Oakland Solar Farm Powers 3,000 Homes at 20% Discount

A one-megawatt solar farm on a logistics warehouse rooftop in East Oakland is now pumping clean electricity to families who need it most, at prices they can actually afford.

The project, a partnership between Prologis and nonprofit Ava Community Energy, went live last Friday. It's designed specifically to serve low-income communities that have historically been shut out of the clean energy transition.

Here's what makes it special: customers enrolled in the program automatically get a 20% discount on their electricity bills. That's not a promotional rate or a temporary benefit. It's built into the program structure through California's Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff, passed in 2013 to make sure green energy doesn't become a luxury only wealthy neighborhoods can afford.

"This project is serving our low-income, historically marginalized community with lower-cost renewable energy," said Howard Chang, CEO of Ava Community Energy. The goal is to help families electrify their homes without breaking the bank.

Four more solar farms are coming soon. One more in Oakland, one in San Leandro, and two in Tracy will bring the total to over seven megawatts of clean power for more than 3,000 customers across the East Bay.

The Ripple Effect

The benefits go way beyond lower bills. East Oakland ranks among California's worst areas for pollution exposure and asthma rates, according to Oakland's Chief Resilience Officer Daniel Hamilton.

Replacing dirty energy with rooftop solar means cleaner air for kids to breathe. It means keeping money in working families' wallets instead of sending it to utility companies. And it means communities that have suffered most from pollution get to lead the way in solving it.

State Senator Jesse Arreguin called it a "win-win" that addresses both climate goals and economic justice. San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez sees it as proof that public-private partnerships can deliver on climate commitments while lifting up communities that need it most.

The model is working, and it's scalable. Every rooftop that becomes a power generator is one more step toward energy that's clean, local, and fair.