South L.A. among communities awarded state grants for climate projects
A few months ago, the City Council of South Los Angles announced a trio of $10 million awards to the community to fund climate projects.
The funding was awarded by the South Los Angeles Clean Energy Center and the California Clean Communities Fund, or C3, as a measure of its commitment to helping the region deal with its own impact on the climate.
The awards are one of the largest funds for community-driven climate projects in the nation, according to the center, which also says its work is only a forerunner to a larger, multi-pronged effort on climate issues.
“We’ve seen tremendous success in our work with communities and have had the privilege to partner with over 500 companies to create over 100,000 green jobs,” said Rachel Zaccaria, the center’s director. “But our work does not end there. We must ensure a healthy ecosystem for our children, a healthy planet for future generations.”
Los Angeles is among the cities and regional governments worldwide that are funding climate projects for a growing list of projects that they claim will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the project website.
The Los Angeles awardees also include the city of San Diego, the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino and the county of Santa Clara.
The projects include:
• Community solar installations in South L.A. and Long Beach;
• Solar projects in other communities with a low cost of energy, such as the City of Stockton, in Northern San Diego County.
• Renewable energy infrastructure on Los Angeles’ freeways.
• A solar power park in South L.A. to create a network of solar power stations connected to the City of South L.A. public grid, the site will be the largest in the country.
• A “community solar” system offsite for the City of Long Beach. The project includes installing solar panels on a nearby hillside.
• A solar development in San Bernardino, involving a 50-megawatt solar plant, with the installation of a second 60-megawatt solar plant. Its aim is to help reduce carbon emissions and decrease the reliance on fossil fuels.
The C3 website
