4. Energy Democracy Through Local Energy Equity

In 2011, women representing working-class communities of color sought to do something bold—sponsor legislation that would bring renewable energy into environmental justice communities. Working as members of the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), they sponsored legislation called Solar for All. Solar for All called for a massive transformation of our energy system: away from natural gas power plants and oil extraction and into an energy economy rooted in local, decentralized renewable generation, equity, and community leadership. As the first-ever CEJA-sponsored bill, it put impacted communities at the center of the solution and advocacy efforts. For the first time, women of color walked the halls of the California State Capitol, going toe-to-toe with fossil fuel industry lobbyists and led on the ground, organizing hundreds of community members to advocate for the bill.