Bay Area News

The following post is the first part in a series on UC Berkeley's Solar Spring Break with GRID Alternatives. These dedicated students raised money to fund their own volunteer installation experience with GRID, and spent the week learning to install solar and meeting industry leaders. Thanks to Angela Shen, our first guest blogger, for sharing a journal that she kept of her Solar Spring Break experience!
In San Francisco last week, nearly 300 people came out to help us celebrate another incredible year making solar power and solar job training accessible to people who need it most. Our Interconnection event this year honored three key supporters who have not just helped us achieve our mission, but have been leaders in the clean energy transition: the State of California, SunPower Corp., and SunEdison.

The Pepetone family of the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria has long been aware of the bounty of the sun. Amid the lush rolling fields and mountain backdrops of their home in Loleta CA, the Pepetones cultivate fresh, delicious food in an intricate garden with over an acre of raised beds. Now, after helping to install their own solar system with GRID Alternatives, the Pepetones can realize the cost-savings of solar, and reap even more benefits from the sun!      

As we hit the roof running with our first solar installations of 2015, we want to pause and take a moment to celebrate our successes in 2014. Thanks to your support, we had an incredible year! Here are a few things to be excited about from 2014:

GRID Bay Area volunteers put in 13,000 hours of service. That’s some serious time, all directly benefitting low-income communities! 

More than 35 of our local volunteers were recruited for jobs in the growing solar industry thanks to their experience with GRID.