The Coyote Mountain Apartments, a 24-unit family housing complex in the Bishop Paiute tribal community, is the first of its kind.
The buildings have recently been outfitted with solar panels, making it the first Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program installation within a tribal reservation in California.
The state-funded program provides property owners with incentives on installation and lowers operating costs for common areas. Their mission: create a more equitable future by delivering clean energy to California residents.
“Energy affordability is a major issue for the community,” said Brian Adkins, environmental director at Bishop Paiute Tribe. “Historically, adding solar has been more accessible to single-family homeowners or on new construction but programs like SOMAH are helping to shift that through funding solar installations for renters, specifically those living in affordable housing and areas impacted by environmental hazards.”
The system is estimated to save 24 households almost $474,000 on their energy bills throughout its lifecycle. It’s also expected to reduce around 40 tons of carbon emissions annually.
This installation is part of the reservation’s plan to improve energy efficiency and become a more sustainable community.
“We hope other tribal communities can look to us as an inspiration and bring similar projects to their communities,” Adkins said.
SCE partners with Grid Alternatives, a community-based nonprofit, on the SOMAH program. The organization installs solar projects in underserved communities and connects them with different clean energy incentives.
“This solar installation is one of several projects SCE and the Bishop Paiute Tribe have partnered on to help achieve a more sustainable future,” said SCE Government Relations Manager Matthew Paruolo. “We’re proud to have also helped install electric vehicle chargers at their Tribal Education Center, introduced energy-efficiency programs and invested in wildfire prevention.”
The tribe has also consulted with SCE on the Microgrid Incentive Program — a competitive grant program providing $200 million in funding to communities facing outages, Public Safety Power Shutoffs and other events driven by climate change.
Microgrids provide energy resiliency by disconnecting the community from the larger electric grid during outages. If implemented, it would provide power on the reservation by using things like solar panels and batteries.
To learn more about the SOMAH program, visit CalSOMAH.org or complete this online eligibility form to see if you qualify for solar incentives.
To learn more about SCE’s clean energy efforts, visit sce.com/cleanenergy.
