. Within months, their monthly bill could drop by forty dollars, thanks to solar panels now mounted on the roof of St Mary's Gardens, the affordable housing complex in Oakland where they live.
St Mary's Gardens is home to one hundred low-income seniors. It is also one of more than one hundred projects across California that have received solar installations through the state's Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing program, known as Somah. The state committed one hundred million dollars annually to the effort starting in 2019, with an ambitious target: by 2030, the program aims to generate three hundred megawatts of power through solar projects on low-income rental buildings statewide. That is roughly equivalent to the output of a small nuclear power plant, enough electricity to serve one hundred fifty thousand tenant families.
For decades, solar power belonged to the wealthy. People with rooftop panels tend to be middle-aged, white, English-speaking professionals in business or finance, living in rural areas—according to research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. California hosts half of all residential solar installations in the United States, yet the benefits have flowed overwhelmingly to affluent neighborhoods. The Somah program exists to reverse that equation. It provides financial assistance to building owners and education to tenants, ensuring that the savings flow directly to people living in what the state calls disadvantaged communities—places already burdened by environmental pollution and climate crisis impacts. "Our core goal is to give back to these vulnerable communities that sometimes lack voices in this space," said Staci Givens, the program's manager.
The installation at St Mary's Gardens cost three hundred forty-five thousand dollars and took three and a half years to complete. The state covered the entire cost because the building does not own the panels outright but contracts with Sunrun, a solar company, to maintain them for the next two decades. Gideon Anders, a board member and treasurer of the building's partnership, recalled the moment the opportunity arrived: "When we found out about the program, and we found the level of incentives that were being made available, we basically determined it was a deal that we couldn't pass up." Ayesha Abbasi, a state organizer for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, had approached the building's management as part of her outreach work. Abbasi had helped write the legislation that created Somah in the first place. St Mary's Gardens was an ideal candidate—a building full of low-income seniors, situated next to freeways and a port diesel corridor, breathing air thick with pollution.
Once the panels are connected to the grid, each unit should see savings of thirty to forty dollars monthly. The success sparked ambition. Building owners have already upgraded the common area heating system to an electric heat pump and replaced gas water boilers with electric ones. Yet obstacles remain. Many building managers lack the technical expertise or staff capacity to oversee major construction projects. Givens acknowledged this friction. There are also financial hurdles: some owners must pay out-of-pocket costs upfront, waiting for rebates only after installation and grid connection. And then comes the utility company's timeline. After contractors finish their work, the electric company must inspect and connect the system to the grid—a process that can stretch eight months or longer.
Meng Rou Lan, eighty-four, lives at St Mary's Gardens. She has watched the panels go up. She knows what they mean for her own life and her electricity bill. But her mind reaches further. "We get to enjoy this green energy, but there are so many more low-income seniors out there like us who could benefit," she said. The residents here have felt the weight of poor air quality from wildfires. YunHao Zhang, another tenant, put it plainly: "When the air pollution is bad, it is bad for us seniors." Mari Rose Taruc, energy director at the California Environmental Justice Alliance, frames the work in larger terms. "We need to scale it from these rooftops, to a region, to a state, to a country, in order to see an impact," she said. "We start from a roof, but we want to see it scale up." The Biden-Harris administration has committed seven billion dollars to a Solar for All program extending across the country. What happens next depends on whether the model that worked in Oakland can be replicated, refined, and pushed outward—from one building to many, from one city to the state, and beyond.
Citações Notáveis
When we found out about the program and the level of incentives available, we determined it was a deal we couldn't pass up.— Gideon Anders, board member and treasurer of St Mary's Gardens
Our core goal is to give back to these vulnerable communities that sometimes lack voices in this space.— Staci Givens, Somah program manager
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that solar has historically gone to wealthy people?
Because energy costs are a fixed burden for low-income households. When you're living on a fixed income and your electricity bill is one hundred thirty dollars, that's not abstract—that's heat or food. Solar should have been reaching these people first, not last.
What made St Mary's Gardens different from other affordable housing buildings?
Location and advocacy. The building sits in a pollution corridor, which made it a priority under the state's environmental justice framework. But also, Ayesha Abbasi and the Asian Pacific Environmental Network had already done the legislative groundwork. They knew the building existed and approached the management directly.
Three and a half years seems like a long time for an installation.
It is. That's the real constraint nobody talks about enough. Even with state funding covering the full cost, you still need someone on staff who can manage contractors, navigate inspections, wait for the utility company. Many buildings don't have that capacity.
What happens to the thirty or forty dollars a month that residents save?
It stays in their pockets. That's the whole point. It's not a rebate that goes to the building owner or a tax credit that requires paperwork. It's a direct reduction in their monthly bill. For someone on a fixed income, that compounds.
Is this program enough to address climate change?
No. But it's a foundation. The real ambition is to scale it—from one building to hundreds, from Oakland to the state, from California to the country. You can't close coal plants or reverse climate damage with one solar array. But you also can't do it without making sure the benefits reach the people who've been harmed most.
What's the biggest barrier to expansion?
Probably the utility company's timeline. Eight months to inspect and connect to the grid is a long wait when you're trying to prove a model works and attract more building owners. Speed matters for momentum.