Photovoltaic Reformation is design research aimed at providing community solar solutions to marginalized communities lacking financial stability to afford electricity bills. California energy is composed of natural gas-powered electricity, a fossil fuel product, and supplemented solar and wind energy in far away from urban centers that rely heavily on the existing overly stressed power grid for distribution. Additionally, the price of natural gas has skyrocketed due to lack of supply, and green energy distribution sourced hundreds of miles away is impacted by natural disasters forcing grid shutdowns and rolling blackouts. This leaves many Californians with unreliable and high electricity bills that are inequitable and burdensome to marginalized communities.

To help resolve this issue, we looked at microgrids that can produce energy at scale closer to where it is consumed. Unfortunately, large metropolitan cities lack the land availability to develop dedicated microgrid solar farms. Thus, we looked at how interconnected network of public solar panels can power local neighborhoods without having to purchase private solar panels.

We found that most low-income households live in older, less energy-efficient homes with roofs that can’t support PV panels, or they live in multifamily homes and don’t have access to make rooftop improvements. Community solar, where a large array of PV panels produce energy that can be shared by multiple households, will solve this energy inequity and repurpose underutilized land to highly productive, community-based amenities. Within our 5-mile radius study area we found 48 gas stations, and with this amount of redundancy many will likely become irrelevant in the coming decade. Our proposal aims to focus both public and private investment into these lots along with a variety of additional programmatic opportunities based on community needs that can drive ROI and offset some of the ongoing costs of our social safety net.