Rancho Cielo in Salinas breaks ground on solar project

SALINAS – Rancho Cielo broke ground on its solar project Tuesday in a move toward keeping its stated commitment to the needs of the environment by promoting eco-friendly solutions and renewable energy sources.

“This is a big thing having the entire campus sustainable and having another 10% there for expansion of what we do,” said Rancho Cielo founder John Phillips, a former judge and county supervisor.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Rancho Cielo Ted Taylor Vocational Center in Salinas. Keynote speaker Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, was joined at the event by Phillips, along with Rancho Cielo leadership, staff and students, as well as Salinas-area community leaders and members.

Panetta said that with the ground- and roof-mount solar system project, Rancho Cielo, a comprehensive center of learning and social services for underserved youth in Monterey County, is doing its part to help affect the climate.

“First the project here will offset 110% of all electricity use here on campus,” said Panetta. “Second, it will allow Rancho Cielo students the training that they’re going to need to learn how to install these types of clean energy projects, not just here on campus, but throughout our community, and third, to do this project …. Rancho Cielo is utilizing the incentives that have been provided by the federal government in a bill that many members of Congress worked on called the Inflation Reduction Act.”

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which has been called the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history, offers funding, programs, and incentives to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. Most provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 became effective at the beginning of 2023.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Panetta authored several parts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on tax credits for clean energy, buses, microgrids, and linear generators.

“This is a 200-kilowatt system with 420 panels covering over 13,000 square feet including a roof- and ground-mount system,” said Pete Scudder, president and owner of Scudder Roofing and Solar.

Scudder, whose company is heading the project, said the system is engineered to be 110% offset and will pay for itself in about four-and-a-half years thanks to the grant through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Panetta said that in the Act, there is a clean energy tax credit that was extended by Congress that allows organizations such as Rancho Cielo to offset the cost of a project by 30% and all the organization has to do is file its tax return at the end of the year to get the rebate.

“That’s why we passed this legislation, to incentivize and pivot towards clean energy, to reduce the carbon output that does contribute to our rising temperatures and unfortunately the extreme weather events that we’re all witnessing,” said Panetta. “This legislation was about investing in the sustainability of our planet. By doing our job in Congress and at the federal level, we are helping businesses, and organizations like Rancho Cielo – nonprofits at the local level – to continue to do what they do best and that’s invest in the future of our children.”

Panetta has said that the legislation incentivizes investment in clean energy to reduce the nation’s carbon output 44% by 2030.

Rancho Cielo CEO Chris Devers said that the campus has about a $110,000-per-year electric bill, and with the 30% grant allowed by the Inflation Reduction Act for nonprofits, the solar project was made possible.

Devers also pointed out that from an education perspective, the solar project ties into programs offered to students, specifically the ag technology program which has a solar component to it as well as the construction program which is building small homes that use solar.

Rancho Cielo Board of Directors Chair Janine Chicourrat said that her hope is to inspire some people to come out of this and maybe start working for Scudder someday, building solar projects all over Monterey County and beyond.

“This is a great opportunity to learn,” said Chicourrat.

Once functioning, the Rancho Cielo Solar Project will save Rancho Cielo $3.4 million over 25 years.

Rancho Cielo says it is committed to instilling healthy, sustainable practices among stakeholders that align with the needs of the environment. The organization says it has dedicated itself to promoting eco-friendly solutions and renewable energy sources for a better and greener future.

According to Scudder, the solar project will take about three months to install, with another few weeks to permit, and expects to fire up before the end of the year.

Rancho Cielo’s stated mission is to invest in all young people facing challenges for success through diploma education, vocational training, counseling, and life skills development in a safe and affirming environment. With a focus on serving the community, Rancho Cielo currently supports over 200 students, with 78% hailing from Salinas, and 94% identifying as Latino.

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