Every week we get emails, from Detroit, New York, Appalachia, Tucson. How do I open a GRID Alternatives office? When are you coming to my city? My family really needs your help. When we first started thinking about starting a non-profit energy organization, we envisioned working overseas, where the need for cheap and reliable electricity is so apparent. But when we started digging in, we realized that there was a tremendous need right here in the US. So for the past 11 years, weve been building a model for America. Not just for California, which has been our incubator, but for the nation.
Finally this fall, thanks to a five-year, $2 million dollar grant from our long-time supporter Wells Fargo, GRID Alternatives is stepping into the national arena with a project in the Denver, Colorado area. From September 24-29, well be installing solar electric systems for 11 deserving families living in homes built by Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. This project will be a public showcase of all aspects of our work, not least the model of partnering - with funders, affordable housing organizations, job training groups and local communities. It is these kinds of partnerships that have made GRID Alternatives so successful in California, and will propel us to success in serving communities nationwide. Thanks to all of our partners, donors, volunteers and homeownersand to Wells Fargofor your support, hard work and incredible enthusiasm as we embark on this new adventure.
--Erica Mackie and Tim Sears, Founders