It's a proud week for us, because we just wrapped up our last week of major construction on the gorgeous Kenwood Homes in Glendale! In completing a big project here (one that wouldn't have succeeded without paid trainees from Long Beach and the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles), we've helped twelve deserving families go solar to access years of savings.
Our Kenwood families sit in a historic neighborhood of Glendale where solar isn't common—but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve lower electricity bills and cleaner air quality. Happily, now these Glendale Water & Power customers will get to enjoy both for years.
Less than a decade ago, the two-story residences at Kenwood were built to create home ownership opportunities in Glendale through San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, whose service area overlaps with our own. We love bringing the powerful financial help and community-wide advantages of solar to Habitat homeowners, who have already worked hard to put a roof over their heads through the sweat equity model.
We weren't the only ones interested in helping out Los Angeles-area Habitat families: Assemblymember Laura Friedman, representing California's 43rd Assembly District, has long been fighting for environmental justice on a localized scale. When we signed up twelve qualified homeowners to participate in Energy for All, the 43rd District team helped us out significantly to bring these projects online.
The day roofwork began, our paid trainees were honored to host District staff and let them share in a heartwarming day. District Director Sarojini Lall made remarks citing the valued role energy access and renewable energy jobs play in the San Fernando Valley. And a beautiful certificate of appreciation was awarded to Sungrade, whose sponsorship was key to making no-cost solar possible here.
The final panels for the Glendale jobs were personally installed by three awesome volunteers from Sungrade, who gave up part of a weekend to make sure our install was a success! The Kentwood projects were a showcase of the magic of our model: no-cost solar installation can truly bring all different corners of the community together. As we celebrate a dozen homes seeing Energy for All's benefits near the 210, we invite anyone who's interested in the transition to clean energy to find out how you can help. Start by visiting our site: gridalternatives.org/get-involved.