Making Green Accessible

Building Decarbonization Grid Decarbonization and Decentralization Advanced EV Battery Technologies Low-Carbon Renewable Fuels Zero-Carbon Dispatchable Generation Plug Loads Vehicle-to-Grid Integration Passive Efficiency Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Electric Heat Pumps Energy Storage Microgrids Virtual Power Plants

SoLa Impact Opportunity Zone Fund, LP

Recipient

Los Angeles, CA

Recipient Location

28th

Senate District

57th

Assembly District

beenhere

$973,650

Amount Spent

closed

Completed

Project Status

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Project Result

In collaboration with its project and community partners, SoLa Opportunity Zone Fund has completed its goal of designing a net zero mixed-use city hall in Compton, California. The development design is composed of 73 affordable rental units, 10 for-sale affordable townhomes, 10 affordable accessory dwelling units, and a 10,190-square-foot resilience hub. In times of extreme weather events or other catastrophic scenarios, the entire resilience hub is designed for short-term emergency response. Equipped with a grid-interactive microgrid, photovoltaic solar, and batteries, the community could achieve net zero energy and operational greenhouse gas emissions while being able to island from Southern California Edison’s grid for up to 72 hours during power outages.

This design can be used as a model, showing how various partnerships, creative funding, and state-of-the-art features of design, construction, and technology can come together to produce a scalable and replicable model that affordable housing developers and local governments can use.

This project was part of the Energy Commission's Next EPIC Challenge design-build competition (GFO-20-305). A project video, which was highlighted in the CEC's annual EPIC Symposium, can be found at the link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPIdZQc0e9k&list=PLIcSRKAeCVRjlZYqQRteN…

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The Issue

Many black, indigenous, and people of color communities lack access to basic necessities that lead to generational enrichment. Institutional racism has caused many economic, educational as well as poverty gaps in various communities around the world.  The inability to pay rent, food, utilities, and school supplies has been exacerbated by the spike in unemployment due to COVID-19. These issues are combated by providing accessible housing and services that empower the people most disenfranchised. A team led by SoLa Impact aims to close the inequality gap through transformational change with the help of community members.

Project Innovation

The purpose of this project is to fund the design of a multifunctional affordable housing project as a new model for sustainable, low-impact, zero-emissions homes. The design will be 50 to 75-units centered around a mixed-use, community-accessible Resilience Hub. This design will provide a combination of innovative green technologies with an environmentally and socially conscious financial structure to establish a self-sustaining, resilient ecosystem.

Project Goals

Develop a model for providing green solutions in low-income communities and affordable projects

Design an affordable project of 50-150 sustainable, low-impact, zero-emissions homes

Develop an affordable housing zero emissions technology guidebook / roadmap for other project teams and future development

Project Benefits

To design a project that empowers the community with opportunities and sustainable solutions by building both rentals and for-sale townhomes. The Recipient proposes more sustainable utility options that are more affordable for tenants, by leveraging Edison’s technological advances in the areas of green and solar energy. SoLa will leverage its capacity to build well-designed, cost-efficient homes to get community stakeholders/faith-based organizations and government leaders to partner, mobilize, and support—offering a multi-purpose space that can be used for a variety of care services for the community.

Environmental Sustainability

Lower GHG emissions through energy efficiency measures, a microgrid, and grid-interactive building.

Equity

The project provides all-electric, energy efficient, and grid-reliability innovations to tenants to income-qualified tenants.

Reliability

The project will help increase greater electricity reliability by providing reductions in daily peak demand through on-site renewable energy coupled with energy storage. Additionally, microgrid control technologies will provide power for Tier 1 critical loads during power shutoff events.