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Rules Committee grills SolarCity and PUC over promised Bayview training center, pushes for enforceable local-hire rules
Summary
Community groups pressed SolarCity and the SFPUC to honor a previously advertised Bayview training center tied to the GoSolar SF pilot. SolarCity cited financing and market shifts; the committee asked the PUC and community partners to negotiate enforceable workforce and local-hire measures and continued the item.
A packed Rules Committee hearing on Nov. 5 focused on whether SolarCity will deliver a training center in Bayview-Hunters Point that had been advertised as part of the GoSolar SF pilot incentive package.
SolarCity’s local representative described the company’s growth, the collapse of a major financing commitment and subsequent replacements, and said the firm had identified Bayview sites and discussed partnerships with community organizations but placed the plan on hold when market conditions deteriorated. “We have committed to build out the training academy in Bayview, Hunters Point based on the announcement of this pilot program,” the company representative said, while adding the company might locate a training center in San Jose if the pilot incentives were not maintained.
Community trainers, City College trustees and local workforce-development groups challenged the company on broken promises, asking for a concrete, written plan, dollar commitments or enforceable contracting conditions that would guarantee local hires and priority for Bayview residents. Training providers said they already run local programs and urged the City to direct subsidy dollars toward existing community-based programs (City College, Asian Neighborhood Design, Young Community Developers) instead of relying on private promises.
SFPUC staff explained rule changes made in May to emphasize city installers and low-income customer incentives; data presented by staff showed Luminalt Energy and other local installers had increased applications under the revised rules while SolarCity remained a major applicant but with lower share of low-income placements. The committee asked the PUC to work with SolarCity and community partners on a written plan and legislative fixes (for example, requiring nonprofit installations to use workforce-development hires) and continued the item to the call of the chair to allow further negotiation and follow-up.
The hearing produced sustained demands for clearer accountability mechanisms tying incentive reservations and payouts to local hiring, a queuing system for fair access to reservations, and better coordination with City College and established community training programs.
