Antwain Nelson, a solar installer at GRID Alternatives, is one of thousands of new hires in the US solar industry, which has become the fastest growing sector in the energy business. Solar employment has more than doubled since 2010, reaching 209,000 employees by November 2015, according to The Solar Foundation.

One in five American households has sacrificed spending to afford rent, scrimping on food, clothes, other necessary expenses in order to make ends meet. Low-income families with high energy costs often face tough decisions about how to pay for electricity, too. As Julian Spector recently reported for CityLab, GRID Alternatives installs residential solar panels at no cost, and offers job training programs in the sustainable energy sector. A new video documents a solar initiative that aims to relieve economic pressures on low-income families. 

CityLab editorial fellow Julian Spector writes about his experience installing solar in Southeast D.C. with GRID Alternatives and Mongomery County Conservation Corps job trainees. 

Two local, lower-income families will now experience the benefits of solar energy. Today, a team of volunteers joined non-profit GRID Alternatives Mid Atlantic to install 16 solar panels – eight per house – on the roofs of two energy-efficient homes Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (Habitat NOVA) is constructing in the Groveton Heights neighborhood of Fairfax County.

In Northeast Washington, D.C., one homeowner recently gave his two-story home an expensive upgrade: $30,000 worth of solar panels. Homeowner Anthony David was joined by the Solar Energy Industries Association and the GRID Alternatives during the solar installation for the launch of #MillionSolarStrong, a campaign celebrating and promoting the growth of the solar industry in the U.S. 

 GRID Alternatives is spearheading a new effort with the City of Baltimore, who announced on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a commitment of $200,000 to advance solar installations for low- and moderate-income residents.

GRID Alternatives,  the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, and Baltimore Energy Challenge kicked off a pilot program in the C.A.R.E. (Caring Active Restoring Efforts) community of East Baltimore. 

Today government officials and community leaders gathered at the home of Leonard Wills in East Baltimore’s C.A.R.E Community to kick of a project that will bring the benefits of solar power to local residents and serve as a model for improving community sustainability and resiliency citywide. Led by nonprofit GRID Alternatives in partnership with the Baltimore Office of Sustainability and the Baltimore Energy Challenge, the project includes solar installations for 10 families and a community center, cool roofs for increased efficiency, and 1600 hours of hands-on solar training opportunities for local residents.