Women in Solar

Our Hollister Summer Immersion in Solar enabled us to provide volunteers and job trainees with real-world experience through hands on training in solar installation both on the roof and the ground. It also gave us a chance to pilot Troops to Solar and Students for Solar, two of our new Workforce Development Initiatives and enabled us to have two Women’s Builds as part of our National Women in Solar Initiative.
On Saturday, June 28th, GRID Alternatives Central Valley kicked off its participation in GRID's National Women in Solar Initiative with an all-women’s crew providing installation expertise. On this crew were six extraordinary women from the surrounding area that helped install solar on a Habitat for Humanity home located in Clovis, California.

“When Hurricane Sandy hit I was at home finishing up dinner. I looked out the door and saw the water coming up my street. I called my neighbor who had a two-story house and said, ‘I’m coming over with the cat.’”

Helen Wilson, a 13-year resident of Union Beach, soon realized that she, like so many other families in this hard-hit town, would not be going home again. But now, 18 months later, Wilson is getting ready to move into a brand new, solar-powered home.

As the solar industry grows, women still make up just 18.7% of the workforce. How do we change that, and why is it important that we do? A panel at Intersolar and a number of recent articles shed light on these questions.