GRID Alternatives' Solar Spring Break brings together students who want to learn about solar design and installation with low-income families who want to go solar and save money on their electric bills.

While solar is already providing significant economic and environmental benefits for nearly two million households nationwide, the majority of Americans face physical or financial barriers to the traditional rooftop solar.

GRID Alternatives, which makes solar power and solar jobs accessible to low-income communities and communities of color, is leading teams of students in installations across California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nepal from March 4 through May 10.

The $2 million project will be one of the primary projects of Grid Alternatives Tribal Program, and will be funded in part through the group’s Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, drawing on $5 million pledged by Wells Fargo Foundation last year to be used over three years, according to Tim Willink, the director of Grid Alternatives Tribal Program in Denver.

“Wells Fargo has been serving American Indian and Alaska Native communities for more than 50 years,” said Jon Campbell, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “We believe it is important to support nonprofit and community organizations that empower tribal communities to determine their own way of life on their own lands — according to their time-honored cultures, traditions and beliefs — while also providing access to the tools and opportunities that can lead to financial success and well-being.”

In this piece, GRID Colorado Board Member Victoria Mandell describes how low-income individuals can benefit the most from the bill savings from solar energy, yet have the least direct access to distributed solar energy. 

 A municipal floating solar project in Walden, Colorado, and a private floating solar project for Salad Cosmo in Dixon, California, are producing cost-effective solar power to offset greenhouse gas emissions. 

Black Hills Energ

 A municipal floating solar project in Walden, Colorado, and a private floating solar project for Salad Cosmo in Dixon, California, are producing cost-effective solar power to offset greenhouse gas emissions