Tribal Program

GRID Alternatives staff spent ten days living in mobile homes at the foot of the Eastern Sierras to bring solar power--and soon jobs--to members of the Bishop Pauite Tribe.

GRID Alternatives Inland Empire (GRID IE) is partnering with the Bishop Paiute Tribe for its first-ever Tribal Solar Demonstration Project, bringing clean energy, much needed utility cost savings, and solar job skills to families on the Paiute Reservation located near the City of Bishop.

“This organization is a role model for how business can promote solar energy while equipping Californians with the skills they need to sustain this industry,” said EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld in presenting the award.

On a hot day in August, a crew of solar installers from Real Goods Solar pulled into a dusty driveway on the La Jolla Indian reservation on the rural northeastern edge of San Diego County, nearly two hours from San Diego. Doris Magante and her flock of grandchildren and great-grandchildren were waiting for them.