The Kresge Foundation has announced $7 million in grants and social investments to support entities that co-develop solar projects in underserved areas across the United States.

The investments are intended to accelerate a just energy transition by providing capital and other supports to co-developer organizations with strong community partnerships, an identified market, and a readiness to scale the number of climate finance projects in the community. “Co-developers” are groups working to educate a constituency about clean energy and those working on designing, facilitating, financing, and managing solar, solar+storage, and community solar systems. The grantees are Collective Energy, an Ojai, California-based startup ($2 million); RE-volv, a San Francisco-based nonprofit (1.5 million); and Working Power Impact Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based subsidiary of Urban Ingenuity ($1.1 million).

“We want to ensure that communities of color and disinvested communities have equitable access to public and private capital for climate and energy needs,” said Joe Evans, Kresge’s Social Investment Practice portfolio director and social investment officer. “As a country, we will not reach our climate goals if the focus is only on wealthy people and places and large corporations. We envision a future where a robust network of co-developers makes the latest technology and approaches to clean energy, efficiency and resilience available in BIPOC communities and communities with low wealth in American cities.”

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