Whenever I have the chance to join a team of volunteers and the GRID Alternatives Colorado construction team on a residential solar installation, I always leave feeling like I picked the right job when I joined the nonprofit on Earth Day 2024
Last fall I had the opportunity to welcome a team of volunteers from United Airlines, a company that is a regular philanthropic supporter of the mission of GRID Alternatives. On a beautiful sunny day in north Denver, four employees of United Airlines supported the GRID construction team and learned more about the essential steps in safely installing solar panels on a home.
A Homeowner
Candi CdeBaca was born and raised in the Swansea neighborhood she calls home. CdeBaca was raised by a single mother and is a mother herself now. When I sat outside in her backyard during a lunch break at the solar installation project at her home last November, she held her toddler who was fussing because he had a cold. Yet, both CdeBaca and her young child took the time to come outside to greet everyone on the GRID team and United Airlines volunteers who were on site.
CdeBaca shared that the house had been in her family for generations. She had been raised in the Swansea neighborhood, which is one of the poorest in the City and County of Denver. CdeBaca’s commitment to her community led her to become a City Councilperson. She has since left politics and focuses instead on her social work career and community organizing efforts. CdeBaca sums up her time spent outside of family time as focused on trying to help people.
A Denver Neighborhood
One of CdeBaca’s favorite things about living in Swansea is her neighborhood. In this part of Denver, there is an above average homeownership rate and homeowners live in those houses. This fosters a sense of community pride among everyone.
Also known as Elyria-Swansea, residents of this neighborhood identify themselves as Latinx or Hispanic. Nearly 6,700 people live in Elyria-Swansea, according to the 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate. Seven percent of residents are 65 and older. The new generation calls this community home also, with 8% of the population under the age of 5. Of residents, 58% graduated from high school.
This is a close-knit strong community where neighbors tend to know each other. It is also a close commute to downtown Denver and the RiNo neighborhood which has seen tremendous growth in the past decade.
A Residential Solar System
That day, GRID installed 5.13 kW of solar, which is projected to have the following impact:
- $14,910 savings for the Cde Baca family over the system’s lifetime
- 128.42 tons of carbon emissions prevented (equivalent to planting about 2,987 trees!)
When asked about her experience in signing up for her no-cost solar system from GRID Alternatives, CdeBaca said the installation was “quick and easy.” She went on to express that she “personally felt like the application was very easy. I think the most difficult part of the whole process is just waiting for Xcel [Energy], and that's the party we're trying to troubleshoot around in the 1st place. So it's not surprising, but it was a very smooth, easy process.”
When CdeBaca was asked if there were any surprises, she remarked again about how fast and easy the process was. I didn't expect it to be that simple and I didn't expect it to be that quick of an install, but it was really painless.”
In talking about what CdeBaca hopes for next, she replied, “I would definitely like to see a decrease in my costs. I think right now there's a lot of big fears that we have. There's a data center coming to this neighborhood and that takes a lot of power and water. And in our area we have pretty like deficient infrastructure and so the possibility of rolling blackouts is a legitimate concern and to have solar and potentially be able to connect it to a battery could mean that we could have power when Xcel’s infrastructure fails us and that's exciting for me uh, that's my hope for this neighborhood and that's really what I'm reminding people is possible when getting these things.”
The Volunteers
As I sat and listened to CdeBaca that afternoon, we were joined at the folding table in her beautiful garden by the volunteers from United Airlines. Each person had taken off the day from their ordinary duties at the employer to give back to the community. The volunteers are pictured in this article. Not only did it mean a great deal to all of the GRID employees working that day, including me, that these individuals came, donned their safety vests, safety glasses and harnesses to lift 50-pound panels onto a roof, it meant a lot to CdeBaca.
If you are moved by the story of this conversation or see yourself as an environmentalist, advocate for economic mobility or want to make sure everyone has access to affordable clean energy, you can learn more about how to donate to our Energy for All Solar Program by visiting our website.
Author Bio
Laura Gabbay is the Regional Foundation Manager for GRID Alternatives. Gabbay has more than 25 years of experience with fundraising and managing nonprofit organizations, as well as a Program Officer with two foundations. In her free time, Gabbay is an author and a single mother to two young adults. She writes, goes to yoga classes and likes swimming.