Environmental and Energy Study Institute 

Partnered with the NAACP to develop Equitable Solar Policy Principles, to expand access to solar energy. 

EESI has been an enthusiastic partner in the NAACP’s Solar Equity Initiative, which seeks to boost solar installations in communities of color and connect them to solar job training. The high upfront cost of solar energy can limit adoption by poor communities and communities of color. EESI has been collaborating with the NAACP on how to best make use of inclusive financing to facilitate access to solar energy and advance equity, environmental justice, and resilience. In July 2021, the Solar Equity Initiative unveiled the Equitable Solar Policy Principles to increase solar adoption in communities of color and dismantle the systematic barriers that these communities have experienced. EESI helped develop these principles and is proud to be one of their original signatory organizations. EESI also partnered with the NAACP to convene a virtual event to discuss how faith-based institutions can finance solar installations in Hawaii. Participating faith leaders learned about the Hawaii Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) on-bill financing program that EESI helped develop. EESI and the NAACP are discussing ways to replicate this approach nationwide.