Leland Gohl, Solar Energy an Underserved Impact

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/12

Leland Gohl is the Director of Marketing at PowerMarket, specializing in community solar, clean energy, and investment tax credits. With expertise in renewable energy marketing, he promotes sustainable solutions and drives industry awareness. Passionate about advancing solar power initiatives, he plays a key role in supporting Inflation Reduction Act policies and clean energy investments. He champions affordable, accessible solar solutions for underserved communities, fostering partnerships with municipalities, nonprofits, and policymakers. Gohl’s leadership drives community solar expansion, energy savings, and sustainability efforts, ensuring broader adoption of clean energy initiatives nationwide.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How does Community Solar contribute to environmental justice?

Leland Gohl: Community solar provides guaranteed utility bill savings, which contributes to environmental justice by:

• Reducing energy burdens. Low-income households spend a larger portion of their income on utility bills. Community solar allows them to save on these bills without any risk or upfront cost.
• Promoting greater accessibility. Solar power has traditionally been limited to homeowners or businesses with good roofs and a strong financial picture. Community solar allows renters, low-income families, and others to benefit.
• Encouraging New Energy Development. Community Solar helps make smaller renewable energy projects feasible, expanding the amount of new solar farms that can be added to a utility grid.

PowerMarket partners with numerous non-profit organizations focused on environmental justice and equitable energy access. These partnerships are instrumental in ensuring that outreach efforts reach marginalized communities that might otherwise be overlooked.

Additionally, project siting, job creation and local economic development, and community empowerment are all features of community solar programs that further contribute to environmental justice.

Jacobsen: What challenges face renters and low-income households in accessing renewable energy?

Gohl: Historically, renters and low-income households have been de facto barred from accessing renewable energy. Renters don’t have the ability to decide if their property can be used for renewables. As for low-income households, rooftop solar is still a significant investment. With community solar, there’s no physical infrastructure installed on a subscriber’s home, and subscribers do not need to finance these projects to enroll on them.

Jacobsen: How has the company improved energy equity?

Gohl: PowerMarket has helped create energy equity by, among other things, reducing the energy burden on low-income populations, by allowing renters to access the financial and environmental benefits of community solar, and by showing that affordable, clean energy can be locally produced. In Illinois, we have hundreds of low-income subscribers saving over 30% off their electricity costs.

PowerMarket improves energy equity through strong partnerships with non-profit and community-based organizations that work tirelessly to uplift and support the people they serve. These collaborations are the foundation of our success in connecting low-income households with real energy savings through community solar.

By working with trusted organizations such as the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and other local non-profits, we ensure that our outreach efforts are community-centered and accessible. We maintain a continuous presence at events like Resource Connection Days and local food pantries, providing families with meaningful opportunities to lower their energy costs throughout the year. These partnerships enable us to meet people where they are—offering direct engagement, support, and enrollment opportunities to households that need it most.

Our work goes beyond simply discussing the clean energy transition; we focus on making clean energy solutions tangible and accessible to vulnerable populations. Through creative outreach efforts—including giveaways, community events, donations, and collaborations with local governments—we strive to connect as many individuals as possible with valuable energy savings. These initiatives align with the missions of our partner organizations, which are dedicated to serving families and individuals in need.

As a result of these sustained efforts, thousands of households have enrolled in community solar, fostering financial relief, promoting sustainability, and helping build stronger, more resilient communities. PowerMarket remains committed to expanding these initiatives through new outreach opportunities, additional sign-up events, and deepening our collaborations with non-profit organizations and local governments. By continuing to prioritize disadvantaged communities, we aim to advance renewable energy adoption, reduce energy costs, and promote equitable access to sustainable solutions well into the future.

Jacobsen: How do state policies enable greater impact?

Gohl: State policies are fundamental to the success and inclusivity of community solar programs. They enable the program through legislation and help determine the size of that market, the total financial benefit customers can receive, who’s eligible, and much more.

One of the most impactful innovations has been the adoption of single-bill crediting (also known as consolidated billing), which places community solar credits directly on customers’ existing utility bills.

This policy shift significantly improves accessibility, especially for low-income households. Requiring subscribers to pay a separate bill for community solar credits can create unnecessary hurdles—particularly for those already managing tight budgets or limited financial flexibility. By streamlining the billing process, consolidated billing removes these barriers, making participation in community solar both practical and convenient.

