PICO RIVERA, Calif. — California is one of the leading states when it comes to clean, renewable energy.

In recent years, an increasing number of projects aimed at creating more sustainable energy are popping up, including in the unincorporated area of Avocado Heights.

The Clean Power Alliance, an electricity provider with more than a million customers in LA and Ventura Counties, works alongside The Energy Coalition to improve access to more affordable power for low-income households. 

Genaro Bugarin is the director of energy innovation for The Energy Coalition, working to ensure that each neighborhood has equitable access.

“The program that the project is creating energy for is intended to serve low-income households that do not have access to solar,” Bugarin said. “It helps to level the playing field.”

Roughly 400 households in the Avocado Heights and Basset neighborhoods are participating in the program.

Their houses receive power from solar panels placed on nearby storage facilities in Pico Rivera, which are then fed into the Southern California Edison power grid. The homes in the program have no solar panels on their roofs, but they collectively benefit from solar technology.

The CEO of the Clean Power Alliance, Ted Bardacke, states that multiple solar community projects are already in place and are being developed throughout Southern California. With plenty of storage warehouses sprinkled throughout the region, he says, SoCal is an ideal place to increase the use of solar energy.

“Southern California is unique because we have all of these storage facilities and warehouses with plenty of roof space for the panels,” Bardacke said. “It’s financially beneficial for the owners of these storage places as well, because they can basically rent out space on their roofs.”

As the deadline looms for President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act to pass, some questions have arisen from those involved in the solar energy industry.

The American Clean Power Association states that if the bill is passed, the cost of power for consumers could increase by as much as 10%, and that clean energy businesses would be taxed between $4 billion and $7 billion by 2036.

“They would start to either immediately, or very quickly wind down the availability of the tax credits, and the tax credits can provide up to 30% of the cost of these,” Bardacke said. “So they’re really crucial for the continued development of the industry.”

While there remains a divide among political lines when it comes to completely eliminating fossil fuels, the Pew Research Center reports that 82% of Americans support the construction of more solar farms across the country. With projects like the ones taking place in Southern California, which are not as common throughout the U.S., the technology is showing how low-income households can benefit from a shared approach.

“This is community solar,” Bardacke said. “Where you can’t put solar on your roof, but you’ve got a roof here that is really available, ready to generate that power, and we will deliver you that power on a discount on your energy bill.”

Bugarin adds that with the rising cost of gas, programs like the one being used in Avocado Heights could help put some extra money in the pockets of residents by decreasing their energy costs.

“The cost of running your home could be cheaper than paying for gas,” he said. “So reducing that, or cutting that by half, it’s almost like giving people that money as an extra income.”

The Solar Industries Association says solar provided roughly 30% of California’s energy needs in 2023.