On a sunny Saturday morning in Grand Junction, employees of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began the first of three volunteer events with GRID Alternatives, CO. Following the May 30th community solar pilot, NREL volunteers participated on a single-family rooftop project near Denver and GRID CO's first multi-family array in Fort Morgan.
Suzy Belmont, a Sustainability Specialist and NREL's current coordinator for GRID installs was among the nearly 30 NREL volunteers who have worked on GRID projects throughout 2015. Suzy recently made some time to chat with GRID staffer, Bobby Kirby, about her volunteer experiences, how GRID installs help team building and her perception of being the only group in GRID history to participate in all three types of solar installations (rooftop, community solar and multi-family). 
Suzy first volunteered with GRID Alternatives while deciding whether or not to enter into the solar industry; she wanted to try out an installation before refocusing her Master's program to civil systems (concentrating on renewables). "Volunteering with GRID," she remarked, "helped solidify my interest in pursuing a career in solar!" Suzy used her volunteer experience as an anectdote while searching for work in the industry and eventually landed her job with NREL.
While coordinating these GRID installs, she has heard quite a bit of feedback from her colleagues- namely 'WE WANT MORE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.... GET US BACK ON THE ROOF!' Suzy says that her colleagues love GRID installs because they give the team a chance to better get to know one another and it allows a different perspective of solar systems. Participating on a rooftop or ground-mounted system has allowed NREL employees to clearly see the econmical and environmental impacts of solar which are rarely visible while working in the lab.
The impacts of all three solar installation projects which NREL volunteers participated in are quite impressive:
Total Kilowatts Installed: 68.26kW
Families Served: 59
Lifetime Savings: $418,770
Lifetime CO2 Savings: 2,133 tons
Equivalent of Trees Planted: 41,704
Thanks NREL for all the support and hard work! We can't wait to work with your team again.