States that have implemented this approach have seen increased enrollment rates among low- to moderate-income households. Without the need for credit checks or complex payment arrangements, more families can benefit from guaranteed energy savings. PowerMarket has seen firsthand how simplified billing not only enhances the customer experience but also broadens the reach of community solar programs to the people who need it most.

Jacobsen: How does the software streamline enrollment and maximize accessibility for communities? 

Gohl: Community solar is the best and most accessible energy savings product in the country in large part because of software. PowerMarket has over 100,000 customers, and achieving this scale would be impossible without a streamlined software platform that can be tailored to various customer needs. To achieve that, we have different enrollment processes based on the state, utility, partner, and customer type. For example, if you qualify for deeper discounts due to being low-income or being in an underserved community, you may experience a different enrollment process on our platform to help you qualify for these benefits.

Additionally, we have extensive partnerships with municipalities across the country. Examples include Corona and Long Beach in CA, Albany County in NY, and many others. In these cases, we build custom landing pages and enrollment processes, allowing towns to have their branding front and center on our website, which helps instill greater confidence that community solar is a legitimate and beneficial program. We have seen campaigns of this variety perform significantly better in terms of scale. In Corona, over 700 households enrolled in our program. In Clay, NY, over 1,000 people enrolled, which represents 4 percent of all the households in the town.

Jacobsen: What is the big lesson from the Community Solar model in sustainability equity?

Gohl: The most important lesson from the Community Solar model in sustainability equity is that partnerships with local, trusted institutions—particularly governments—are crucial for ensuring that clean energy solutions reach all residents, especially those in low-income and disadvantaged communities. While community solar provides guaranteed savings and environmental benefits, accessibility and awareness remain significant challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations who stand to benefit the most.

Through our extensive experience with municipal campaigns, PowerMarket has learned that working directly with towns, cities, and counties creates a more trusted and effective pathway for residents to engage with community solar. Municipalities often serve as trusted messengers, and their involvement in outreach—whether through letters from local officials, town-branded enrollment pages, or in-person sign-up events—helps build confidence among residents that community solar is a legitimate, beneficial program.

Tailored municipal campaigns have proven especially effective in reaching low- and moderate-income households. By collaborating with local governments, we can focus outreach on neighborhoods most impacted by high energy burdens, ensuring that real savings reach the households that need them most. These campaigns often include direct mail, local workshops, and community events, where residents can ask questions, understand the benefits, and enroll on the spot with support from knowledgeable staff.

The impact of these municipal partnerships is tangible. In many communities, coordinated efforts between PowerMarket and local governments have resulted in hundreds of households enrolling, significantly reducing energy costs and strengthening community resilience. These campaigns not only help families save money but also foster local economic development, raise clean energy awareness, and support municipal sustainability goals.

By continuing to collaborate with local governments, PowerMarket is committed to expanding equitable access to clean energy and ensuring that no community is left behind in the transition to a more sustainable future.

Jacobsen: How can bipartisan support accelerate policy innovations or funding mechanisms for solar energy growth?

Gohl: Community solar is a beneficial program that cuts across party lines. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. have enacted policies to support third-party-owned community solar. These states include AK, CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MA, MD, ME, MN, NM, NH, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VA, and VT.

This support continues to gain more traction. In Iowa on February 12, HSB 81, which would establish a new community solar program in the state, passed unanimously 23-0 out of the House Commerce Committee. It will now go before a full House vote.

Bipartisan support is key to establishing community solar programs in every state in the country and continuing to improve existing ones.

Jacobsen: How do you envision the future of Community Solar in the fight against climate change?

Gohl: In 2024, community solar achieved its best year yet, with 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity installed—a 35% increase over 2023. While we celebrate this growth, we acknowledge the current policy volatility. Nonetheless, we remain optimistic about the future. As electricity rates continue to rise across nearly all utility territories, community solar is bucking the trend by offering deeper discounts to its subscribers. States are learning from one another, sharing best practices, and building larger, more impactful programs that are keeping money in the pockets of their residents.

Community solar offers guaranteed savings to everyone, especially underserved communities. It empowers local populations, strengthens the electric grid, and plays a crucial role in combating climate change. No other solution brings together all these benefits, and PowerMarket is excited about the path ahead.

Your involvement is essential. If you haven’t already, check to see if your state has a community solar program and available projects you can subscribe to. Advocate for the growth or creation of community solar programs in your state. Together, we can ensure clean, affordable energy is accessible to all.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Leland.

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