On November 5th volunteers, sponsors, job trainees and GRID Alternatives staff from all over the state got together to successfully install 10 solar electric systems for 10 families in 1 day. Despite rain on Friday the skies opened up on Saturday for what turned out to be a warm and sunny afternoon. This provided the perfect backdrop for what was an overall wonderful community based event.
Enthusiasm was by and large a key component to the flow of the day. The Solarthon site was filled with determination, goodwill and warm heartedness. An aerial view of the location would have given the impression that worker ants were steadfast at work. It was indeed a well coordinated operation taking place. However, these werent worker ants; they were the wonderful people of Greater Los Angeles. Solar enthusiasts from all walks of life were moving in unison to accomplish the mission at hand.
As a token of appreciation, GRID Alternatives-Greater Los Angeles was recognized by Congresswoman Janice Hahn, and representatives of the offices of Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
When it was all said and done 10 solar electric systems with a combined generating capacity of 23.1 Kilowatts were installed. 1.3 million Kilowatt hours will be produced over the lifetimes of these systems while saving the homeowners over $215,000. It will also prevent over 700 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Thats the equivalent of planting over 2,000 trees!
Congratulations to everyone that made this years Solarthon a success. We couldnt have done it without each and every one of you! We hope to see you on an installation in the near future. We also look forward to your participation at Solarthon 2012. See you soon!