MCE building all-electric solar-powered homes for low-income residents

On August 6, 2024, MCE unveiled a newly built all-electric clean energy home which will be sold to a lower-income first-time home buyer in Richmond, California. The innovative approach is intended to serve as a model to help homebuyers at every income level access clean, all-electric technology for their homes.

“Virtual power plants are an emerging solution in California’s clean energy transition,” said Noemí Gallardo, commissioner of the California Energy Commission. “They represent a promising step forward in supporting our clean energy future. The CEC is proud to support projects like these, which help ensure grid reliability during extreme events and promote equitable access to clean energy solutions.”

Funded in part by the California Energy Commission, led, in partnership, by the ZNE Alliance and MCE, the Richmond Advanced Energy Community Project offers select Richmond residents and businesses a unique opportunity to electrify and save money on their monthly bills. Some of the homes are being rebuilt by RCF Connects using an innovative funding tool called a social impact bond.

“With this groundbreaking project, we’re finding creative solutions to our housing and clean energy goals in Richmond while providing an affordable pathway to homeownership,” said Jim Becker, executive director of RCF Connects. “Together with MCE and our partners, we have the opportunity to upgrade as many as 100 homes and 20 businesses, including 10 previously abandoned ones. These properties will be able to plug into MCE’s Virtual Power Plant.”

MCE’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) helps participants save money with clean energy technologies and receive monthly credits on their energy bills. In exchange, they allow their smart energy devices to respond to MCE’s signals to shift load based on the grid’s needs. This includes reducing energy use during more expensive times of the day, sending energy back to the grid when needed, and reducing grid strain when weather events threaten outages.

“Our Virtual Power Plant connects distributed energy resources like solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, electric water heaters and heat pumps into one system that can be shifted when needed,” said Vicken Kasarjian, MCE COO. “When combined, these small resources can provide clean electricity to the grid during peak hours when the demand is high and take energy from the grid when there are surplus conditions in the grid due to high generation and low loads.”

The Richmond Advanced Energy Community is supported by a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission and up to $2.8 million in match funding from various partners including the City of Richmond, CalEPA,and MCE. The project aims to help create a cleaner, more reliable electric grid while also addressing low-income housing needs.

“We look forward to expanding MCE’s Virtual Power Plant to our full service area once we secure more funding,” said Kasarjian.

News item from MCE