By Tyrese Gould Jacinto, April 22, 2026

With the skyrocketing cost of gas, utilities, and groceries, families across New Jersey are struggling to make ends meet.

I’m the founder and executive director of the Native American Advancement Corporation in Cumberland and Salem counties, with programs that represent the lower five counties. We run a nature center and reserve, as well as weatherization and lead remediation programs for local residents in Atlantic and Cape May. As a community development organization, we aim to preserve the past and protect the future for the next seven generations through energy conservation.

Anything that can help save residents money while preserving the environment is a win-win in my book. Recently, our nonprofit has found a promising solution to the affordability crisis through our Eversolar Community Solar Program.

Community solar is helping us bring the power of renewable energy to New Jersey’s underserved communities, allowing more residents to enjoy energy savings from solar without an expensive price tag.

Through community solar, renters and other local residents can subscribe to small-scale solar projects housed on warehouse rooftops. There’s no upfront cost to sign up, and subscribers save a guaranteed 20% to 45% on their monthly Atlantic City Electricity bill.

I’ve helped lead our subscriber enrollment campaign in the lower five counties of New Jersey, where NAAC’s staff has reached more than 200 residents and signed up 80 so far, saving local households throughout Cumberland and Salem more than $1.8 million in energy costs over the next 20 years. The majority of these households are low to moderate-income families, often struggling under the weight of skyrocketing utility prices.

When NAAC hosts community events, I hand out flyers for our Eversolar Community Solar Program and give a speech explaining what community solar is. Many of the people I talk to have never heard of community solar.

I tell them that they don’t need a roof to participate, and that they reap the benefits of solar power by buying into the program at no cost to them while reducing their own carbon footprint. I explain that these panels go on an industrial-sized building, and all they need to sign up is an Atlantic City Electric bill. That’s the hardest concept for people to understand.

People also don’t believe that there’s no sign-up cost, no early termination fees, and no other obligation period. Just guaranteed savings that will make it easier for them to keep the lights on and to cool their homes.

Many of the people NAAC works with are in crisis mode, yet we still focus on long-term sustainability. Every decision we make now will affect future generations. Fortunately, community solar offers benefits both now and in the future: it provides cost savings and reduces our carbon footprint.

Even the warehouse roofs that host community solar panels must be returned to their original condition after the lease period ends. The panels themselves are also recycled once they’ve reached the end of their useful lives.

Too many decisions people — and especially politicians — make these days are short-sighted. They’re thinking of their immediate needs or comfort. While I understand that inclination, more people should be thinking over the longer term. With community solar, we don’t have to choose: we can take action that benefits both the present and the future.

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Tyrese Gould Jacinto leads the Native American Advancement Corporation, or NAAC, in Bridgeton, NJ