Founded by Denise Abdul-Rahman, Black Sun Light Sustainability is building community-powered solutions in a state where energy affordability has become a growing crisis. In Indiana, continued utility rate increases are putting greater pressure on households, contributing to what former Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Chair Sarah Freeman has described as “the epicenter of the energy affordability crisis.” With no statewide community solar legislation, Black Sun Light is working to create pathways for communities to access clean energy, build greater energy resilience, and develop solutions rooted in local needs.
As electricity costs continue to climb, the burden falls disproportionately on historically marginalized communities. To ensure these communities have a voice in shaping the energy transition, Black Sun Light Sustainability partners with community-based organizations across the state. Together, these partnerships help build solutions that are deeply informed by the community and give residents a meaningful role in shaping their own energy future. One of those partners is Scott United Methodist Church (UMC), which plans to build a resilience hub where community members can turn during emergencies and power outages. Reverend Annettra Jones of Scott UMC describes the resilience hub as a “light on the hill” during times of need. Relationships like these help shape project design, inform decision-making , and ensure community priorities remain at the center of the work.
Education and knowledge-sharing are another cornerstone of Black Sun Light Sustainability’s approach. Kevin Wu, project manager at Black Sun Light Sustainability, brings his experience in financial modeling for community-owned solar to help projects navigate barriers that can stall their progress. By sharing this technical knowledge, Black Sun Light helps ensure that emerging projects both in Indiana and beyond are not left behind simply because they lack access to expertise at critical stages of development. This spirit of shared learning extends across the PSEF community. As a PSEF member, Black Sun Light works alongside other community solar developers to exchange knowledge, troubleshoot challenges, and expand communities capacity to own and develop renewable energy projects. From early idea to implementation, these relationships create opportunities for members to learn from one another and move projects forward together.
Black Sun Light Sustainability also curates spaces for conversations about rising energy costs, workforce opportunities in the solar industry, and how communities can build their own capacity to develop and own renewable energy projects. All of these services were intended to have a home at the resilience hubs – also known as abundance hubs,as Abdul-Rahman likes to call them. Funding from the federal Solar for All program was intended to fuel progress for these solar-powered community centers. Once the funding was terminated, the organization had to pivot its focus to projects under 100 kW which allows for developing projects with lower capital requirements and reduced development risk, while still laying the groundwork for larger installations in the future. This scaled approach reflects both practical realities and a commitment to maintaining forward momentum.
The sudden loss of anticipated federal capital has been a significant challenge. Rebuilding project financing after the termination of Solar for All funding has required both creativity and recalibration. The abundance hubs, in particular, present technical and financial complexity. Designing systems that can support both current needs and future community uses requires careful planning, especially when those future uses are still evolving.
For now, Black Sun Light Sustainability remains focused on smaller, scalable projects that can move forward without large upfront capital investments. At the same time, the organization continues to build partnerships, expand community education, and position projects to advance quickly should new funding opportunities restore or emerge. Through persistence and community-centered leadership, Black Sun Light Sustainability is demonstrating that even in moments of uncertainty, the movement toward energy democracy continues to grow and power forward.