Clients

As the new year approaches, on behalf of everyone at GRID Alternatives Central Valley, we thank all who helped make 2015 a successful year. Our office has experienced enormous growth over the year, as we added 12 new members to help take on the new tasks, as we continue to expand our territory within the Central Valley.

GRID volunteers return to finish the job...

On a dark and chilly Saturday morning 120 volunteers and community supporters devoted their time helping five families receive solar on their homes in Biola, California.

From the rooftop of a formerly condemned home in Camden, NJ, one of the nation's most economically disadvantaged communities, you won't see much solar. But that's about to change thanks to a new partnership with NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives, and strengthen their comnunities.

The small Humboldt County city of Arcata is known for environmental firsts. From being the first city in the U.S. to have a Green Party majority city council, to building a living wastewater treatment system atop an old solid waste dump, Arcata embraces new ways of thinking and acting on behalf of the environment.

In the midst of the Central Valley heat, several Proteus students and community members gathered to help install a 3.27kW solar system on the roof of the Barcellos’ home. A graduate from the local job training program, Proteus, Avelino Barcellos was thrilled to have solar installed by volunteers from GRID Alternatives.

Willits residents Dustin and Rebecca may not have known in 2014 that GRID Alternatives launched a satellite office in their small hometown. But, this spring, they became the first family in Willits to receive a new solar system from GRID!

It has been a good week for 74-year-old Leonard Wills, an Army Vet who has lived in Baltimore just about his whole life. On Tuesday, he was recognized by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as one of Batimore’s “Top Neighborhood Dads” an annual honor given to “strong and dedicated Baltimore men who play an active role in making their communities better, safer, and stronger.” And on Thursday he stood in front of cameras again as a solar pioneer, the first in East Baltimore’s C.A.R.E. community to go solar with GRID Alternatives thanks to a 10-home pilot, in partnership with the city, that also includes cool roof installations and a battery back-up system on the local community center.

In a new and groundbreaking partnership, GRID Alternatives and Grand Valley Power (GVP) teamed up this year for nation’s first community solar array dedicated exclusively to low-income customers. The project has generated interest from utilities and policy-makers across the country, and Grand Valley Power and GRID Alternatives were invited by United States Congressman Jared Polis to brief a congressional working group on Innovation in Alternatives Energies on May 6.