Last year, GRID Alternatives was called out as a partner in the President’s mandate for 300MW of solar serving federally subsidized housing and GRID embarked on an expansion of our mission and services to include commercial solar development for affordable housing, multifamily agencies. Also last year, NeighborWorks America - a national nonprofit dedicated to affordable housing, community development and the families that benefit - announced $200,000 in grants to support solar development in its affiliates across the country.
Today, GRID Colorado marries the two initiatives together in the the first of these projects undertaken with an 82kW system developed by GRID and Community Resources and Housing Development (CRHDC) - a Colorado NeighborWorks affiliate. CRHDC’s Sol Naciente development, which will primarily house immigrants and refugees, consists of five residential buildings with a total of 50 individual family units and a community center. This project will serve as the largest, to date, single solar installation undertaken by GRID.
Sol Naciente, located in the Northeastern Colorado farming community of Fort Morgan, will provide affordable living accommodations to many of the area’s labor force. Through CRHDC’s housing development, agriculture workers in Fort Morgan have the opportunity to come home from a hard day’s work to their families. The multifamily program provides GRID the opening to act as a “one-stop shop” for affordable housing developers interested in adding renewable energy generation to their portfolios. GRID provides technical assistance in the form of identification of potential funding streams for the implementation of solar on soon-to-be-constructed or existing developments, turnkey installation of solar PV systems utilizing our barn-raising installation model, portfolio assessment, bid analysis, and many other supportive services. GRID’s multifamily program also contributes community engagement opportunities to affordable housing organizations in the form of workforce development and energy efficiency education to help residents consume appropriate amounts of electricity.
By expanding our Solar Affordable Housing Program to include rooftop, community solar, and multifamily projects, GRID is able to increase production and impact a greater number and wider population of Colorado residents. If you are interested in learning more about GRID’s work with affordable housing organizations or how we partner with local utilities, please reach out through email (colorado@gridalternatives.org) or by calling our office at (303)968-1326.